Thirty-five
of the 53 countries in the region are States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty.
Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine have signed but not ratified the
treaty. There are thirteen non-States Parties in the region: Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, Latvia,
Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Since the
previous Landmine Monitor report, as of 31 July 2002 there had been no change in
the number of countries that are States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty.
Based on statements and progress in internal procedures, it appears two
signatories (Cyprus and Greece) may ratify and two non-signatories (Turkey and
Yugoslavia) may accede by the end of 2002.
Although the United Nations records that Tajikistan acceded to the Mine Ban
Treaty on 12 October 1999, it is not clear that Tajikistan considers itself a
State Party formally bound by the treaty. In a January 2002 response to an OSCE
questionnaire, Tajikistan suggested that it had signed, but not ratified the
Mine Ban Treaty. A Foreign Ministry official reportedly said in June 2001 that
Tajikistan had not deposited its instrument of ratification.
Of the 35 States Parties, 33 submitted Article 7 reports in 2002. Initial
reports were submitted by Albania, Iceland, Malta, Romania, and Turkmenistan.
Tajikistan has not submitted its initial Article 7 Report, which was due on 28
September 2000.
Nineteen States Parties have enacted implementation legislation. States
Parties that report that legislation is being developed include Albania, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Croatia, Moldova, and Romania.
Five signatories (Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine) and eight
non-signatories (Armenia, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Finland, Latvia, Turkey and
Yugoslavia) in the region voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution
56/24M in November 2001, which called for universalization of the Mine Ban
Treaty. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia were among the 19 countries that
abstained.
During the 2001-2002 reporting period, seven States Parties in this region
have acted as co-chairs or co-rapporteurs in the intersessional Standing
Committees of the Mine Ban Treaty: Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Norway,
Romania, and Switzerland.
Use
Since the Landmine Monitor Report 2001, the
most extensive use of antipersonnel mines in the region has been in Chechnya,
where both Russian forces and Chechen fighters have continued to use mines.
Georgian Armed Forces reportedly mined several passes in the Kodori gorge,
apparently ending Georgia’s six-year moratorium on the use of
antipersonnel mines. No new mine use by Uzbekistan along border areas with
Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan has been reported since June 2001.
In this reporting period, States Parties that expressed views on the issue of
involvement in joint military operations with non-States Parties where
antipersonnel mines may be used include: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark,
France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
There are increasingly serious questions regarding the position of Tajikistan
regarding the use of antipersonnel mines by Russian forces stationed in
Tajikistan.
Production and Transfer
All non-States Parties in the region have export
moratoria in place or have stated that they no longer allow the export of
antipersonnel mines. Russia is the sole remaining producer in the region,
although it said in December 2001 that “anti-personnel fougasse [blast]
mines have not been manufactured in the Russian Federation for more than four
years.”
States Parties in the region that have reported on the status of efforts to
convert former production facilities include: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.
Stockpiling and Destruction
Albania completed destruction of its stockpile of
1,683,860 antipersonnel mines on 4 April 2002; Sweden completed the destruction
of its antipersonnel mine stockpile in December 2001; the Czech Republic
completed the destruction of its stockpile of more than 360,000 antipersonnel
mines in June 2001 (as reported last year). Fifteen other States Parties in the
region have completed stockpile destruction: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary,
Luxembourg, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
States Parties with remaining stockpiles to destroy are: Croatia, Macedonia
FYR, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Tajikistan and
Turkmenistan. Croatia destroyed 56,028 stockpiled antipersonnel mines in 2001.
Italy reported the destruction of an additional 757,680 antipersonnel mines and
expects to complete destruction by the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in
September 2002. Portugal reported that its destruction program is underway and
36,654 antipersonnel mines had been destroyed. Romania began its stockpile
destruction in August 2001 and by April 2002 reported the destruction of 130,474
antipersonnel mines. By 22 May 2002, Slovenia had destroyed 121,919
antipersonnel mines and had a total of 46,979 remaining to be destroyed.
Turkmenistan reported destroying 412,601 antipersonnel mines between December
1997 and October 2001. It requested a seven-year extension of its deadline for
stockpile destruction, but such an extension is not permitted under the Mine Ban
Treaty. Turkmenistan subsequently indicated it intended to meet the deadline of
1 March 2003.
As of June 2002, Macedonia FYR had not started destruction of its stockpile
of 42,871 antipersonnel mines but had a plan in place to complete destruction
before the 1 March 2003 deadline. No stockpile destruction or planning has
taken place in Tajikistan.
