Key developments since May 2003: A total of 6.4 square kilometers of
affected land was cleared in 2003, less than half the country’s target. A
Landmine Impact Survey was completed in December 2003; it identified 1,366
populated places as being mine-affected, of which 154 were categorized as high
impact, and 696 as medium impact. In 2003, BHMAC carried out general survey on
75.24 square kilometers of land. BHMAC reported that 113,892 people received
mine risk education during 2003. In May 2004, BHMAC stated that there were
18,319 minefields in the country containing an estimated 260,751 antipersonnel
mines, 51,447 antivehicle mines and 3,635 UXO. The total area potentially
contaminated was estimated in April 2004 as 2,780 square kilometers. In
September 2003, BiH predicted it will require $334 million to make BiH free from
the effect of mines by 2010. In 2003, there were 54 landmine and UXO
casualties, a decrease from the previous year.
In 2003, SFOR found several hundred thousand antipersonnel mines among old
munitions at military storage sites. By March 2004, 2,574 antipersonnel mines,
31,920 antivehicle mines and 302,832 detonators had been destroyed. On several
occasions during the reporting period, illegal caches of weapons, including
landmines, have been uncovered. One mine incident, in June 2003, was attributed
to new use. In May 2004, Bosnia and Herzegovina hosted Landmine Monitor’s
annual global researchers meeting. In June 2004, the final version of the
landmine victim assistance strategy for BiH was released.
Key developments since 1999: Bosnia and Herzegovina became a State
Party on 1 March 1999. National legislation to implement the treaty has been
delayed by political changes. BiH announced completion of destruction of its
stockpile of 460,727 antipersonnel mines in November 1999. However, in 2003
SFOR found several hundred thousand antipersonnel mines among old munitions at
military storage sites. Occasional use of antipersonnel mines has occurred in
criminal or terrorist activities, and illegal stores of mines and other weaponry
continue to be discovered. From 1998, when “Operation Harvest”
began, through February 2004, 32,907 antipersonnel mines and large quantities of
other munitions have been collected and destroyed by the SFOR.
BHMAC reported that from 1996, when official mine clearance started, through
2003, 45 square kilometers of land were cleared, including 32 square kilometers
since 1999. From 1998 to 2003, general survey was conducted on 365 square
kilometers of land. A national Landmine Impact Survey was carried out from
October 2002 to December 2003. The mine incident rate has fallen from an
average of 52 casualties per month in 1996, to eight per month in 1999, to 4.5
per month in 2003, to three per month in the first half of 2004. Since 1999,
435 new mine/UXO casualties were recorded.
Mine Ban Policy
Bosnia and Herzegovina
(BiH)[1] signed the Mine Ban
Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 8 September 1998, becoming a State
Party on 1 March 1999. Bosnia and Herzegovina attended all of the meetings of
the Ottawa Process leading to the treaty.
National legislation in accordance with Article 9 of the treaty has been
under development since ratification, but delayed by political
changes.[2] BiH reported in May
2004 that a “special law” prohibiting use and production of
antipersonnel mines is in the process of being
created.[3] In 2003, the
drafting of implementation legislation became the responsibility of the new
State-level Ministry of
Justice.[4] The Ministry
expected that amendments to the criminal code, to apply penal sanctions for
violations of the treaty, would be presented for parliamentary approval in
September 2004.[5] Activities
prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty are said to be already subject to penal
sanction under the existing criminal code at the Entity level, but not at the
State level.[6]
BiH attended the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September 2003, where its
delegation described the country as having the greatest mine problem in Europe
with over four percent of its territory mine-affected. It states that clearing
the minefields by 2010 will cost an estimated $334
million.[7] BiH has attended
all annual meetings of States Parties and all intersessional meetings since
1999. At a February 2004 intersessional Standing Committee meeting, it
described mine action as “a precondition for the reconstruction of natural
and economic resources, return of refugees and displaced persons and further
economic development of our
country.”[8]
Also in February 2004, BiH representatives participated in a meeting of the
Reay Group (part of the Stability Pact for South East Europe), which was held to
assess progress on achieving the objectives of the Mine Ban
Treaty.[9] In March 2004, BiH
participated in a meeting of the French Commission Nationale pour
l’Elimination des Mines Anti-personnel. In May 2004, BiH hosted the
Landmine Monitor’s global researchers meeting. In previous years, BiH
attended regional meetings on the mine issue in Croatia (June 1999) and in
Slovenia (June 2000).
On 17 May 2004, BiH submitted its Article 7 report for calendar year 2003,
which included optional Form J with information on mine casualties and victim
assistance. Four previous Article 7 reports have been
submitted.[10]
On 8 December 2003, BiH voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution
58/53, which calls for universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban
Treaty. It has voted for similar resolutions in previous years, but was absent
from the votes on pro-ban resolutions in 1997 and 1998.
With regard to State Party discussions on interpretation and implementation
of Article 1 of the Mine Ban Treaty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April
2003 stated that BiH “neither participates nor supports participation, and
will not participate in joint military operations with any forces planning,
exercising or using antipersonnel
mines.”[11] The Ministry
of Foreign Affairs has also stated that BiH will not allow the storage or
transit of antipersonnel mines belonging to other countries in or through its
territory.[12] BiH has not
expressed its views with regard to issues related to Article 2 (mines with
sensitive fuzes and antihandling devices) or Article 3 (permissible number of
mines retained for training).
BiH is a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its
Amended Protocol II, and submitted an annual report on 25 September 2003, as in
previous years. It attended the Fifth Annual Conference of States Parties to
the Protocol in November 2003 and has attended the annual conferences in
previous years except for 2001.
Production and Transfer
The production, transfer and use of antipersonnel mines was not prohibited in
BiH until entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty on 1 March 1999.
Upon its official recognition in December 1995, BiH inherited the mine
production facilities of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).
Prior to 1990, the SFRY was a prolific producer of antipersonnel mines,
possessing an estimated six million mines of all types at the start of the
conflict in 1992 when BiH declared independence. About half its total defense
production was located in BiH, including antipersonnel mine production
facilities in Gorazde, Vogosca, Bugojno and Konjic.
The Demining Commission has stated that production of antipersonnel mines had
ceased by 1995.[13] Regarding
the conversion or decommissioning of former production facilities, BiH’s
May 2004 Article 7 report notes that the Bugojno factory is no longer able to
produce mines, and Gorazde and Konjic now produce ammunition and
explosives.[14] An official
told Landmine Monitor in April 2004 that the Vogosca factory is now producing
automobiles.[15] BiH has
reported in previous years on the progress toward converting former production
facilities.[16]
There have been no reports of the transfer of antipersonnel mines from BiH
since signing the Mine Ban Treaty in December 1997. However, there have been
transfers of other munitions and weaponry in violation of UN embargoes, which
prompted new legislation regulating the manufacture and trade in arms and
military equipment, with sanctions for
violations.[17]
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there have been no new cases in
2003 or 2004 similar to the embargo-breaking transfers reported in
2002.[18] However, there have
been reports that weapons smuggling is continuing. In July 2003, a Bosnian
newspaper reported that police in Republika Srpska intercepted weapons,
including antipersonnel mines, being smuggled from the Federation. The weapons
had come from military warehouses, as the supply of illegal weapons was
lessening due to the collection activities of the Stabilization Force (SFOR),
the international peacekeeping force. The article alleged that this was one
small instance of a much larger smuggling
problem.[19]
Use
Occasional use of mines has occurred in criminal and terrorist activity, and
illegal stores of mines and other weaponry continue to be discovered. In June
2003, a civilian was killed by a mine while working in a field which had
previously been cleared of mines. SFOR believed that the mine had been newly
laid.[20] Several instances of
new use of antipersonnel mines were reported in 2000 and 2002, usually targeted
against returning refugees.[21]
In September 2003, SFOR seized 120 tons of illegal weapons, including 777
landmines. On 2 December, Civil Protection forces announced the discovery of
weaponry in Prijedor, including five landmines. In February 2004, an SFOR
search with explosives detection dogs of houses in Bugojno revealed large
quantity of weapons including 77 antipersonnel mines and 25 antivehicle
mines.[22] In April 2004, a
large quantity of weaponry including 17 mines was collected or seized in the
Prnjavor area.[23] On 3 March
2004, SFOR and Bosnian police found a cache containing 12 mines. On 25 May, a
“huge quantity of illegally-held weapons” including mines was seized
from a house in the northeastern village of Mrtvice by
SFOR.[24] In previous years,
caches of antipersonnel mines were also found in 2001, 2002, and early
2003.[25]
Stockpiling and Destruction
BiH declared completion of its stockpile destruction in November 1999, with a
total of 460,727 mines destroyed. Destruction was carried out at various
locations by the two Entity Armies with SFOR assistance. The stockpile
consisted of 19 types.[26]
In 2003, SFOR found very large additional quantities of antipersonnel mines
among old munitions, after the Entity Armies requested assistance with
downsizing the 500 military storage sites and dealing with old munitions in
storage. An SFOR publication reported that several hundred thousand
antipersonnel mines were awaiting destruction at these
sites.[27] The initial aim of
SFOR’s Operation Armadillo is to record the munitions stored at the
various sites and ascertain their condition, with a database expected by
2005.[28] Munitions which can
be safely moved are being removed and destroyed. By March 2004, 2,574
antipersonnel mines, 31,920 antivehicle mines and 302,832 detonators had been
destroyed.[29]
The government of BiH has not formally reported the existence of these newly
discovered stocks of antipersonnel mines, has not provided details on numbers
and types of mines, and has not made known the timetable for destruction of the
mines.
Collection of mines and other munitions and weaponry from the population by
SFOR’s Operation Harvest continued in 2003, when 7,247 mines of all types
were collected.[30] SFOR
reported that the increased quantities noted in 2002 continued in 2003, with a
32 percent increase in the number of mines collected in the first nine months of
2003. From November 2003 to February 2004, 1,200 antipersonnel mines were
collected.[31] Operation
Harvest is an SFOR initiative introduced in 1998 to collect unregistered
weapons, mines, explosives and other ordnance from private holdings, in
cooperation with local police, under amnesty conditions. From 1998 through
February 2004, 32,907 antipersonnel mines had been collected, as well as large
quantities of other munitions. Destruction is carried out by
SFOR.[32]
In August 2003, the RS army held an auction of surplus arms and equipment,
including over a million “mine parts.” Anything left unsold at the
end of the year was to be destroyed. SFOR announced that it would be monitoring
the sale and any movement or export of these
weapons.[33]
Mines retained under Article 3
At the end of 2003, BiH retained 2,652 antipersonnel mines for permitted
training and development purposes, including 2,195 active mines and 457 fuzeless
mines and fuzes.[34] This is an
increase of 127 mines compared the end of 2002, when 2,525 mines were retained.
Earlier, BiH reported 2,405 mines retained at the end of April 2002, the same
number retained on 1 September 2001, and 2,145 mines retained on 1 February
2000.[35] Why the number of
retained mines is increasing, and where the mines come from, has not been
explained.
SFOR commented in 2002 that retained mines are located in military compounds
with SFOR oversight through regular inspection, and that the numbers are not
reducing as live mines are not used for training of personnel due to the
cost.[36] The Entity armed
forces and Civil Protection carry out continuous training of deminers. Fuzeless
mines may be used by the Entity armed forces for training of explosive detection
dog teams and by BHMAC for quality assurance testing of
dogs.[37]
Landmine Problem
At the Fifth Meeting of States Parties, the BiH delegation said that the
country is still “facing the problem of heavy mine contamination”
eight years after the end of the war. At least four percent of BiH remains
affected, and there are 18,600 recorded minefields, which is said to represent
only about 60 percent of the actual number of mined
areas.[38] In May 2004, the BiH
Mine Action Center (BHMAC) stated that there were 18,319 minefields containing
an estimated 260,751 antipersonnel mines, 51,447 antivehicle mines and 3,635
pieces of unexploded ordnance
(UXO).[39] Previously, BiH
reported that there were 18,228 minefields at the end of 2003, and 18,283
minefields at the end of 2002, containing 257,258 antipersonnel mines and 50,857
antivehicle mines.[40] The
total area potentially contaminated was estimated in April 2004 as 2,780.1
square kilometers, an increase from the May 2003 estimate of 2,089.9 square
kilometers.[41]
The increase is attributed to identification of new suspected mined areas by
the Landmine Impact Survey and by systematic survey in Republika Srpska. BHMAC
stated that in the first half of 2004 it will check the amount of mine-suspected
land in RS.[42]
Mine and UXO-suspected area estimated as of April 2004 (square
kilometers)[43]
Entity/District
Total Suspected risk area
Priority 1
Priority 2
Priority 3
Federation BiH
1,758.0
207.6
500.0
1,061.4
Republika Srbska
964.4
171.6
314.9
478.0
Brcko District
57.7
16.7
17.3
23.7
Total BiH
2,780.1
395.9
832.2
1,563.1
Priority 1: land in regular civilian use, required for refugees or
infrastructure renewal
Priority 2: areas close to priority 1 land, and agricultural and forestry
land
Priority 3: all remaining areas
The landmine problem in BiH arose from the conflict of 1992–1995 during
the break-up of the SFRY. Mines were used extensively along the “lines of
confrontation” which moved frequently and totaled over 18,000 kilometers
in length. Most minefields are in the “zone of separation” created
at the end of the conflict, which separates the two Entities. This is 1,100
kilometers long and up to four kilometers wide. Mines were also laid in many
other situations: to protect encamped soldiers and to protect ethnic enclaves,
housing and military and economic assets. In southern and central BiH, most
mines were used randomly by soldiers untrained in the laying of mines and
record-keeping. The mine contamination is described as generally low density
and random. The problem is further exacerbated by the inaccuracy of the
minefield records – about 20 percent are thought to be inaccurate. New
minefields are discovered each
year.[44] Some of the affected
territory is mountainous or heavily forested. Brcko District, a fertile
agricultural belt, was described as one of most heavily contaminated areas of
BiH.
