Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Ten-Year Summary

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYR Macedonia) became a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty on 1 March 1999. FYR Macedonia completed clearance of all emplaced antipersonnel mines in mined areas on 15 September 2006, in advance of its Article 5 deadline of 1 March 2009. Demining activities had searched and cleared a total of nearly 7km² of land, particularly on the country’s northwestern border with Kosovo and Albania, and destroyed 558 antipersonnel mines. FYR Macedonia provided the Seventh Meeting of States Parties with a Declaration of Completion, pledging to report and clear any previously unknown mined areas that may be subsequently discovered “as a matter of urgent priority.”^[1] FYR Macedonia completed destruction of its stockpile of antipersonnel mines in February 2003. Ethnic Albanian insurgents reportedly used mines in 2001 in a conflict in the region bordering Kosovo.

FYR Macedonia continues to have a problem with explosive remnants of war, mostly from World Wars I and II, for which the Protection and Rescue Directorate is the responsible government body. During clearance activities in 2007 and 2008, it did not report the destruction of any antipersonnel mines. No new mine/ERW casualties have been reported in FYR Macedonia between 2006 and 1 July 2009. The last reported casualty occurred in 2005. There are no dedicated victim assistance programs in FYR Macedonia.

Mine Ban Policy

FYR Macedonia acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 9 September 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 March 1999. While it has not enacted new national implementation legislation, it has reported that prohibited activities are covered by existing criminal law.^[2]

FYR Macedonia attended the Ninth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November 2008, but made no statements. It did not participate in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2009.

FYR Macedonia submitted its ninth Article 7 transparency report in April 2009, covering calendar year 2008. The report consists of a cover page which states that all items are either “unchanged” or “non applicable.”^[3]

With respect to matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2, and 3, FYR Macedonia has strong positions consistent with those articulated by the ICBL and many States Parties regarding the prohibition on antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes, the prohibition on transit or foreign stockpiling of antipersonnel mines, and the requirement during joint operations with states not party to the treaty to reject any rules of engagement permitting use of antipersonnel mines.^[4]

FYR Macedonia has stated that it never produced or exported antipersonnel mines.^[5] It completed destruction of its stockpile of 38,921 antipersonnel mines on 20 February 2003, just ahead of the treaty-mandated deadline. It decided initially to retain 4,000 mines for training and research, but on 10 July 2006 destroyed them.^[6]

FYR Macedonia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. For the third straight year, it has not submitted its annual Amended Protocol II Article 13 report. FYR Macedonia gave its consent to be bound by Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War on 19 March 2007. FYR Macedonia signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in December 2008, but had not yet ratified it as of 1 July 2009.^[7]