Among States Parties providing new Article 7 Reports, Moldova declared a
stockpile of 12,121 antipersonnel mines and will retain 849; Romania declared a
stockpile of 1,076,839 antipersonnel mines and will retain 4,000; Turkmenistan
declared a stockpile of 761,782 antipersonnel mines, including PFM-1 and PFM-1S
type mines. Iceland and Malta officially confirmed that they do not possess
stockpiles of antipersonnel mines.
More precise information on the stockpiles of three signatories has been
reported. Greece is believed to possess 1.25 million antipersonnel mines and
reported to the Standing Committee meetings in May 2002 the types of mines and
initial estimates of destruction costs. Poland has revealed that it possesses
six types of antipersonnel mines. It has not officially revealed the size of
its stockpile, but informal discussions indicate this to be over one million.
Lithuania has reported possessing 8,091 antipersonnel mines.
Non-signatories Finland, Turkey, and Yugoslavia are believed to possess large
stockpiles, but have declined to reveal the quantities.
Ukraine and the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency signed a memorandum of
understanding in December 2001 to establish a trust fund to finance the
destruction of 400,000 antipersonnel mines. This is in addition to a similar
agreement between Canada and Ukraine signed in March 2001.
Albania, Austria, Norway, and Switzerland have decided not to retain any
antipersonnel mines under Article 3. Other States Parties previously possessing
antipersonnel mines have opted to retain a quantity under Article 3. Quantities
retained are less than 5,000 mines, with two exceptions—Sweden, which is
retaining 13,948, and Italy, which is retaining a maximum of 8,000. In May 2002
Italy stated that of the 8,000, approximately 2,500 units are actually just
components that should not be counted as retained mines. Two States Parties
have reduced the number of mines retained—Portugal has reported that it
will retain 1,115 (previously 3,523), and Slovenia will retain 3,000 (previously
7,000). Hungary decided to retain 1,500 mines that it previously proposed
destroying. Belgium and Bulgaria have reported on the specific purposes for
which mines are retained or used.
States Parties that have made statements since May 2001 on the issue of
antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices include: Austria,
Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden,
and the United Kingdom.
The US stores antipersonnel mines on the territory of twelve states,
including four States Parties and one non-signatory in this region: Norway
(123,000 US antipersonnel mines), Germany (112,000), United Kingdom at Diego
Garcia (10,000), Greece (1,100) and Turkey (1,100). In this reporting period,
the only new statement on this issue by a European State Party has been by the
United Kingdom. In March 2002, the UK stated that US antipersonnel mines were
not transited, stockpiled or maintained on British Indian Ocean Territory (Diego
Garcia) during the conduct of operations in Afghanistan. It also stated that
the Mine Ban Treaty applied to British Overseas Territories.
Landmine Problem
In Europe, three States Parties to the treaty are
mine-affected to a high degree: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia.
In Albania, the 1999 conflict in Kosovo caused mine contamination in the
northern districts, and civil disorder in 1997 caused mine/UXO contamination in
other areas. In Bosnia and Herzegovina the total area potentially affected is
estimated as 4,000 square kilometers, much of which has still not been surveyed.
The national Mine Action Center had records of 18,228 minefields in April 2002,
but estimates the probable total number to be 30,000, containing approximately
one million mines. In Croatia, the estimate of mine/UXO contamination was
reduced in late 2001 from 4,000 square kilometers to 1,700 square kilometers,
with only 10 percent actually contaminated by about 500,000 mines and UXO.
Signatory Poland remains significantly affected by mines and UXO from World
War II. The extent of mine/UXO contamination can be measured by comparing the
quantity of mines and UXO that continue to be detected in Poland over 50 years
later (3,842 mines and 45,322 UXO in 2001) with the quantities detected and
destroyed in Croatia (3,545 mines and 3,124 UXO in 2001) and in Bosnia and
Herzegovina (3,113 mines and 2,675 UXO in 2001) from conflicts of the 1990s.