In all areas, and particularly in Brcko, there were large population
movements during the war, and returning refugees are particularly at
risk.[45] More than two million
people are believed to have been displaced during the conflict. Since the end
of the 1992–1995 war, 987,713 people have returned to their homes (438,948
refugees and 548,765 internally displaced people). In 2003, 54,315 returnees
were registered. Nearly 100,000 refugees from Bosnia still remain displaced in
the South East Europe region and BiH is host to more than 25,000 refugees from
Croatia and Kosovo. There are also some 330,000 internally displaced people in
BiH.[46] In January 2004, the
Norwegian Refugee Council described landmines as remaining “a significant
barrier to the safe return of displaced people and refugees, as well as to the
development of economic
activity.”[47]
Coordination and Planning of Mine Action
The United Nations, through the UNDP, established a mine action center
(UNMAC) in BiH in June 1996. UNMAC took over all the minefield records held by
SFOR and initiated training of national mine action personnel. In July 1998,
national structures officially assumed the responsibility for the implementation
of demining activities, but continued to receive financial, expert and technical
assistance from UNDP.
The Demining Law of February 2002 established the Demining Commission as the
single focal point to represent BiH in its relations with the international
community on mine-related matters, and authorized the BiH Mine Action Center to
operate across BiH. This put an end to the autonomy that the Entity Mine Action
Centers had previously enjoyed. BHMAC functions as the technical service of the
Demining Commission; both are responsible to the Ministry for Civil Affairs.
BHMAC has offices in Sarajevo and Banja Luka. The Demining Law also regulates
the implementation of demining operations in accordance with the national mine
action strategy as approved by the Commission. A mine action strategy was
drafted in early 2002 and approved in April 2003. This strategy puts forward
the aim of clearing first-priority land by
2010.[48] Under Article 5 of
the Mine Ban Treaty, BiH should have completed destruction of all antipersonnel
mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible but
not later than 1 March 2009. If it is unable to do so, it may request an
extension from the other States Parties.
Following completion of the Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) in December 2003,
the Survey Action Center subcontracted Cranfield Mine Action to assist in the
revision of the national mine action strategy, using the LIS
database.[49] In April 2004,
BHMAC said that revision of the mine action strategy had begun, with some of the
LIS results being included in the 2004 mine action plan. The full results will
be included in the mine action plans from 2005 onwards. The revision was
completed by 30 June 2004, and forwarded to the Council of Ministers for
approval.[50]
At the Standing Committee meetings in June 2004, the representative of BiH
said that “the gap between need and reality was most evident in the
failure to achieve [the mine action] plan.” He said the mine action plan
was being revised to harmonize it with international organizations and to
maximize capacity, and that strategic planning and working groups had been set
up.[51]
A Task Assessment and Planning (TAP) pilot project was carried out by BHMAC
survey teams in 2003 as part of the Landmine Impact Survey to provide the local
data needed to prioritize mine action. BHMAC agreed to incorporate TAP in its
planning processes.[52] For
2004, TAP community-based mine action plans were developed, concentrating on 20
to 25 highly affected
communities.[53] The community
mine action plans represent an integrated approach to mine action, combining
clearance and survey with mine risk education and victim assistance, and
coordinating the efforts of army demining/survey teams, civil protection teams
and NGOs.[54]
For 2004, it was planned to clear 9.9 square kilometers of land, increase
technical survey to 18.3 square kilometers, increase general survey to 148.1
square kilometers (of which 28.9 square kilometers are expected to be released
to communities), and significantly increase permanent marking of risk areas to
35 square kilometers.[55] The
planned clearance of 9.9 square kilometers in 2004 is a reduction from the 20
square kilometers announced in February 2004, and less than was planned for
clearance in 2003 (16.3 square kilometers, later reduced to 15.12 square
kilometers). But it is more than was actually cleared in 2003 (6.4 square
kilometers). The reduction in planned clearance in 2004 was attributed to
funding uncertainties by commercial organizations (responsible for 43 percent of
the plan) and more conservative
planning.[56]
During 2003, BHMAC used the resources of 37 accredited demining
organizations, which is a decrease of three organizations from 2002. This
includes the three Entity Armed Forces and three Civil Protection agencies, 14
NGOs and 17 commercial companies. A total of 1,791 demining licenses were
issued to individuals. There were 91 accredited mine detecting dog (MDD) teams,
an increase of five from 2002. There were 42 accredited machines in use, 16 of
which could also be used in technical survey operations. There were 991
detectors available for use. BHMAC employed 39 qualified surveyors divided into
19 teams.[57]
In 2004 and in previous years BiH has reported that it possesses mine
clearance resources in excess of the funds needed to employ these resources.
With full funding, BiH estimates it could clear about 30 square kilometers every
year, in contrast to the 6.4 square kilometers achieved in 2003. About 80
percent of available deminers will be employed in
2004.[58]
A Mine Detection Dog Center for Southeast Europe was opened in Konjic, south
of Sarajevo, on 14 October 2003. It has US Department of State funding for
three years, after which responsibility will pass to the BiH Council of
Ministers. BHMAC foresees that the Center will make up the shortfall between
present capacity and potential use of mine detecting
dogs.[59]
SFOR has mine-related duties in its responsibility for the inspection of
weapons storage sites, collection of weapons in Operation Harvest, and technical
support for demining by the Entity armies (this includes providing and
maintaining equipment, and accident insurance for
deminers).[60] SFOR monitors
ensure that international standards are met for all types of demining. They
have the power to close a minefield if not satisfied. SFOR reports that, on the
whole, the armies of BiH are good at manual demining, but continue to have some
difficulty integrating machines and mine detecting dogs into a comprehensive
process. Army productivity is improving, and there is now a good safety
record.[61]
In 2003, UNDP continued to assist BiH in its planning and coordination of
mine action. Previous assistance included developing the mine action strategy,
the Demining Law in 2001–2002, and increasing the BiH government’s
funding of mine action.[62] In
1997, UNDP set up its Trust Fund for Mine Clearance in Bosnia and Herzegovina to
coordinate all donor activities and encourage resource mobilization. Support to
the mine action centers started in
1998.[63]
In 2004, UNDP announced a new, five-year, $11.8 million Integrated Mine
Action Program for BiH. The program aims to establish “a clear link
between mine clearance priorities and national/local long-term economic
development” and reverse the “slowing rates of mine clearance that
have been witnessed as a result of shortfalls in donor funding.” The
program has three components: capacity-building which is intended to allow the
BiH government take on full ownership of mine action within 18 months; clearance
of 4 square kilometers of mined land selected for its value economically and to
returnees; and, transformation of the BiH armed forces into the long-term,
indigenous capacity needed to “undertake mine action in a consistent
manner.” The capacity-building component will include establishing a
government office for tendering mine clearance contracts, with the cooperation
of the International Trust Fund. Five-year budgeting includes: 2004:
$4,722,288; 2005: $1,776,060; 2006: $1,776,060; 2007: $1,776,060; 2008:
$1,776,060.[64]
The “Development Strategy for BiH – PRSP [Poverty Reduction
Strategy Paper]” was published on 11 December 2003, covering 12 sectors
including demining, education, health and social assistance. It stressed that
demining activities must take the highest priority in order to accelerate the
normalization of life for the whole country. It identifies the main problems as
an unsystematic approach, poor liaison with other sectors, poor response and
lack of pro-activity from authorities at all levels, institutionalization and
legislation, and financing difficulties. The PRSP Strategy sets goals to meet
the target of a BiH “free of the impact of mines” by 2010, including
demining of all priority 1 land and marking of all priority 2
land.[65]
Survey and Marking
In 2003, BHMAC carried out general survey on 75.24 square kilometers of land,
a similar amount to 2002, but far below the plan to survey 123.3 square
kilometers.[66] This brings the
total area surveyed since 1998 to 365 square kilometers. In addition, in 2003,
15.88 square kilometers were resurveyed, less than half the total in 2002 (32.71
square kilometers). Some of the re-survey teams were directed to minefield
marking and mine risk education. The total reduced area returned to the
population in 2003 was 57,433 square
kilometers.[67]
“Systematic survey” was started by BHMAC in the Federation in
2001, to establish the location, size and boundaries of mine contaminated areas,
level of risk and impact on the population. It reduced the suspected area by 50
percent. Systematic survey was started in Republika Srpska in January
2003.[69]
BHMAC has not reported the total area subjected to technical survey in 2003.
It reports that technical survey identified 218,000 square meters with “no
obvious risk,” but does not report the area identified as in need of
clearance. BHMAC reports that there were difficulties in conducting technical
survey in 2003, caused by too few appropriate machines and lack of interest by
donors to conduct this type of suspect area
reduction.[70] BHMAC takes the
view that technical survey should be the dominant element, as it helps in
clearing suspected land more
quickly.[71]
Reduction of mine-suspected area in 2003 (square
kilometers)[72]
No obvious risk area reduced by general survey
No obvious risk area reduced by technical survey
Reduction of suspected risk area through clearance
Total area returned to population in 2003
Federation BiH
40.768
0.109
4.430
45.307
Republika Srpska
9.718
0.005
1.446
11.169
Brcko District
0.319
0.104
0.534
0.957
Total BiH
50.805
0.218
6.410
57.433
Percentage of area
88.45
0.37
11.16
100
From January to March 2004, BHMAC survey teams conducted general survey on
303 locations with a total suspect area of 12,775,821 square meters. As a
result, 268 locations or 10,370,000 square meters were deemed to be risk areas
while 35 of the locations (2,405,821 square meters) were without risk and
returned to the local community. In the same period, 210 projects were opened
for technical survey covering an area of 14,633,472 square
meters.[73]
General survey has been carried out in BiH by the Entity Mine Action Centers
and BHMAC since 1998. Technical survey data has been reported since 2000. In
previous years, mine clearance has been prioritized on humanitarian and economic
factors, which produced three categories of mine-affected
area.[74]
The Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) was completed in December 2003. The LIS
started in October 2002, with the aim of providing quantifiable, standardized
data on the impact of mines and unexploded ordnance on communities. Handicap
International carried out the survey, supervised by the Survey Action Center.
It was funded by the US State Department, Canada and the European Commission.
The survey identified 1,366 municipalities as being mine-affected out of the
total 2,935 municipalities surveyed, of which 154 were categorized as high
impact, 696 as moderate impact, and 516 as low impact. More than 1.3 million
people are affected by mines (100,000 in high impact areas, 550,000 in moderate
impact and 650,000 people in low impact areas). A total of 2,134 areas of
suspected mine/UXO contamination were
identified.[75]
The LIS results were entered on the Information Management System for Mine
Action (IMSMA) database. BHMAC is testing the value of IMSMA in one regional
office to assess how it will work on the national level. BHMAC will use the
survey results for future prioritization of mine
action.[76]
The permanent marking and fencing of risk areas was initiated by BHMAC in
2002, due to the increased return of refugees. In 2003, 11,063 meters of
fencing was put in place (34 percent of what was planned, but an increase from
2002), with 91 marking signs. Some municipalities allocated funds for this
purpose in 2002 and 2003.[77]
BHMAC commented that UNDP funding provided the material for permanent marking,
but municipalities were supposed to provide the people to carry out the marking.
Due to financial problems at municipality level, insufficient numbers of staff
were employed in 2003.[78] In
January–March 2004, BHMAC survey teams put in place 1,184 emergency
warning signs.[79]
Alleged lack of minefield marking was the basis of a criminal case started in
August 2002 against the former director of the Federation Mine Action Center and
the former Head of Civil Protection for Novo Sarajevo municipality. Three
children died on 10 April 2000 while playing in an inadequately marked mined
area. On 19 April 2004, charges against the two defendants were
dismissed.[80]
Mine Clearance
The Mine Ban Treaty requires that Bosnia and Herzegovina clear all mined
areas as soon as possible, but not later than March 2009.
In 2003, 6,411,947 square meters of land were cleared, which is an increase
from 2002 (6,327,092 square meters) but less than half the planned clearance of
15,210,000 square meters.[81]
The BHMAC database records clearance of 1,495 antipersonnel mines (1,532 in
2002), 156 antivehicle mines (251 in 2002), and 1,066 UXO (1,575 in
2002).[82]
The types of land cleared in 2003 were primarily infrastructure (29 percent),
land for repatriation of refugees (28 percent), and agriculture (27
percent).[84] This follows a
change in emphasis in 2002; previously, the land prioritized for clearance was
housing and electricity lines and substations.
Quality assurance in 2003 involved 3,412 inspections on 292 demining sites.
For the 243 sites where work was completed, certificates were
issued.[85]
BHMAC reported that from 1996, when official mine clearance started, through
2003, 45 square kilometers of land were
cleared.[86] From 1999 to 2003,
32 square kilometers of land were cleared.
A total of 15,467 mines of all types have been found in this five-year period
(1999: 2,989 antipersonnel mines, 134 antivehicle mines, 1,314 UXO; 2000: 5,797
mines and 3,408 UXO; 2001: 3,113 mines and 2,675 UXO; 2002: 1,532 antipersonnel
mines, 251 antivehicle mines, 1,575 UXO; 2003: 1,495 antipersonnel mines, 156
antivehicle mines, 1,066
UXO).[88]
In the Federation entity, 4,430,150 square meters were cleared in 2003 (47
percent of plan), in Republika Srpska 1,446,822 square meters were cleared (31
percent of plan), and in Brcko District 534,975 square meters were cleared (49
percent of plan). Brcko District does not have Entity armed forces to provide
demining capacity, but has its own Civil Protection demining
team.[89]
In the first three months of 2004, the area cleared amounted to 259,137
square meters. The types of land cleared were predominantly for repatriation and
agriculture.[90]
Accreditation of mine clearance organizations has been required since 1999.
The number of accredited organizations has not changed significantly, with 38 in
1999 and 37 in 2003. Three categories of organizations are involved:
commercial, NGO and governmental (entity armies and civil protection). The
proportions of land cleared have changed, with commercial organizations
responsible for about 70 percent of clearance in 2000, but only 32 percent in
2003. An increasing proportion of clearance is attributed to NGOs (from 18
percent in 2000 to 37 percent in 2003) and governmental organizations (from ten
percent in 2000 to 31 percent in
2003).[91]
The average cost of demining in 2003 was KM3.45
($2)[92] per square meter for
NGOs, KM2.48 ($1.44) for commercial companies, and KM4.31 ($2.5) for government
organizations (Entity Armies and Civil
Protection).[93] SFOR estimated
the cost of military demining operations as KM3.09 ($1.79) per square meter.
A study of mine clearance by military forces highlights the much lower
salaries and less adequate training of entity armies in BiH, compared with
commercial companies and NGOs. The cost of demining by the entity armies is
significantly higher. With 450 personnel, the entity army demining units have
almost 40 percent of the total manpower in this sector, but accounted only for
24 percent of the total area cleared in the years up to 2002. However, the
military are often involved with clearing the most difficult
terrain.[94]
NGOs and Commercial Demining Companies
In 2003, NGOs cleared 2,396,798 square meters (65 percent of plan).
Commercial companies cleared 2,092,762 square meters (20 percent of plan). The
low clearance figure for the commercial companies was due to lack of funding and
the funding preferences of donors, according to
BHMAC.[95]
Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) has carried out mine/UXO clearance and
other mine action projects in BiH since 1996. In 2003, NPA cleared 356,903
square meters and found 52 antipersonnel mines and 132 UXO. Clearance of
450,000 square meters was
planned,[96] but cuts in
international funding reduced NPA staff from 157 to 131. NPA worked on seven
sites in Sarajevo canton, one site in Brcko District and one in Visoko. Six of
the projects were completed. Four machines were used in 2003, which carried out
ground preparation of 263,520 square meters. Manual teams cleared 308,095 square
meters, destroying 49 antipersonnel mines and 121 UXO. The one Mine Detection
Dog team (12 dogs and handlers) cleared 48,808 square meters, finding three
antipersonnel mines and 11 items of UXO. The one explosive ordnance disposal
(EOD) team disposed of 185 antipersonnel mines, 19 antivehicle mines, and 12,329
other explosive items.[97] All
NPA projects include a task impact assessment. NPA works closely with the Civil
Protection and SFOR.
During 2003, the Italian NGO Intersos completed clearance operations in the
Famos industrial complex in Sarajevo and other priority tasks in the
municipality of Illidza. The project aimed to support the return of refugees
through the social and economic stabilization of the area. A total of 96,000
square meters was cleared in 2003. Intersos had one Italian member of staff and
30 local people working on the project. In April 2004, Intersos completed
clearance of 40,000 square meters of land in a municipal park in Sarajevo near
one of the most important orthopedic rehabilitation centers, which was heavily
mined in 1992–1995.[98]
The German NGO Help has been operating in BiH since 1996. The total area
cleared from November 1998 to December 2003 was 1,770,699 square meters. This
includes 332,000 square meters of agricultural land in Hasici, which was checked
and cleared with the mechanical ground preparation machine, Mine Wolf, in 2003.
This field-testing of the German-Swiss Mine Wolf machine was funded by the
German Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.[99]
The Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Center reported that in 2003 IMI
cleared 55,351 square meters on which it located five antipersonnel mines (and
no other mines or UXO), in three projects. In 2002, IMI cleared 169,665 square
meters in four projects in Brcko
District.[100]
Bosnian NGOs involved in mine clearance in 2003 included STOP Mines, APM, and
UG ZOM. STOP Mines carried out five projects in 2003, clearing a total of
328,115 square meters.[101] APM
cleared 194,929 square meters in seven
projects.[102] UG ZOM demined
443,979 square meters in eight
projects.[103]
In 2003, NGOs and commercial companies funded by the International Trust Fund
for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF) were responsible for clearing
3,599,266 square meters of land in
BiH.[104]
Entity Armies and Civil Protection
In 2003, demining teams of the Entity Armed forces cleared 1,314,610 square
meters or 74 percent of plan, compared with 1,341,707 square meters or 24
percent of plan in 2002.[105]
In 2003, 338 antipersonnel mines, 10 antivehicle mines and 227 UXO were found.
SFOR notes that failure to reach the planned amount of clearance was due in part
to problems with the Bozena machines, the mine detecting dogs, and insurance;
moreover, in general, the teams are not adequately
equipped.[106] When the two
Entity armies are merged, as was planned for 2004, the number of demining teams
will be reduced from 43 to 30. Despite this reduction, SFOR anticipates greater
productivity due to pooling of resources and harmonization of working
practices.[107]
Entity Civil Protection demining teams cleared 607,777 square meters or 114
percent of plan in 2003, which was less than in 2002 (679,162 square meters). A
total of 185 antipersonnel mines, two antivehicle mines and 387 UXO were
found.[108] Commenting on the
Civil Protection ability to exceed clearance targets in recent years, BHMAC said
that the targets are set
conservatively.[109] Republika
Srbska Civil Protection teams cleared and technically surveyed 247,460 square
meters, Federation teams cleared and technically surveyed 348,372 square meters,
and in Brcko Civil Protection cleared 11,944 square
meters.[110]
The Federation Civil Protection has 114 deminers in 13 teams, and the RS has
58 deminers in six teams plus an EOD team. Both entities have ground
preparation machines and mine detecting
dogs.[111] Civil Protection
teams were trained and equipped by two commercial companies and the German NGO
HELP under various programs from 1996 to February 2003, with EU and Japanese
funding.[112]
Several BiH companies produce equipment used in mine clearance. The
Famos-Koran company in Pale (RS) has produced two mine clearance vehicles: the
FML 100 and FML 200. Ten machines have been produced – eight for use in
BiH, one for Armenia and one for Albania. Average daily productivity of the
machines is said to be 4,000–8,000 square meters depending on the type of
soil and vegetation.[113] The
TRZ company in Hadzici produces protective clothing for use by
deminers.[114]
Mine Risk Education
BHMAC reported that in 2003 it started to develop a national policy on Mine
Risk Education (MRE), and drafted national MRE standards, based on the
international standards, in order to develop an accreditation system. It
continued with the work, which started in October 2002, of developing
coordination, quality assurance/monitoring, and integration of MRE with other
sectors of mine action.[115]
Casualty statistics indicate that the most at-risk group is male local residents
in mine-affected areas involved in farming activities. More than one-third of
all mine victims admit to taking risks consciously. Socio-economic information
from the Landmine Impact Survey will be used to check and revise prioritization
of population groups for
MRE.[116]
A total of 461 communities (34 percent of all mine-affected communities)
reported receiving some form of MRE in the previous two years. The most common
methods were school presentations, posters and signs, and educational brochures.
Radio and television each reached only 3–4 percent of all mine-affected
communities, and performing groups reached less than one
percent.[117]
Organizations carrying out mine risk education in BiH during 2003 include the
entity/cantonal ministries of education, BHMAC, Civil Protection, SFOR, UNICEF,
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the BiH Red Cross Society,
the local NGO Genesis, and international NGOs, including PRONI and the Spirit of
Soccer. Norwegian People's Aid also carries out MRE as part of its mine
clearance operations.[118]
BHMAC reported that 113,892 people received mine risk education during 2003,
from the activities of the BiH Red Cross Society (RS: 33,473, FBiH: 45,047),
Genesis (17,714), PRONI (3,520), Spirit of Soccer (7,966), NPA (165), Drina
Srebrenica (190), and
BHMAC(5,817).[119]
Ministries of Education in both entities provide MRE in the school system for
pupils aged seven to 17 years. From two to six hours is spent on the topic per
class each year, at the teacher’s discretion. MRE is a mandatory subject
in primary schools in five of the ten Federation cantons, and in Brcko District.
In Republika Srpska, it will be a mandatory subject in secondary schools during
the 2004–2005 school
year.[120]
UNICEF provided material or financial support for MRE to BHMAC, the
ministries of education, Genesis and PRONI. In 2004, support will also be given
to Intersos and the Civil Protection
agencies.[121] UNICEF assisted
the ministries of education with school-based MRE and disability awareness for
young children through interactive and participatory puppet shows and workshops.
Discussion groups started with adults but later focused on schoolteachers, who
were also given training, supported by UNICEF, in integrating MRE into core
education subjects.
BHMAC survey and inspection teams were also engaged in giving MRE in
high-risk areas. MRE was directed primarily towards adults and
returnees.[122] A series of
five-day trainings were given to people who would be conducting MRE in local
communities, with a total of 47 participants including 14 SFOR interpreters.
During 2003, BHMAC distributed 8,000 MRE notebooks donated by SFOR, calendars
prepared in co-operation with UNICEF, and 800 copies of two bulletins. BHMAC
also undertook activities to raise the national and international profile of the
mine issue.
SFOR provides MRE to its own troops, the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, EU Police Monitors and embassy staff. It does not have
an MRE program for the civilian population, but accompanies Entity army deminers
who carry out some MRE during the winter independent of BHMAC. Since 1999, SFOR
has contracted the Moving Theatre (Pokretno Pozoriste), a Sarajevo-based NGO, to
run a performance-based MRE program aimed at primary school children. From
1999–May 2004, Moving Theatre undertook 1,758 MRE theatre
shows.[123] SFOR interpreters
who accompany the SFOR teams monitoring mine clearance were trained in September
2003 to be able to conduct MRE in the winter months, when demining has finished.
In June 2003, SFOR’s Mine Information Coordination Cell took part in a
three-day BHMAC workshop on MRE. The Cell coordinates all SFOR support to MRE
program in BiH.[124]
Genesis has provided MRE to over 60,000 children in the five years up to
December 2003. In the first half of 2003, over 6,500 children aged five to 12
years in 72 educational establishments in eastern Republika Srpska were reached.
There were also MRE sessions for adolescents and adults, and workshops involving
330 teachers were held to initiate community-based MRE. The method of teaching
was participatory action mapping, which was reported to be very successful.
Additionally, 600 adults took part in discussions on the impact of mines on
their lives, and 3,000 adolescents and 1,200 adults received indirect MRE
through pamphlets and brochures. In the second half of 2003, the project
“From puppets to empowerment” was initiated in 25 primary schools in
both entities. This included developing an integrated peer education approach
through selected schools, with training of teachers and development of MRE kits
for teachers for future self-sustainable MRE in schools. In total, 13,000
children benefited from this pilot project in 2003. During the Landmine Monitor
global research meeting in Sarajevo in May 2004, Genesis gave an MRE
presentation for the researchers in front of a class of
children.[125]
PRONI is a member of the committee planning MRE strategy that BHMAC hosts.
Since June 2003, PRONI has implemented a 12-month MRE project in northeast
Bosnia, focused on communities heavily contaminated with mines and UXO. By
April 2004, 4,306 residents in 36 communities had received MRE via 12,000
brochures and leaflets distributed, and a message broadcast by three local
television stations for a month. Three local volunteers became certified MRE
instructors, and five open meetings were held to evaluate the project. PRONI
also carried out MRE training for 18 SFOR soldiers in Brcko District, and SFOR
personnel observed MRE lessons in three communities in Samac municipality,
including the village where five members of a family were killed by a PROM-1
mine while farming their land in March 2003. Following this incident, 155 local
people and 268 children were given MRE. In July 2003, PRONI also implemented
the MRE component of a mine clearance project in the village of Donja Brka in
cooperation with Counterpart International, giving door-to-door presentations to
320 people. In 2004, PRONI started a project to create local MRE capacity in
northeast Bosnia.[126]
The BiH Red Cross Society continued MRE activities in 2003 with additional
efforts to target returnees, in response to an increase in mine casualties in
this group. Over 1,470 MRE presentations and 2,930 group discussions were
organized for some 74,535 participants throughout the country. Other activities
supported by the ICRC and Red Cross Society led to 428 presentations and 1,821
discussions for 26,771 residents, 830 presentations and 539 discussions for
39,489 children and 218 presentations and 573 discussions for 8,275 returnees.
Also, 37,900 people participated in Red Cross-sponsored activities during
community sports, cultural and traditional celebrations. The Red Cross
especially targets the most at-risk group of males aged 19–39 through
programs for farmers, hunters, fishermen, and woodcutters. Specially designed
MRE promotional materials such as work gloves, harvest bags and work caps are
used. MRE quiz competitions for primary school pupils were held in the second
part of 2003, involving 56,336 pupils and with 6,500 pupils in the final
audience. The Red Cross is using the Landmine Impact Survey to review its MRE
program. The 2002 ICRC-commissioned Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP)
survey of 1,546 people, published in June 2003, allowed re-orientation of MRE
activities.[127] The ICRC plans
to hand over complete responsibility for MRE to the BiH Red Cross Society at the
end of 2004.[128]
Spirit of Soccer is a British NGO funded by the ITF to implement a program
aimed at teaching children about mine risks through playing soccer (football).