Ten other countries (five States Parties, 3 three signatories, and three
non-signatories) are mine-affected to lesser degrees and from a variety of
causes: FYR Macedonia (some mines but mainly UXO from the 2001 conflict), Cyprus
(divided by a heavily mined buffer zone, with some marked minefields outside the
zone), Czech Republic (mines and UXO at the former Soviet military area of
Ralsko), Denmark (the mined island of Skallingen), Greece (mines and some UXO
from World War II, the civil war, and planned minefields on the border with
Turkey), Hungary and Latvia (mines and UXO in former Soviet and World War II
battle areas), Turkey (mining of borders, some of which has been or is being
demined, and of parts of the south-eastern districts), the United Kingdom
(minefields on the Falklands/Malvinas islands), and Yugoslavia (mines in
southern Serbia and the border with Croatia, UXO in other areas).
Other European countries suffer from residual mine-contamination dating from
World War II, including Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, and Lithuania. The
UN mine clearance operation in Kosovo was completed in 2001, with residual
mine/UXO contamination reportedly remaining.
Virtually all states of the former Soviet Union are mine-affected. The most
serious problems are in the regions of Abkhazia (Georgia), Chechnya (Russia),
and Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan). Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan
remain mine-affected due to Uzbek-laid mines along border areas with Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan. Other mine- and UXO-affected countries include Armenia,
Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine.
Mine Action Funding
The major European mine action donors in 2001 were
the European Commission ($25.3 million), Norway ($19.7 million), United Kingdom
($15.4 million), Denmark ($14.4 million), the Netherlands ($13.9 million),
Germany ($12.3 million), Sweden ($8.5 million), Switzerland ($8.4 million),
Italy ($5 million), Finland ($4.5 million), France ($2.7 million), Ireland ($2
million), Belgium ($1.9 million), Austria ($0.9 million), and Spain ($0.7
million). These numbers do not include funding for mine action research and
development.
The major recipients of mine action funding in Europe remain Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosovo. In contrast, Albania, which has a significant
mine/UXO problem, received very little funding.
Bosnia and Herzegovina received a total of $16.6 million in 2001, a similar
amount to the previous year, despite a funding crisis caused by loss of
donor-confidence in mid-2001. In Croatia mine action is funded largely by the
State, including a World Bank loan. Expenditure by the Mine Action Center in
2001 was $26.4 million (a large increase on 2000), including external donations
totaling $5.8 million (similar to 2000). Mine action funding for Kosovo in 2001
included $1.2 million donated to the Mine Action Coordination Center and $7.2
million channeled through the International Trust Fund to mine action agencies
working in Kosovo. An evaluation for UNMAS estimated that from 1999 to 2001
Kosovo received $85 million in mine action funding and in-kind assistance.
In Albania, about $2.9 million was donated for mine action in 2001, the large
majority of this going to international organizations carrying out short-term
mine clearance programs. The mine action structure in Albania received very
little funding and only on an emergency basis to maintain its existence. In
2001 and early 2002, a small amount of funding was also provided by
international donors for mine action in Yugoslavia and FYR Macedonia.
Mine action funding for Azerbaijan for 2001 totaled about $5.5 million. In
2001, Armenia received $3.15 million in humanitarian demining assistance from
the United States. HALO received $1.1 million from the US and Germany for
clearance operations in Abkhazia. In addition, the US transferred demining
equipment to the Georgian government in 2001 and 2002.
Mine Clearance and Survey
During 2001 and early 2002 planned clearance operations of some type
(including clearance of mixed mine/UXO contamination and clearance for military
purposes) took place in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, FYR Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Russia,
Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yugoslavia, as well as Abkhazia, Chechnya, Kosovo, and
Nagorno-Karabakh. Additionally, EOD responses to reported mine/UXO also took
place in Belgium, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, and Latvia. Among the
mine/UXO-affected countries of this region, Armenia, Denmark and Uzbekistan
report no clearance plans or activity in 2001.
There were humanitarian mine action programs and national mine action plans
in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, as well as Abkhazia, Kosovo, and
Nagorno-Karabakh. Albania is developing a national mine action plan. The
Armenian National Mine Action Center was opened in March 2002. At the US-funded
center, two 80-person companies are being trained in humanitarian mine action,
including a Mine Detecting Dog section. In FYR Macedonia, UNMAS opened a Mine
Action Office in Skopje in September 2001 to coordinate mine action responses by
various agencies and to develop a strategy for rapid implementation of mine
action.