In 2003, over 3,800 children and their coaches and teachers participated in the
program, which continued until April
2004.[129]
In 2004, Handicap International (HI) received funding of €600,000
($678,900) from Luxembourg for a three-year project to develop sustainable MRE
capacity in BiH.[130] The
German NGO HELP planned a three-year MRE project starting in August 2004,
targeting areas with large numbers of
returnees.[131] The Italian
NGO, Intersos, planned to implement an MRE project aimed at trade union
representatives and workers, funded by UNICEF
($214,879).[132]
In previous years, other organizations carrying out MRE in BiH include the
local NGO, APM (Akcija Protiv Mina), in cooperation with HI, the Mountain Roof
Associations, Medex, and a network of regional
NGOs.[133] Numbers of people
receiving MRE have not been reported consistently in previous years.
Mine Action Funding and Assistance
BHMAC estimated that its survey and clearance targets for 2003 would require
financing of KM64 million ($37.1 million), of which the BiH government and
entities planned to provide KM6.4 million ($3.7
million).[134] In fact,
national sources provided a total of KM12,863,853 ($7.46 million) for mine
action in 2003. The government provided KM2,941,212 for BHMAC salaries;
municipalities and utilities contributed KM9,890,943 for demining and technical
survey, and KM37,700 for minefield
marking.[135] This was an
increase in national funding from KM10,413,563 ($5.06 million) in
2002.[136]
However, BiH remained dependent on international donors for the majority
funding of mine action in 2003, as in previous years. There is no comprehensive
record of international donations to mine action in BiH. The ITF and UNDP were
responsible for nearly $13 million of international funding in 2003 (see below).
According to information provided to Landmine Monitor, in 2003, eleven
governments as well as the European Commission and NATO provided about US$10.4
million for mine action in Bosnia and
Herzegovina.[137]
Austria: €382,842 ($433,186) consisting of €342,842 to the ITF
for mine clearance, and €40,000 to NPA for mine clearance;
Belgium: €26,000 ($29,419) in-kind assistance (four personnel) for
disposal of mine and munition stockpiles;
Canada: C$1,827,772 (US$1,330,618) for UNDP (US$1.09 million), SAC LIS
(US$155,000) and CIDC dog training (US$83,000);
Finland: €170,000 ($188,700) to Finnish Red Cross and ICRC for mine
risk education;
Germany: €1,104,188 ($1,249,389) consisting of €669,502 to the
ITF for mine clearance, €349,686 to HELP for mine clearance, and
€85,000 to UNICEF for mine risk education;
Greece: €1,660,620 ($1,878,991) to the Greek organization
International Mine Initiative;
Italy: €400,000 ($452,600) to UNDP;
Norway: NOK17,856,000 ($2,521,357) to NPA for integrated mine
action;[138]
Sweden: SEK1.9 million ($235,085) to ITF for integrated mine
action;[139]
Switzerland: $120,000 to NPA for integrated mine action;
United States: $5 million in 2002–2003, and $500,000 in 2003 to the
ITF;[140]
European Commission: €1,000,000 ($1,131,500) for mine clearance to aid
the return of refugees and internally displaced persons and for mine clearance
capacity building;[141]
NATO – €300,000 ($339,450) for support to Entity army demining
teams.[142]Some of these
donations were channeled through the ITF, which added matching donations from
the US.
The ITF reported allocating $11,773,900 to mine action in BiH in 2003,
including donations from various BiH
sources.[143] According to
BHMAC, the ITF provided funding totaling
$16,055,638.[144] Some
donations may also have been channeled via the UNDP, which allocated $1,069,122
to BiH in 2003, made up of donations from Canada, the Netherlands, Norway,
Sweden, the UK and the US.[145]
Funding of the BHMAC structure in 2003 totaled KM4,989,511, of which the BiH
government contributed KM2,941,213 with UNDP, ITF, UNICEF and the European
Commission providing the
balance.[146]
For 2004, BHMAC estimated that KM88.26 million ($51.17 million) was required
to carry out its mine action plan for the year, of which the State and Entity
budgets would provide KM13.239 million ($7.675 million) and international donors
would be expected to contribute the balance of KM75.021 million ($43.49
million).[147] In February
2004, BHMAC presented the required funding as some €44 million ($49.786
million) with BiH sources donating €6.6 million and international donors
providing €37.4
million.[148]
In previous years, the BiH and entity governments were reliant to an even
greater extent on international funding of mine action. A feature of the mine
action strategy approved in April 2003 was annual increases in the level of
State and Entity contributions, rising from 5.5 percent in 2002 to 10 percent in
2003, with an increase of 5 percent each subsequent year until 2009 when BiH
would be responsible for 40 percent of mine action funding; in 2010 this would
increase to 70 percent.[149]
BiH informed the intersessional Resource Mobilization Contact Group that it had
provided mine action funding of $25,988 in 2000, $170,641 in 2001, and
$1,328,200 in 2002.[150]
Landmine Monitor has reported mine action funding for Bosnia and Herzegovina
totaling $82 million from 1999-2003: $23 million in 1999, $16.2 million in 2000,
$16.6 million in 2001, $15.8 million in 2002, and $10.4 million in 2003. The UN
Mine Action Service (UNMAS) records that international donors contributed over
$123 million in the period 1995–2003 (1999–2003: $70
million).[151] These totals may
well under-report actual funding. The ITF alone has channeled $53 million to
BiH for mine action in the period
1999–2003.[152] The ITF
started in 1998 as the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims
Assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, before broadening its remit to other
mine-affected countries in the region.
Since 1997/1998, the UNDP has assisted in coordinating donor activities and
provided financial and in-kind support to the State and Entity mine action
centers, in recognition of the weak institutional and financial structure of
mine action in BiH. In 2001, there was a severe funding crisis, in part due to
lack of donor confidence. In March 2001, UNDP warned that lack of funding would
close the mine action structure unless a shortfall of $2.3 million was found.
BHMAC reduced staff and demining activities before increased international
donations were secured in
2002.[153] In early 2003, the
government failed to pay BHMAC salaries and asked the Board of Donors to cover
this cost, diverting funds temporarily from mine action
operations.[154]
At the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September 2003, the cost of making
BiH free from the effect of mines by 2010 was set at $334
million.[155] BHMAC’s
2010 strategy estimated the cost as KM634 million, including operations in
2003.[156]
In 2003, landmine and UXO incidents killed 23 people and injured 31 others,
including nine children in BiH, representing a continuing downward trend from 72
new casualties in 2002. The mine incident rate has fallen from an average of 52
casualties per month in 1996, to eight per month in 1999, to 4.5 per month in
2003, to three per month in the first half of 2004. Of the new casualties in
2003, all 54 were civilians; 87 percent were males. Mines were the cause of 30
casualties, 13 were caused by UXO, four by improvised explosive devices, while
the cause of seven casualties was unknown.
New mine/UXO casualties continue to be reported in 2004, with six civilians
killed and 12 injured as of 1 July. In addition, on 10 July, two military
deminers were killed and two others seriously injured while clearing mines near
Travnik.[158] On 19 July, one
man was killed and another was injured while working in a field near Agici,
north of Sarajevo.[159] On 15
August, a woman was killed and two men injured by a mine while collecting herbs
near Demirovac in central
Bosnia.[160]
Since 1996, the ICRC and the BiH Red Cross Society network throughout the
country have collected mine casualty data and provided up-to-date information on
landmine and UXO incidents. As of 1 July 2004, the ICRC/RCS database contained
information on 4,843 individuals killed or injured by landmines or UXO. Data on
mine casualties during the war years, 1992 to 1995, is included in the database;
however, it has not been possible to validate this data and it is likely to be
incomplete.[161]
Landmine/UXO Casualties – 1992 to 1 July 2004
Year
No. of Casualties
Total
Killed
Injured
1992–1995
3,346
525
2,821
1996
632
110
522
1997
290
88
202
1998
149
60
89
1999
95
38
57
2000
100
35
65
2001
87
32
55
2002
72
26
46
2003
54
23
31
2004 (through 1 July 2004)
18
6
12
Post-War Total
1,497
418
1,079
Total
4,843
943
3,900
The Landmine Impact Survey reports significantly higher casualty figures for
the period 1996 to 2001, recording 2,171 mine/UXO casualties as compared to
1,353 recorded in the ICRC database for the same
period.[162]
The ICRC statistics indicate that local residents of mine-affected areas,
rather than internally displaced persons or returning refugees, suffer the
highest number of casualties. Since 1996, 71 percent of mine/UXO casualties
were local residents. The population is, in many cases, aware of the existence
of mines and the danger they pose, but do not always practice safe behavior,
mainly due to the economic necessity of cultivating the land, although other
factors also come into play. An ICRC survey conducted in 2002 indicated that 84
percent of foresters/wood collectors and 55 percent of returnees would continue
carrying out dangerous activities for work or survival, despite knowing the
risks.[163] Of the total
casualties reported in 2003, 44 percent had knowledge they were entering an
at-risk area. According to the LIS, the typical profile of a mine casualty in
BiH is a working-age male killed or injured while collecting wood, farming, or
herding his animals.[164]
From 1996 to the end of 2003, of the 1,479 mine/UXO casualties, 90 percent
were civilians; 89 percent were males, and 40 percent were aged between 19 and
39 years. Children under the age of 18 accounted for an average of 21 percent
of new casualties since 1996; however, this number dropped to 17 percent in
2003. Landmines were the cause of around 62 percent of
casualties.[165]
An analysis of type of injuries sustained indicates that from 1992 to July
2004, there were 2,285 amputations, 415 eye injuries sustained, and 2,743 cases
of fragmentation wounds to the lower or upper body. These figures do not match
the total number of injured because some individuals suffered more than one type
of injury.
Survivor Assistance
The governments of FBiH and RS, the international community, and local NGOs
continue to work toward alleviating the medical and socio-economic obstacles
faced by landmine survivors. However, until 2003 no overall coordination
mechanism existed. Each entity has responsibility for the health and social
welfare of its population, with further division of responsibilities between the
cantons in FBiH. In the past, it was reported that the needs of mine survivors
were neglected, their problems were not tackled in a systematic and serious way,
and that assistance programs were conducted in isolation, and coordination
occurred only on a bilateral basis, which often led to duplication of
efforts.[166]
BiH continues to need international assistance and cooperation in the
healthcare sector.[167] Between
35 and 50 percent of the health infrastructure was destroyed during the war. In
2001, it was reported that the healthcare infrastructure was inadequate to meet
the needs of the population, due in part to a lack of facilities, equipment,
medication and essential
funds.[168]
BiH has four university clinical centers, in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar
and Tuzla, a network of general hospitals, district hospitals, and a public
health center in every municipality. First-aid posts are located in all health
centers throughout the country, but there is a lack of well-equipped emergency
transport.[169] In the past, it
reportedly could take up to three hours for an emergency vehicle to arrive on
site after receiving a
call.[170]
Between 1998 and 2002, the ICRC worked with local communities to improve the
standard of primary healthcare as part of a “healthy cities”
program, which included refurbishment of the physical
infrastructure.[171] In
addition, the World Bank War Victims Rehabilitation Project, completed in
December 1999 at a cost of $30 million, supported improvements in the
availability and quality of orthopedic and reconstructive surgical services in
three clinical centers and four general hospitals, and promoted a Community
Based Rehabilitation (CBR)
approach.[172] The CBR concept
has met with partial success, including the establishment of an
interdisciplinary team approach to rehabilitation; however, some believe full
success will require a change in societal attitudes to persons with
disabilities, reform of the health sector, and ongoing training of healthcare
professionals and
beneficiaries.[173]
In FBiH, there are 38 CBR centers for physical rehabilitation located
throughout the Federation, funded through the FBiH Medical Fund. The medical
personnel in the centers are reportedly highly qualified. Victims of the war,
including mine survivors, are treated free of
charge.[174] There are 22 CBR
centers in RS.[175] Some
hospitals, public health centers, and private centers or spas also provide
physical therapy and
rehabilitation.[176]
In late August 2002, a joint Canadian/Japanese project to refurbish, supply
with equipment and train the staff of 16 CBR centers in RS, and build and equip
one new center commenced. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
contributed about $955,000 to the project, while the Japanese International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) contribution will be approximately $8 million.
Reconstruction of the CBR centers began in January 2003 and is due for
completion by December
2004.[177]
In BiH, there are 13 public orthopedic workshops, eight in FBiH (Sarajevo,
Cazin, Fojnica, Livno, Mostar, Travnik, Tuzla and Zenica), four in RS (Banja
Luka, Bjeljina, Prijedor and Zvornik), and one in Brcko district, and 14 private
workshops. However, the standards of facilities and quality of care is said to
vary dramatically across BiH. There are between 60 and 70 orthopedic
technicians in BiH, but very few have received training to an international
standard.[178] The average
distance between amputees and a limb-fitting center is 100 to 150
kilometers.[179] Since 2001,
all the prosthetic centers use imported prosthetic components of good quality
from Otto Bock, one of the leading producers of orthopedic material in the
world. The high cost of prostheses and other assistive devices is said to limit
the government’s ability to meet the needs of mine survivors and other
amputees.[180]
State-run social welfare centers are located in each municipality and can
assist landmine survivors at the local level. However, psychosocial support in
BiH is reportedly inadequate and one of the main issues is the lack of
understanding among the general population of the rights and needs of persons
with disabilities. Thirty-eight CBR centers are located throughout the
Federation for psychosocial rehabilitation, funded through the FBiH Medical
Fund. Victims of the war, including mine survivors, are treated free of
charge.[181]
The ITF has provided US$5,387,264 for mine victim assistance in BiH since
1998: $989,500 in 2003; $661,627 in 2002; $656,850 in 2001; $1,419,814 in 2000;
and $1,659,473 in
1998/1999.[182] Donors included
Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Norway, Slovenia, and the United States.
Since 1998, 694 mine survivors have been fitted with prostheses and
rehabilitated with funding provided by the ITF: 567 at the Institute for
Rehabilitation in Slovenia, including 63 in 2003, and 127 at facilities in BiH
in 1999 and 2000.[183] The ITF
is also funding a project with Adopt-A-Minefield and Elegant Designs and
Solutions for the development of low-cost high quality prostheses to be
distributed in rehabilitation centers in RS. Successful mechanical trials of
the limb have been carried out at Queen’s University in
Canada.[184]
Since 2002, Iceland has been donating prosthetic devices to orthopedic
centers in Sarajevo, Mostar and Tuzla; 200 were sent in
2004.[185] In early 2004, in a
partnership with the Wheelchair Foundation and the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints, 50 wheelchairs were distributed to war-disabled, with another
450 available for distribution through the BiH Red Cross
network.[186]
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has been active in BiH since 1998 and runs
an assistance program for children injured during and after the war, and another
program for elderly mine survivors. Based in Sarajevo, the program for children
provides medical assistance, rehabilitation including support to obtain
prostheses and assistive devices, educational assistance through scholarships,
summer camps, and material, psychosocial and legal support. JRS has 330 young
mine/UXO survivors registered in their
database.[187] In 2003, 179
children, including 75 mine survivors, benefited from the program; 186 children
were assisted in 2002, and 173 in 2001. The program for elderly mine survivors,
covering the Sarajevo canton, Middle Bosnia, Una Sana and Banja Luka region,
assisted 125 people in 2003, including 26 mine survivors, providing medicines,
prostheses, rehabilitation treatments and home visits; 86 people were assisted
in 2002, and 32 in 2001. JRS also has a computer club and a building renovation
program to assist mine survivors and other people with a disability adapt their
homes. In 2003, 317 families benefited from the building renovation program,
including at least one mine survivor. The programs have been supported by
RENOVABIS (Germany), CORDAID, JRS funds, and also UNICEF since March 2003. JRS
is assisting the working group on the development of the mine victim assistance
strategy in BiH.[188]
Landmine Survivors Network (LSN) has been active in BiH since 1997. By 2003,
its program had expanded to 12 heavily mine-affected regions of the country:
Sarajevo, Tuzla, Doboj, Doboj East, Banja Luka, Mostar, Bugojno, Trebinje,
Bijeljina, Velika Kladusa, and Bihac, and Gorazde (started January 2003). LSN
community-based outreach workers, who are amputees themselves, work with
individual survivors to assess their needs, offer psychological and social
support, and educate their families about the effects of limb loss. LSN assists
survivors in accessing services that provide mobility devices, health services,
or vocational training. By January 2004, LSN had interviewed 1,416 survivors;
of those about 35 percent no longer require direct assistance. If no such
services exist, LSN sometimes intervenes to provide direct assistance, including
covering the cost of prostheses, house repairs, and emergency food aid. In
2003, 312 people received direct assistance, including 280 mine survivors; 242
people were assisted in 2002. In addition, LSN conducted 6,107 house visits,
interviewed 213 mine survivors, made first contact with 221 survivors, and paid
257 hospital visits in 2003. LSN also establishes social support groups and
tracks survivors’ progress toward recovery and reintegration. In 2003,
LSN organized a number of group art and handcraft exhibitions in which 30
landmine survivors exhibited their work. It released and distributed a revised
national directory of organizations providing care and rehabilitation services
in BiH.
In 2001-2002, the Rotary Club of Sarajevo sponsored a project, with the
Rotary Foundation and the German Rotary Club of Rottaler-Baderdreieck, to
provide prostheses and trauma therapy to child landmine survivors. Over 15
months, the $60,900 project provided 23 children with artificial limbs, and 17
others with rehabilitation services. An additional 109 children were identified,
medically assessed, and recommended for
assistance.[189]
According to statistics from the ICRC, 415 people suffered eye injuries in
landmine incidents. The Banja Luka Association for the Blind’s membership
includes 57 mine/UXO survivors. However, it would appear that little is being
done to address the needs of visually-impaired survivors. In 2001, it was
reported that there are only two guide dogs in
BiH.[190]
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been working in BiH since 1992
and conducts programs for persons with disabilities, including mine survivors,
in Konjic, Prozor, Banja Luka, Tuzla and Sarajevo. In Banja Luka, Tuzla and
Sarajevo, the IRC program focused on raising awareness of issues relating to
disability by conducting a mass media campaign, organizing seminars, and
encouraging mine survivors to participate in sports events. In September 2002,
the program in Banja Luka closed due to a lack of funding. In a separate
project in Banja Luka, the IRC is working on the removal of physical barriers to
improve access and mobility for persons with disabilities. The project is
funded by the US Department of
Agriculture.[191]
The IRC is also working with the Center for Integration of Persons with
Disabilities (CIOO) in Tuzla, started in 1998, to raise awareness and advocate
for the rights of all persons with
disabilities.[192] Another
Tuzla-based local NGO advocating for the rights of people with disabilities is
the Information Center for Disabled People “Lotos.”
Although not directly targeted at mine survivors, Handicap International is
implementing the SHARE-SEE Program in BiH; Self Help and Advocacy for Rights and
Equal Opportunities in South East Europe. The program is aimed at raising
awareness, strengthening disability organizations, and promoting equal
opportunities and the full participation of persons with disabilities in the
community. The project is funded by Handicap International and the US
Department of State through the
ITF.[193]
Queen’s University International Center for the Advancement of
Community Based Rehabilitation (ICACBR) had a project, which ended in October
2002, that supported 12 peer counseling groups in BiH linked to existing CBR
centers. The project focused on training group leaders and local health
professionals on issues ranging from personal counseling and rehabilitation
support services, community and family interactions, and self-employment, to the
development of sustainable NGO initiatives and economic reintegration of
landmine survivors, and other persons with disabilities, into society. In 2002,
the program, funded by CIDA, benefited around 1,000 individuals, including about
300 mine survivors. Since the project ended some of the beneficiaries have
established NGOs or small businesses, or merged their activities into the work
of other organizations.[194]
The NGO, Hope 87, is running two programs for mine survivors, the
“Medical and Psychosocial Rehabilitation of Mine Victims in
Sarajevo” and the “Rehabilitation and Social Integration of Young
People in Sarajevo,” which is due to end in 2004. Hope 87 provides
medical treatment at an out-patient clinic, psychosocial support and vocational
training in computer skills and languages for about 200 mine survivors and other
victims of the war. The programs are funded by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the Japan International Cooperation
Agency.[195] Hope 87 has also
established a database of about 1,150
amputees.[196]
In December 2003, the NGO, Udruzenje Amputiraca (UDAS), based in Banja Luka,
began a program in RS that includes data collection, facilitating access to
prostheses and rehabilitation treatment, psychosocial support, and economic
reintegration. In 2003, 44 mine survivors were assisted, including eight
referred for prostheses, 20 for crutches, and 12 assisted with house renovation
to improve access. UDAS cooperates with LSN and Handicap International and is
supported by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. The main source of
funding is the Banja Luka city
council.[197]
The Canadian-based International Children’s Institute, in cooperation
with the Ministries of Health and Education, is developing a program to provide
psychosocial support to children, and their families, while they are undergoing
medical interventions and rehabilitation following a landmine explosion or other
traumatic injury.[198]
In FBiH, there are about 50 sports clubs for people with disabilities,
including three with women’s teams in Tuzla, Sarajevo and Zenica. There
are 18 sitting volleyball clubs, seven men’s wheelchair basketball clubs
and one women’s club. FBiH also has three athletic clubs for the disabled
and several small football
clubs.[199] The Association for
Sport and Recreation of Invalids in BiH provides facilities in Sarajevo, Tuzla,
Gorazde, Zenica, Una Sana, and Middle Bosnia. Around 10,000 people benefit from
the programs, including many mine survivors. Teams have enjoyed international
success, including 1st place in sitting volleyball at the World Championships,
and 2nd at the Paralympic Games in Sydney in
2000.[200] BiH will participate
in the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. Eight team members are mine/UXO
survivors and will compete in swimming, athletics or sitting
volleyball.[201] In 2003, the
FBiH government donated KM40,000 ($23,188) to the Association for Sports and
Recreation of Invalids in
BiH.[202]
Before 2000, there were no organized sporting activities for people with a
disability in RS. Now there are around 20 sports associations and clubs,
including seven sitting volleyball teams and two wheelchair basketball teams.
In 2003 there were chess, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair volleyball
tournaments. In RS, the government supports all associations for persons with
disabilities according to the Law regulating sport, which stipulates that
Municipalities are obliged to support disabled sporting associations from their
budget. The RS Secretariat for Sport and Youth has a focal person to promote
the issue of sports for people with disabilities. In 2003, the RS government
allocated KM75,000 ($43,478) to sports for the disabled, the same amount as in
2002.[203] The main problem
faced in both FBiH and RS is the lack of funding to provide suitable facilities
and to support
activities.[204]
No State-run programs for vocational training have been identified; such
programs are implemented through NGOs working with persons with disabilities.
High unemployment in BiH has exacerbated the problem of economic reintegration
for mine survivors and other persons with disabilities. It is acknowledged that
more attention is needed in the area of vocational
training.[205] LSN statistics
reveal that 31 percent of mine survivors regard the lack of employment
opportunities and economic reintegration as their main concern, followed by 24
percent who consider the lack of suitable housing as their main
concern.[206]
In Konjic and Prozor, the IRC is working with disability associations
providing advice and training on agricultural production, including bee-keeping,
cow farming, sheep farming, and land cultivation. In 2002, the program directly
assisted 18 disabled persons, including four landmine survivors. The IRC also
organized two business management skills workshops for 18 mine survivors. Six
other skills retraining courses were organized for 24 mine survivors, who, with
assistance from LSN, are now
self-employed.[207]
In February 2003, Adopt-A-Minefield, together with its implementing partner
STOP Mines, started a three-year income-generation project, “May Life be
Sweet,” in ten municipalities of RS. Ten landmine survivors have been
trained as bee-keepers and provided with beehives and equipment which will
enable them to earn an income from the sale of the honey produced. The project
will become self-sustaining through a Common Honey Fund. The program is
initially planned to run until September 2005 with a budget of KM45,000
($26,087) provided by the Annenberg Foundation and STOP
Mines.[208]
In 2003, STOP Mines together with the BiH Red Cross societies distributed 105
second-hand computers to mine survivors. The computers were collected by the
British company Redbus, and transported to BiH by the British army. In January
2004, STOP Mines also provided food and household goods to 35 mine survivors and
their families with money raised from mine clearance
activities.[209]
In 2004, two regional governments from Italy, Emila Romagna and Marche,
allocated the sum of €3.5 million ($3.96 million) in cash and in-kind to
assist in various projects in the health sector in BiH. The funding will also
be used to assist the job placement of disabled young people. The project is
planned for three years and will be run in Sarajevo, Mostar, Tuzla, Zenica,
Bihac and Banja Luka. In addition, training will be provided in state
institutions to raise awareness of the needs of persons with
disabilities.[210]
According to Dr. Goran Cerkez of the FBiH Ministry of Health, training for
healthcare providers should be a high
priority.[211] Prosthetic and
orthotic technicians reportedly receive no formal training, but are trained at
vocational high schools followed by on-the-job training and short-term
workshops.[212] Since 1998, 273
specialists from BiH have undertaken rehabilitation training at the Institute
for Rehabilitation in Slovenia, with the support of the ITF. In 2003, one
physician and two physiotherapists have successfully completed their training,
and another four are currently enrolled in the prosthetics and orthotics
technology course at the College of Health Studies at the University of
Ljubljana.[213] The US-based
Center for International Rehabilitation has developed a distance learning
training course that is being implemented in cooperation with the FBiH Ministry
of Health for prosthetic/orthotic technicians; 23 students from 12 workshops are
undertaking the course. The first module was completed in September
2003.[214] Queen’s
University International Center for the Advancement of Community Based
Rehabilitation has been active in FBiH and RS since 1994 with training of
healthcare providers including physiotherapists, occupational therapists,
physicians, nurses, community leaders, peer counselors and care
givers.[215]
In 2003, BHMAC announced its plans to establish a mine victim assistance
coordination group aimed at ensuring that the needs of mine survivors are
addressed in a coherent manner, in accordance with national and international
policy on disability, and that limited resources are allocated in the most
effective way.[216] On 30
September 2003, the first of now-regular meetings of agencies providing mine
victim assistance in BiH was convened. The next meeting in November 2003 was
attended by 25 government representatives and NGOs. At the meeting a
sub-working group was created to develop a long-term mine victim assistance
strategy for BiH.[217] The
group consists of representatives of the FBiH Ministries of Health and Labor and
Social Policy, RS Ministries of Health and Labor, BHMAC, UNICEF and three NGOs:
STOP Mines (chair), LSN, and Union of Civilian War Victims. HI provides
technical expertise.[218]
The objective of the Landmine Victim Assistance Strategy is to: “Enable
landmine victims to achieve full social participation, through strengthening BiH
Institutions’ capacities to provide integrated social, medical and
vocational services for all persons with disabilities.” The strategy does
not consider mine victim assistance as a substitute for existing services, but
rather as an integrated part of the overall health and social welfare system for
persons with disabilities. The Strategy identifies four priority areas:
improvement and harmonization of legislation protecting the rights of all
persons with disabilities; strengthening the rehabilitation sector; raising
awareness on disability issues as a means to improve accessibility; and,
creating opportunities for the employment of persons with disabilities.
However, the strategy also stresses the need for a coordination mechanism and
the creation of a an information and research department to improve knowledge on
the needs of mine survivors and the impact of
programs.[219]
While progress is being made in BiH, in general, assistance to mine survivors
is inadequate to meet their
needs.[220] Two studies on mine
victim assistance conducted in 2003 identified several key challenges to
providing adequate assistance to mine survivors including: access to appropriate
healthcare and rehabilitation facilities; affordability of appropriate
healthcare and rehabilitation; improving and upgrading facilities for
rehabilitation and psychosocial support; creating opportunities for employment
and income generation; capacity building and ongoing training of healthcare
practitioners, including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and orthopedic
technicians; raising awareness on the rights and needs of persons with
disabilities; establishing an effective social welfare system and legislation to
protect the rights of persons with disabilities; improving coordination and
referrals between existing services; obtaining sufficient funding to support
programs; and supporting local NGOs and agencies to ensure sustainability of
programs.[221] The Landmine
Victim Assistance Strategy is a first step in addressing these challenges.
Two mine survivors from BiH participated in the “Raising the
Voices” training in Geneva in February 2004.
In 2004, BiH submitted the voluntary Form J attachment to its Article 7
Report with details of mine casualties and organizations supporting victim
assistance.[222]
Disability Policy and Practice
In BiH, there are four different schemes to support persons with
disabilities: the Social Insurance system; the Social Protection system; the
Protection of Civilian Victims of War; and the War Veterans system. Laws are
enacted at the State and Entity level. In FBiH, once a law has been adopted at
Entity level the cantons must then adopt their own laws; therefore the situation
varies from canton to canton. Brcko District has it own laws in social
protection. However, it has not enacted any specific laws on the rights and
benefits of military personnel or civilians disabled by the war. There are
significant variations in the level of care and support available between the
entities, and between the cantons, due to different levels of economic
development and resources, and between civilian and military war-disabled.
Difficulties encountered by organizations providing assistance include the lack
of State programs for persons with disabilities, different legislations for
civilian and military victims, and poor implementation of existing
laws.[223]
Civilian mine survivors must pay for their own healthcare or insurance, and
receive much lower, and more irregular, compensation for their injuries than
military survivors. In RS, pensions for civilian victims of war, including mine
survivors, range from KM78–233 (approx. $45–135) per
month.[224] In FBiH, pensions
range from KM30–300 (approx. $17–170) per
month.[225] In some cases,
civilians must pay a part of their medical costs and a portion of the costs of
their prosthesis, which can be between KM3,000 and KM5,000 (approx.
$1,740–$2,900).[226] The
costs are prohibitive for many in a country where the average wage is around
$880 per year.[227]
In July 2002, the RS Ministry of Health adopted a new public health strategy
with an emphasis on reintegration of persons with disabilities, and physical
rehabilitation at the community
level.[228] The Ministry of
Labor and War Veterans (MLWV) provides social support to victims of the war;
including both military and civilian mine survivors. In May 2004, the RS
Parliament adopted a new law on military and civilian mine victims, to be
implemented on 1 January 2005, which is in accordance with World Bank conditions
for obtaining credits to administer social
welfare.[229] It was reported
that, due to budget constraints, the law would be amended to reduce the benefits
available as the RS government believed it was preferable to have realistic laws
that can be implemented, rather than raise expectations that cannot be met with
the available resources.[230]
However, according to a media report, benefits for military disabled have
increased under the new
law.[231] In 2003, the budget
for military and civilian victims of the war was KM112 million (approx. US$65
million). Support is provided to 64,556 individuals and families of those
killed, including mine
victims.[232] In 2003, the RS
MLWV provided KM350,000 (approx. $203,000) to NGOs assisting persons with
disabilities. For 2004, the RS government has allocated KM117 million (approx.
US$67.8 million) from the budget for war veterans and civilian
protection.[233]
In FBiH, through the Ministry of War Veterans, a military mine survivor has
the right to a free prosthesis every third year, free healthcare and insurance,
free treatment in special rehabilitation centers, and compensation for his
disability. However, the government reportedly has difficulty balancing needs
with available resources. In 2003, the budget for the FBiH Ministry of War
Veterans was KM275 million (approx. $159 million), or 22 percent of the total
Federation budget. Funds are allocated to each canton for distribution to
beneficiaries. Pensions ranged from KM50 to KM745 (approx. $29–$432) per
month depending on the level of disability; the same rate as in 1996. Cantons
provide additional benefits based on available resources. Support was provided
to about 97,976 individuals and families of soldiers killed, including mine
victims.[234] In June 2004, a
new Law on War Veterans was approved, which, it is claimed, goes a long way in
improving the rights of disabled
veterans.[235]
In 2000, it was reported that FBiH had agreed to complete the Strategic
Framework on Victim Assistance as outlined by the World Health
Organization.[236] The Strategic
Framework was intended to have political and technical/operational levels. At
the technical/operational level, a two-day training session took place in Geneva
in January 2000. A plan of action presented at the Second Meeting of States
Parties in September 2000 included only the work done by the ministries and not
that of NGOs and other international and local organizations; therefore it was
not clear where there were gaps in the provision of assistance, from which an
effective plan of action could be drawn
up.[237] It would appear that
no further action was taken on the Strategic
Framework.[238]
In 2002, BiH commenced a series of roundtable consultations on an initiative
called “Development Strategy for BiH: PRSP [Poverty Reduction Strategy
Paper] and Social Protection of People with Disabilities,” involving
representatives from FBiH and RS government ministries, disability groups, and
NGOs.[239] The final version of
the “BiH Medium Term Development Strategy (PRSP) (2004–2007)”
was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 5 February 2004 after being adopted
by the RS government on 29 December 2003 and FBiH government on 13 January 2004.
The strategy incorporates 12 sectors including healthcare, social and pension
policy, and mine action.[240]
According to the PRSP “the protection of persons with disabilities has
significantly deteriorated in the post war period in both entities,” and
in the future it would be necessary to harmonize the legal protection of
disabled persons in line with international standards and
norms.[241] In December 2002,
the head of the World Bank mission in BiH stated that “what we would like
to do is bring the problem of disabled persons to the development
mainstream...to make it an integral part of the development
strategy.”[242]
[1] BiH is composed of two entities and an
autonomous district: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), Republika
Srpska (RS), and Brcko District. An international peacekeeping force–the
Stabilization Force (SFOR)–was deployed in BiH. For events leading to the
formation of BiH in 1992 and agreements ending the conflict in 1994–1995,
see Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 550–552.
[2] Interview with Mustafa Alikadic,
Darko Vidovic, Dragica Stankovic, members of the Demining Commission, Sarajevo,
30 January 2003. Draft legislation was sent to the Council of Ministers on 1
November 1999; see Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 587. Another draft law was
expected by late 2002; see Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 113.
[3] Article 7 Report, Form A, 17 May
2004 (report dated April 2004) (for calendar year
2003). [4] Interview with Darko
Vidovic, BiH Demining Commission, Sarajevo, 28 April
2004. [5] Email from Amira Arifovic,
Counselor, Division for Peace and Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2
August 2004. [6] Email from Darko
Vidovic, Demining Commission, 23 May 2003. For previous claims by a member of
the BiH Mine Action Center regarding the existing criminal law, see Landmine
Monitor Report 2002, p. 113. [7]
Statement by Darko Vidovic, Demining Commission, Fifth Meeting of States
Parties, Bangkok, 15–19 September
2003. [8] Statement by Darko Vidovic,
Demining Commission, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education,
and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 11 February
2004. [9] See later sections of this
report for details of the Reay Group
meeting. [10] See Article 7 reports
submitted: 17 May 2004, but dated April 2004 (for calendar year 2003); 1 April
2003 (for calendar year 2002); 20 May 2002 (for the period January 1996–30
April 2002); 1 September 2001 (for the period January 1996–1 September
2001); 1 February 2000, due by 28 August 1999 (for the period 8 March
1999–1 February 2000). [11]
Fax from Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Landmine Monitor, 29 April
2003. [12]
Ibid. [13] Interview with members of
the Demining Commission, 30 January 2003. See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp.
552-553, 829. [14] Article 7 Report,
Form E, 17 May 2004. The report states that none of the former antipersonnel
mine production facilities was located in Republika Srpska. The former
production facility at Konjic was not mentioned in previous Article 7 or BHMAC
reports. [15] Interview with Darko
Vidovic, Demining Commission, 28 April
2004. [16] In its February 2000
Article 7 report, BiH reported that the conversion or decommissioning of former
production facilities would be completed that year. The April 2003 Article 7
report stated “reorganization and reorientation–complete.”
See also Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
116. [17] Law on the Import and Export
of Arms and Military Equipment was approved at State level and entered into
force on 15 March 2003. Law on the Manufacture of Arms and Military Equipment
was approved at State level and entered into force on the 13 April 2004.
[18] Email from Amira Arifovic-Harms,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 8 April 2004; see also, Landmine Monitor Report
2003, pp. 588-589. [19] “How
Bosnians and Serbs agreed to smuggle weapons,” Slobodna Bosna, 5 July
2003, pp. 9-11. [20] Email from Maj.
Matt Richards, SO Countermines, SFOR, Sarajevo, 18 March
2004. [21] Possible new use of
antipersonnel mines was reported in April, June and December 2000, and in
February 2002. See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 623-624, and Landmine
Monitor Report 2002, p. 115. [22]
Tania Subotic, “Dog beat soldiers at nosing out Bosnia’s weapons,
SFOR finds,” Agence France-Presse, 19 February
2004. [23] Capt. Steve Hawken,
”The sweet taste of Harvest success,” SFOR Informer, no. 171, June
2004. [24] “NATO peacekeepers
collect 120 tons of illegal weapons,” Associated Press, 24 September 2003;
“Bosnian Serb civil protection department finds illegal weapons in 76
locations,” Onasa (news agency), 1 December 2003; “NATO discovers
missiles in Bosnian weapons stash,” AFP, 3 March 2004; “Bosnian Serb
man arrested for hiding large quantity of wartime weapons,” AFP, 25 May
2004. [25] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 115, and Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 117. Other caches were found
in February, March and April
2003. [26] Article 7 Report, Form G, 1
February 2000. See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp.
590–591. [27] Sgt. Kris Dlouhy,
“JMA–Blasting Ahead to a safer BiH,” SFOR Informer, No. 165,
September 2003. [28] Email from Col.
Tim Knox, SO Countermines, SFOR, 29 April
2004. [29] Capt. Julian Gumley,
“Weapons Storage Sites in BiH,” SFOR Informer, No. 165, September
2003; email from Maj. Matt Richards, SO Countermines, SFOR, 18 March
2004. [30] Email from Maj. Michael
Forster, SO Countermines, SFOR, 24 May
2004. [31] UN Security Council,
“Bosnia: monthly report to the UN on the operations of the Stabilization
Force,” 8 December 2003; “Bosnian Serb authorities collect large
haul of weapons,” SRNA (news agency), 6 March
2004. [32] Email from Maj. Michael
Forster, SO Countermines, SFOR, 29 April 2004; interview with Richard Dickinson,
Chief Countermines/EOD, SFOR, Sarajevo, 11 February 2003. See also Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, pp. 624-625, and Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
117. [33] “SFOR to Monitor
Bosnian Serb Arms Auction,” Balkan Times, 9 August
2003. [34] Article 7 Report, Form D,
17 May 2004. The active mines retained were: PMA-1 (312), PMA-1A (9), PMA-2
(212), PMA-3 (12), PMR-2 (12), PMR-2A (300), PMR-3 (300), PROM1 (912), MRUD
(68), PROM KD (9), and “Ap” (49). The RS Army held 2,000 of the
active mines, the Federation Army held 146, and Federation Civil Protection held
49. [35] Article 7 reports, Form D, 1
April 2003; 20 May 2002; and 1 September 2001. The 1 February 2000 report
listed 2,165 as of 1 February 2000, not 2,145 as of that date as listed in the
subsequent report. [36] Interview with
Richard Dickinson, SFOR, 11 February
2003. [37] Email from Maj. Matt
Richards, SO Countermines, SFOR, 18 March 2004; email from Col. Tim Knox, CO
Countermines, SFOR, 29 April
2004. [38] Statement by Darko Vidovic,
Fifth Meeting of States Parties, 15-19 September
2003. [39] Interview with Darvin
Lisica, Deputy Director, BHMAC, Sarajevo, 29 April
2004. [40] Article 7 Report, Form C,
17 May 2004; Article 7 Report, Form C, April 2003.
[41] BHMAC, “Report on Demining
and other Mine Action in 2003,” 7 April 2004, p. 4; presentation by Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education, and
Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 14 May 2003. In 2002, BHMAC estimated that
4,000 square kilometers were potentially contaminated. “BHMAC Mine Action
2002,” January 2002, p. 2. [42]
BHMAC, “Mine Action in 2003,” 7 April 2004, p.
4. [43]
Ibid. [44] See Landmine Monitor Report
1999, pp. 550, 555, Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 625-626, and Landmine
Monitor Report 2002, p. 116. [45] See
Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
118. [46] “UNHCR satisfied with
return of refugees to Bosnia,” Deutsche Presse Agentur, 11 February 2004;
UNHCR, “UN refugee agency reports 1,415 returns in Bosnia and Herzegovina
in February,” 13 April
2004. [47] International Federation of
the Red Cross, “Bosnia and Herzegovina Appeal No. 01.73/3003, Update No.
3,” 5 February 2004; Norwegian Refugee Council, “Bosnia and
Herzegovina: 330,000 people still displaced eight years after the peace
agreement,” 30 January
2004. [48] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, pp. 114, 117–118. [49]
Survey Action Center, “Draft Bosnia and Herzegovina Landmine Impact
Survey,” April 2004, p. 32. [50]
BHMAC, “Report on Mine Action in BiH for the period January to March
2004,” 31 March 2004. [51]
Statement by BiH, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and
Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 21 June
2004. [52] Interview with Davin
Lisica, BHMAC, and David Rowe, UNDP, Sarajevo, 18 February
2004. [53] Ibid., 18 February and 7
May 2004. [54] Interview with Darvin
Lisica, BHMAC, 8 May 2004, and BHMAC, “Draft Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine
Action Plan for 2004,” 7 April 2004, pp. 11–12; Presentation by
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Reay Group Workshop on the Implementation of the Ottawa
Convention, Bucharest, 2–3 February 2004, and “Mine Action in
2003,” BHMAC, 15 April 2003, p.
12. [55] BHMAC, “Draft MA Plan
2004,” 7 April 2004, p. 13. [56]
Ibid. [57] BHMAC, “Mine Action
in 2003,” 7 April 2004, pp. 5–10. For quality control capacity and
procedures, see Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
120. [58] BHMAC, “Draft MA Plan
2004,” 7 April 2004, pp.
6–9. [59] Email from Marija
Alilovic, Public and Donor Relations Officer, Mine Detection Dog Center, Konjic,
25 February 2004; “Regional MDD Center in Konjic officially opened,”
Trust (ITF newsletter), No. 12, December 2003, p.
6. [60] Interview with Richard
Dickinson, SFOR, 11 February
2003. [61] Ibid. In mid-2001, a
Demining Coordination Committee was set up by SFOR to bring together engineering
chiefs and experts from all BiH armies and demining organizations, and to
integrate their operations. [62]
“UNDP, Update, February
2004. [63] See Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 631. [64] UNDP,
“Integrated Mine Action Programme (IMAP),” February 2004; “UN
agency project aims to clear landmines from Bosnia and Herzegovina,” UN
News Service, 10 March 2004. [65]
Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, “BiH Medium Term
Development Strategy (PRSP), 2004–2007, Final Draft,” 11 December
2003, pp. 267-269. [66] BHMAC,
“Mine Action in 2003,” 7 April 2004, pp. 8, 10; BHMAC, “Mine
Action Plan 2003,” 15 April 2003, p.
12. [67] BHMAC, “Mine Action in
2003,” 7 April 2004, pp. 8,
10. [68] Ibid. BHMAC subtotals for
areas surveyed produce a total area surveyed of 91.12 square
kilometers. [69] BHMAC, “Project
presentation: Systematic Survey on Mine Impact in Fed BiH,” provided on 28
February 2003; interview with Darvin Lisica, BHMAC, 28 February
2003. [70] BHMAC, “Mine Action
in 2003,” 7 April 2004, p.
8. [71] Interview with Darvin Lisica,
BHMAC, and David Rowe, UNDP, 18 February
2004. [72] BHMAC, “Mine Action
in 2003,” 7 April 2004, p.8.
[73] BHMAC, “Mine Action
January–March 2004,” Sarajevo, 31 March 2004, p.
2. [74] See Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 634-635. [75] Executive
Summary, “Landmine Impact Survey: BiH,” in email from Mike
Kendellen, Director for Survey, Survey Action Center, 14 July 2004. A hectare
equals 10,000 square meters. [76]
“Mine action in Bosnia and Herzegovina: history, structure,
strategy,” Reay Group Workshop, Bucharest, 2–3 February 2004. See
Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 119, and “Landmine Impact Survey in
BiH,” Trust, no. 12, December 2003, p. 3.
[77] BHMAC, “Mine Action in
2002,” 15 April 2003, p.
10. [78] Interview with Darvin Lisica,
BHMAC, 29 April 2004. [79] BHMAC,
“Mine Action January to March 2004, 31 March 2004, p. 2.
[80] “Who is guilty of the
deaths of three children?” Vecernji List (daily newspaper), 22 April 2004,
p. 15. [81] BHMAC, “Mine Action
in 2003,” 7 April 2004, p. 9; Article 7 Report, Form F, 17 May 2004. In
April 2003, BHMAC reported that it planned to demine 16.3 square kilometers
during 2003. Reporting the results of demining in 2003, BHMAC stated that the
planned clearance was 15.21 square kilometers, against which all percentages are
calculated. BHMAC initially reported that in 2002 it cleared 6,001,392 square
meters, but this was later revised to 6,327,092 square meters. Interview with
Darvin Lisica, BHMAC, 29 April 2004; BHMAC, “Action Plan 2003,” 15
April 2003, p. 12; BHMAC, “Mine Action in 2002,” 15 April 2003, p.
7. [82] BHMAC, “Draft Summary on
Demining Report and Other Countermine Activities for the Year 2003,” March
2004, p. 3; Article 7 Report, Form F, 17 May
2004. [83] BHMAC, “Mine Action
in 2003,” 7 April 2004, p.
9. [84] Ibid., p.
25. [85] Ibid., p.
10. [86] Statement by Darko Vidovic,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February
2004. [87] Clearance data for 2003 is
from the BHMAC and Article 7 reports for 2003. Clearance of 6,477,582 square
meters in 2003 was reported by the BHMAC Deputy Director on 29 April 2004, with
the discrepancy explained by differences in data processing. Figures for
1999-2002 provided by Darvin Lisica, BHMAC, 29 April 2004. The Landmine Monitor
reported different clearance data in previous years, based on BHMAC reports:
1999: 3,720,000 square meters; 2000: 7,111,000 square meters; 2001: 5,545,005
square meters; 2002: 6,001,392 square
meters. [88] Data taken from previous
Landmine Monitor reports. For mine clearance prior to 1999, see Landmine
Monitor Report 1999, pp.
562–564. [89] Article 7 Report,
Form F, 17 May 2004; BHMAC, “Mine Action in 2003,” March 2004, p.
3. [90] BHMAC, “Mine Action in
January-March 2004,” 31 March
2004. [91] BHMAC, “Mine Action
in 2003,” 7 April 2004, p. 9. Data not available for
1999. [92] The rate between the KM and
the Euro was set at 1.95583, as the KM was fixed at parity with the German Mark.
This rate is used throughout this report. 2003 exchange rate is €1 =
$1.1315, used throughout this report, unless dollar figure given. US Federal
Reserve, 2 January 2004. [93] BHMAC,
“Mine Action in 2003,” 7 April 2004, p.
6. [94] GICHD, “The Role of the
Military in Mine Action,” June 2003, pp.
23-55. [95] BHMAC, “Mine Action
in 2003,” 7 April 2004, p. 9. Mine clearance NGOs operating in BiH in
2003 include Norwegian People’s Aid, Intersos, HELP, Counterpart
International (which commissioned the BiH company Vilakol), European Landmine
Systems, and the local NGOs, STOP Mines, APM and UG
ZOM. [96] Email from Per H. Breivik,
Bosnia Operations Manager, NPA, 21 July
2004. [97] Email from Per H. Breivik,
Bosnia Operations Manager, NPA, 25 February 2004; interview with Per H. Breivik,
Sarajevo, 20 February 2004; email from Damir Atikovic, Assistant Program
Manager, NPA, Sarajevo, 24 March
2003. [98] Email from Simona Beltrani,
Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines, with input from Valentina Crini, MRE Expert
and Fernando Termentini, MAU Technical Director, Intersos, 14 April
2004. [99] HELP, “Bosnia and
Herzegovina: HELP test MineWolf,” Press Release, 23 September
2003. [100] BHMAC, ” Mine Action
in 2003,” 7 April 2004, Annexes 2 and
3. [101] Response to LM Questionnaire
from Radisav Zivkovic, President, STOP Mines, 15 February
2004. [102] Faxes from Nihad Susnjar,
Administrator, APM, 7 and 15 April
2004. [103] Email from Fadil
Hasanagic, Program Manager, UG ZOM, 1 June
2004. [104] ITF, “Annual Report
2003,” p. 26. [105] BHMAC,
“Mine Action in 2003,” 7 April 2004, p.10. The low achievement in
2002 was attributed to a decrease in army numbers and non-delivery of expected
donations of equipment. Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 123.
[106] SFOR Demining Co-Ordination
Centre, “AF’s B&H Demining Report for 2003,” Sarajevo, p.
3; email from Major Matt Richards, SFOR, 14 April 2004. These figures are
similar to those given in the BHMAC 2003
report. [107] Email from Major Matt
Richards, SFOR, 1 April 2004. [108]
BHMAC, “Mine Action in 2003,” 7 April 2004, p.
9. [109] Interview with Darvin Lisica,
BHMAC, 18 February 2004. [110] BHMAC,
“Mine Action in 2003,” 7 April 2004, Annex
3. [111] Email from Branko Grabez,
Deputy Director for mine clearance, Civil Protection, Republika Srpska, 17 March
2004; BHMAC, “Review of currently available material and human resources
for demining in 2003,” 29 April 2004, Annex
1. [112] Letter from Michael B.
Humphreys, Ambassador, Delegation of the European Commission to Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Sarajevo, March 2003; “Mine Clearance,” Kathimerini
(Greek daily newspaper, English internet edition), 28 November
2002. [113] Email from Radosav
Zivkovic, President, STOP Mines, Pale, 8 July 2004; faxes from Rajko Cicovic,
Director, Famos-Koran, Pale, 23 June and 9 July 2004.
[114] Fax from Bajro Ramic and Azra
Ajetovic, TRZ Hadzici, 9 July
2004. [115] “Presentation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Reay Group Workshop, Bucharest, 2-3 February
2004; BHMAC, “Draft MA Plan 2004,” 7 April 2004, pp.
15-16. [116] BHMAC, “Draft MRE
Plan for 2003,” pp. 5-8, provided by Darvin Lisica, BHMAC, 28 February
2003. [117] Survey Action Center,
“Draft BiH Landmine Impact Survey,” April 2004, p.
50. [118] Email from Per H. Breivik,
Bosnia Operations Manager, NPA, 25 February 2004; interview with Per H. Breivik,
Sarajevo, 20 February 2004. [119]
Email from Dinko Sijercic, BHMAC, 28 May 2004. Details of the MRE carried out
by Drina Srebrenica have not been
reported. [120] Email from Michelle
Blatti, Cooperation Delegate, ICRC, Sarajevo, 4 June
2004. [121] Email from Natalie
Prevost, Mine Risk Education Adviser, UNICEF BiH, April
2004. [122] BHMAC, “Mine Action
in 2003,” 7 April 2004, pp. 11–12. From 1996–1999, the Moving
Theatre MRE program was sponsored by
UNICEF. [123] Fax from Sead
Arslanagic, Director, Moving Theatre (Pokretno Pozoriste), 22 May
2004. [124] “SFOR Supports
Efforts of BHMAC,” Press Release, 18 June 2003; “SFOR Interpreters
Trained in Mine Risk Education,” Press Release, 18 October 2003; email
from Maj. Matt Richards, SFOR, 18 March
2004. [125] Email from Dijana Pejic,
Program Manager, Genesis Project, Banja Luka, 3 February
2004. [126] Email from Zehrudin
Sukanovic, MRE Team Coordinator, PRONI, Brcko, 6 April 2004.
[127] Email from Michele Blatti,
ICRC, 26 April 2004; KAP Survey, ICRC/RCSBiH, June 2003, p.
5. [128] ICRC, “Bosnia and
Herzegovina,” Special Report on Mine Action 2003, p.
39. [129] ITF, “Annual Report
2003,” p. 42. [130] Email from
Melissa Sabatier, Administrator, HI, Sarajevo, 26 March
2004. [131] Email from Aleksandra
Milosevic, Project Assistant, HELP, Sarajevo, 21 April 2004, and interview with
Roland Zimmermann, Demining Project Coordinator, and Aleksandra Milosevic, HELP,
Sarajevo, 19 February 2004. [132]
Email from Simona Beltrani, Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines, with input from
Valentina Crini, MRE Expert and Fernando Termentini, MAU Technical Director,
Intersos, 14 April 2004. [133] See
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 641–642, Landmine Monitor Report 2002,
p. 124, Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 125. Other local NGOs are noted in
Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp.
561–562. [134] BHMAC,
“Demining Strategy for BiH,” 15 April 2003, p.
12. [135] BHMAC, “Mine Action in
2003,” pp. 6-7. These amounts total KM12,869,855. The discrepancy is not
explained. [136] BHMAC, “Mine
Action in 2002,” 15 April 2003, p. 6. Exchange rate in 2002: $1 =
KM2.058. [137] Unless otherwise noted,
information comes from the individual country reports in this edition of
Landmine Monitor Report. In some cases, the funding was for the country’s
fiscal year, not calendar year 2003. Landmine Monitor has converted the
currencies and rounded off
numbers. [138] For 2003 funding,
exchange rate was $1=NOK7.0819. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange
Rates (Annual),” 2 January
2004. [139] For 2003 funding, exchange
rate was $1 = SEK8.0822. US Federal Reserve, 2 January
2004. [140] Mine Action Investment
Database, Current & Planned Donor Activity for
US. [141] The EC allocated €1
million in 2003, but BiH received the 2002 allocation of €2.3 million,
including €1.5 million for clearance and €800,000 for the LIS.
BHMAC reports receiving KM4,907,212 ($2,844,761) for Civil Protection demining
teams. BHMAC, “Mine Action 2003,” p.
6. [142] BHMAC, “Mine Action in
2003,” p. 6. [143] ITF,
“Annual Report 2003,” p. 21; email from Sabina Beber, Head of
International Relations, ITF, 27 February
2004. [144] BHMAC, “Mine Action
in 2003,” p. 6. ITF funding was reported by BHMAC as €12,262,866,
$2,148,901 and KM54,000. [145] Email
from Seid Turkovic, Manager, Institutional Capacity Building Portfolio, UNDP,
Sarajevo, 19 March 2004. [146] BHMAC,
“Mine Action in 2003,” Annex
5. [147] BHMAC, “Draft MA Plan
2004–draft,” p. 9. [148]
Presentation by BiH,” Reay Group Workshop, Bucharest, 2–3 February
2004. [149] BHMAC, “Demining
Strategy Plan for BiH,” 15 April 2003, p.
12. [150] Resource Mobilization
Contact Group, “A review of resources to achieve the Convention’s
aims,” presented by Norway at the Standing Committee on General Status and
Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 25 June
2004. [151] Mine Action Investment
Database, “Multi-year Recipient Report: Bosnia and Herzegovina,” www.mineaction.org , accessed on 12 August
2004. [152] Email from Sabina Beber,
ITF, 13 May 2004. [153] See Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, p. 631, and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
119. [154] Interview with Seid
Turkovic, UNDP, 18 March 2003. [155]
Statement by Darko Vidovic, Fifth Meeting of States Parties, 15-19 September
2003. [156] BHMAC, “Demining
Strategy Plan for BiH,” 15 April 2003, p.
12. [157] Unless otherwise stated,
information is from ICRC/BiHRCS, “Mine Victim Statistics: BiH,” 26
April 2004, and emails from Michele Blatti, ICRC, 11 June and 12 July
2004. [158] “Two Federation Army
deminers die in central Bosnia military plant,” TV Hayat, 10 July
2004. [159] “Father, son latest
victims of land mines left over from Bosnian war,” Associated Press, 20
July 2004. [160] “Landmine
explosion kills mother of three,” Deutsche Presse Agentur, 16 August
2004. [161] Interview with Mustafa
Sarajlić, Mine Awareness Assistant, ICRC, Sarajevo, 26 March,
2003. [162] Executive Summary,
“Landmine Impact Survey: BiH,” provided 14 July
2004. [163] ICRC, “Detailed
Slide Handouts Mine Awareness Briefing,” Sarajevo, 15 July 2003, provided
in email from Michele Blatti, ICRC, 14 August
2003. [164] Executive Summary,
“Landmine Impact Survey: BiH,” provided 14 July
2004. [165] “Mine Victim
Statistics: BiH,” email from Michele Blatti, ICRC, 27 February
2003. [166] Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 649; see also “Mine Action Strategy for BiH: Landmine Victim
Assistance sub-strategy,” Strategic sub-working group for Landmine Victim
Assistance in BiH, Final Version, June 2004, p.
3. [167] UNDP, “Bosnia and
Herzegovina: Human Development Report 2002,” Sarajevo, p. 60; Handicap
International and UNICEF, “Landmine Victim Assistance in Bosnia and
Herzegovina,” December 2004, p.
4. [168] UNHCR, “Healthcare in
Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Context of the Return of Refugees and Displaced
Persons,” Sarajevo, July 2001; Dr. Goran Cerkez, Assistant Minister for
International Co-operation, Development and Information Technology, FBiH
Ministry of Health, “Bosnia and Herzegovina: mine victims
assistance,” presentation at the ITF Workshop on Assistance to Landmine
Survivors and Victims in South-Eastern Europe: Defining Strategies for Success,
Ig, Slovenia, 1 July 2002. [169] For
more details see HI and UNICEF, “Victim Assistance in BiH,” December
2003, pp. 21-25. [170] UNHCR,
“Healthcare in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” July
2001. [171] Interview with Michele
Blatti, and Mustafa Sarajlic, Mine Awareness Assistant, ICRC, Sarajevo, 26
March, 2003. [172] “War Victims
Rehabilitation Project,” World Bank Reconstruction and Development Program
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Progress Update, May 2001, p.
41. [173] Professor Bozo Ljubic,
Professor Nadezda Zjuzin, Dr. Zdravko Trolic, and Dr. Goran Cerkez,
“Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR): A Modern and Efficient War Victims
Rehabilitation Concept,” presentation to the Third ISPO Central and
Eastern European Conference, Dubrovnik, 23-25 October
2002. [174] Letter from Dr. Goran
Cerkez, FBiH Ministry of Health, 17 April
2003. [175] Letter from Dr. Martin
Kvaternik, RS Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Banja Luka, 20 February
2003. [176] For more details, see HI
and UNICEF, “Victim Assistance in BiH,” December 2003, pp.
25-29. [177] Email from Michele
Monette, Information Officer, Communications Branch, CIDA, 13 January
2003. [178] For more information see
“Victim Assistance in BiH,” December 2003, pp.
30-34. [179] Final Report on the MOPS
Research Phase, EdaS, 9 October 2001, pp. 8-9.
[180] Letter from Dr. Goran Cerkez,
FBiH Ministry of Health, 17 April
2003. [181]
Ibid. [182] Emails from Sabina Beber,
ITF, 13 May 2004 and 18 June 2003; email from Eva Veble, Head of Department for
International Relations, ITF, 24 June
2002. [183] ITF, “Annual Report
2003,” pp. 27 and 41; email from Sabina Beber, ITF, 19 May
2004. [184] ITF, “Annual Report
2003,” p. 41; email from Megan Burke, Program Manager, Adopt-A-Minefield,
New York, 28 August 2003; email from Sabina Beber, ITF, 18 June
2003. [185] Telephone interview with
Dr. Goran Cerkez, FBiH Ministry of Health, 30 May
2004. [186] Email from Michele Blatti,
ICRC, 26 April 2004. [187] Fr. Danijel
Koraca SJ, “Projection of Needs for Mine Victims for the Next 10 years,
Children Mine Victim Assistance Program (Bosnia and Herzegovina),” 30
October 2003, p. 3. [188] Article 7
Report, Form J, 17 May 2004; interview with Fr Zdeslav Sucur SJ, National
Director, and Sanja Miletic, Database Manager, JRS, Sarajevo, 17 February 2004;
responses to LM Questionnaire, JRS, 29 January 2004, 30 January 2003 and 22
February 2002; emails from Sanja Miletic, JRS, Database Manager, 26 and 27
February 2004; interview with Danijel Koraca, JRS, 26 March 2003; JRS,
“Annual Report for Mine Victims Assistance Program 2002,” 23
December 2002. [189] “Bosnian
landmine victims receive prostheses and therapy,” Reliefweb, 18 December
2002. [190] Final Report on the MOPS
Research Phase, EdaS, 9 October 2001, p.
11. [191] Email from Sarah Saleh,
Grants Manager, International Rescue Committee, 16 March 2004; interview with
Dragan Tatic, Country Director, IRC, and Sarah Saleh, Sarajevo, 17 February
2004; interview with Dragan Tatic, 27 March 2003; response to LM Questionnaire,
March 2003. [192] Interview with
Dragan Tatic, IRC, 27 March
2003. [193] Information distributed by
HI, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration,
Geneva, 23 June 2004. [194] Djenana
Jalovcic, Senior Program and Administrative Officer, ICACBR, response to LM
Questionnaire, 8 January 2003; email from Djenana Jalovcic, Associate Director,
ICACBR, 2 February 2004. [195] Email
from Fikret Karkin, Director, Hope 87, Sarajevo, 4 March 2004; interview with
Fikret Karkin, Sarajevo, 2 June 2003; response to LM Questionnaire, 8 July
2003. [196] HI and UNICEF,
“Victim Assistance in BiH,” December 2003, p.
38. [197] Response to LM
Questionnaire, Aleksandar Kecman, Communications Manager, UDAS, Banja Luka, 15
April 2004. [198] Email from Sabina
Beber, ITF, 18 June 2003; see also www.icichildren.org
. [199] Email from Plamenko Priganica,
Director, Landmine Survivors Network in BiH, 25 January
2002. [200] Interview with Husein
Odobasic, President, Association for Sport and Recreation of Invalids in BiH,
Sarajevo, 27 March 2003. [201] Email
and telephone interview with Hrvoje Rebic, General Secretary, BiH Paralympic
Committee, Sarajevo, 18 March and 19 May
2004. [202] Telephone interview with
the General Secretary, Association for Sport and Recreation of Invalids in BiH,
Sarajevo, 1 June 2004. [203] Fax from
Novak Grbic, focal point for sports for the disabled, RS Secretariat for Sport
and Youth, Banja Luka, 11 May 2004; telephone interview with Novak Grbic, 24 May
2004; letter from Novak Grbic, 11 March 2003; interview with Novak Grbic, Banja
Luka, 31 March 2003. [204] Interview
with Husein Odobasic, Association for Sport, 27 March 2003, interview with Novak
Grbic, RS Secretariat, 31 March
2003. [205] Interview with Halil
Plimac, Deputy Minister, FBiH Ministry of War Veterans, Sarajevo, 2 April
2003. [206] Interview with Plamenko
Priganica, LSN BiH, 3 April 2003, and email dated 18 August
2003. [207] Interview with Dragan
Tatic, IRC, 27 March 2003; response to LM Questionnaire, March
2003. [208] Response to LM
Questionnaire, Radosav Zizkovic, President, STOP Mines, Pale, 15 February 2004;
email from Megan Burke, Adopt-A-Minefield, 28 August
2003. [209] Email from Radosav
Zizkovic, STOP Mines, 22 March 2004; response to LM Questionnaire, 15 February
2004. [210] Email from Andrea Biagini,
First Secretary, Italian Embassy, Sarajevo, 25 May
2004. [211] Dr. Goran Cerkez, FBiH
Ministry of Health, “Bosnia and Herzegovina: mine victims
assistance,” presentation at the ITF Workshop, Slovenia, 1 July
2002. [212] Laura Hamilton,
“Education needs of prosthetic technicians in Bosnia,” presentation
at the ITF Workshop, Slovenia, 1 July
2002. [213] Email from Sabina Beber,
ITF, 20 May 2004; ITF, “Annual Report 2003,” p.
27. [214] Letter from Dr. Goran
Cerkez, FBiH Ministry of Health, 17 April 2003; HI and UNICEF, “Victim
Assistance in BiH,” December 2003, p.
34. [215] Information on all projects
available at
meds.queensu.ca/icacbr. [216]
“Mine Action Plan of Bosnia and Herzegovina – draft,” p. 15
(document provided by Dusan Gavran, Director, BHMAC, Sarajevo, 10 January 2003);
“Draft MRE Plan for 2003,” p. 7 (document provided by Darvin Lisica,
BHMAC, 28 February 2003. [217] BHMAC,
“Mine Action 2003,” 7 April 2004, p.
28. [218] Statement by BiH, Standing
Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva 23 June
2004; see also “Victim Assistance sub-strategy,” June 2004, p.
3. [219] For full details of the
strategy see “Victim Assistance sub-strategy,” June
2004. [220] Interview with Mustafa
Karabasic, President, Federal Union of Civilian Victims, Sarajevo, 27 March
2003. [221] For more information on
mine victim assistance in BiH see HI Belgium, “Landmine Victim Assistance
in South East Europe,” Brussels, September 2003; HI and UNICEF,
“Victim Assistance in BiH,” December
2003. [222] Article 7 Report, Form J,
17 May 2004. [223] For more details
see HI and UNICEF, “Victim Assistance in BiH,” December 2003, pp.
9–20. [224] Interview with
Radomir Graonic, Assistant to RS Minister of Labor and War Veterans, Banja Luka,
1 April 2003. [225] Interview with
Mustafa Karabasic, President, Federal Union of Civilian Victims, Sarajevo, 27
March 2003. [226] Email from Plamenko
Priganica, LSN BiH, 25 January
2002. [227] Final Report on the MOPS
Research Phase, EdaS, 9 October 2001, p.
8. [228] Interview with Dr. Milan
Latinovic, Assistant to RS Minister of Health, Banja Luka, 1 April
2003. [229] Fax from Branka Sljivar,
Public Relations Officer, RS Ministry of Labor and War Veterans, Banja Luka, 21
May 2004. [230] Interview with Radomir
Graonic, Assistant to RS Minister of Labour and War Veterans, Banja Luka, 1
April 2003. [231] “From 2005,
the most disabled (military invalids) will receive is KM 1,313,” Dnevni
List (daily newspaper), 14 May 2004,
p.18. [232] Interview with Radomir
Graonic, Assistant to RS Minister of Labour, 1 April
2003. [233] Fax from Branka Sljivar,
RS Ministry of Labour and War Veterans, 21 May
2004. [234] Interview with Halil
Plimac, FBiH Ministry of War Veterans, 2 April
2003. [235] Telephone interview with
Dr. Goran Cerkez, FBiH Ministry of Health, 30 May 2004; Law on War Veterans,
Official Gazette of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, No. 33/04, 19 June
2004. [236] Interview with Dr. Goran
Cerkez, FBiH Ministry of Health, Sarajevo, 7 March
2000. [237] Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 649. [238] Handicap
International Belgium, “Landmine Victim Assistance in South East
Europe,” Brussels, September 2003, p. 36 (online
version). [239] Interview with Haris
Mesinovic, Consultant, Office of the BiH Coordinator for PRSP, Ministry of
Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, Sarajevo, 4 April 2003; “Development
Strategy BiH – PRSP: Second Draft for Public Discussion,” Sarajevo,
30 May 2003. [240] “BiH Medium
Term Development Strategy (PRSP) 2004–2007,” available at
www.bih.prsp.info/knjiga/ZA-WEB/english/index2.htm
, accessed on 14 July 2004. [241]
“BiH Medium Term Development Strategy (PRSP), 2004–2007,”
Final Draft, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Development, Sarajevo, 11
December 2003, p. 169. [242] World
Bank, “World Bank, UNDP and Invalid and Disabled Persons Associations
Discuss Social Issues as a Part of Development Strategy for PRSP,” Press
Release, Sarajevo, 11 December 2002.
About Us
Our Research Products