In Abkhazia, HALO reported to have cleared 405 landmines and 306 pieces of
UXO in 2001, in addition to completing demining operations on the banks of the
Gumista River, in Sukhum. In Azerbaijan, a general survey was carried out in 11
districts and found 50 million square meters of land to be affected by mines and
UXO; 84 minefields were identified and marked. The Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine
Action Center reported that, in 2001, 73.5 million square meters of land was
surveyed and 5.5 million square meters of land cleared, a reduction from the
achievements in the year 2000. In Croatia, 42.3 million square meters of land
was handed over to communities for use, after general surveys reduced the
suspected area by 26.3 million square meters, technical surveys reduced the
suspected area by 2.4 million square meters, and clearance operations were
carried out on 13.6 million square meters of land (an increase on 2000). Greece
reported the completion of clearance of all minefields on the Greek-Bulgarian
border in December 2001, including the destruction of 25,000 antipersonnel and
antivehicle mines. In Kosovo during 2001, 8.1 million square meters were
cleared, completing in December 2001 the UN-coordinated mine action program
which started in mid-1999. From 1999 to December 2001, 32.2 million square
meters were cleared of mines and UXO. In Nagorno-Karabakh, HALO reportedly
destroyed 441 antipersonnel mines, 145 antivehicle mines, and 13,536 pieces of
UXO during the reporting period.
In 2001, the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) was
installed in Albania, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Estonia, Macedonia, as well as in
Kosovo and Northern Ossetia (Russia). SAC and its contracted implementing
partners are engaged in or planning for Landmine Impact Surveys in Azerbaijan
and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mine Risk Education
In 2001, mine risk education programs were carried
out in Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,
Kyrgyzstan, FYR Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, and FR Yugoslavia, as
well as Abkhazia, Chechnya, Kosovo, and Nagorno-Karabakh.
UNICEF and the ICRC were involved, usually with local Red Cross societies, in
MRE programs in Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR
Macedonia, Russia, Tajikistan and FR Yugoslavia, as well as Abkhazia, Chechnya,
Kosovo, and Nagorno-Karabakh. Handicap International supported the local NGO
APM, carrying out programs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Médecins sans
Frontières carried out a program in FR Yugoslavia in 2001. UNICEF was
expected to start mine risk education activities in Central Asia in January
2002, following an assessment mission conducted on its behalf by the GICHD in
the summer of 2001. However, as of July 2002, there were no reports of UNICEF
MRE activity in the region.
Mine risk education is not included in the national mine action programs of
Bosnia and Herzegovina or Croatia, although informal links at the local level
are made to integrate it with mine clearance and other activities. In Kosovo,
MRE was included in the UN mine action plan and integrated with other activities
during 2001. In Macedonia FYR, the ICRC and the Macedonian Red Cross launched a
community-based MRE program in September 2001. In Russia, the Mine Action
Center Foundation, in cooperation with specialists of the Engineers Corps of the
Russian Army, medical experts, and the NGO IPPNW/Russia, produced a MRE lecture
course for 12- to 16-year-old students. In Tajikistan, the ICRC, the Tajik Red
Crescent and the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense launched a
pilot-project based on the principle that, “all activities start and
finish in the community.” In practice, mine-affected communities are
involved in all stages of the project (survey, needs assessment, design of
materials, field testing, training, evaluation). In Georgia, there are no
governmental or non-governmental programs for mine risk education.
Mine Casualties
In 2001, mine/UXO incidents occurred in 20 countries
in Europe and Central Asia. New casualties were also reported in the regions of
Abkhazia, Chechnya, Kosovo, and Nagorno-Karabakh. This is an increase since the
last Landmine Monitor report because of UXO incidents in countries not generally
considered to be mine-affected. Belgium and Latvia were removed from the list
and the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland added.
In countries and regions in Europe and Central Asia with established mine
casualty databases, there is no clear pattern to the increase or decrease in
casualty rates. In Albania, nine casualties were recorded in 2001, down from 35
in 2000. In Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2001, 87 casualties were recorded, down
from 100 in 2000. In Croatia, 34 casualties were recorded, up from 22 in 2000.
In Kosovo, 22 casualties were recorded, down from 95 in 2000. In
Nagorno-Karabakh, 18 casualties were recorded, up from 15 in 2000.
In other countries, data on landmine/UXO casualties is collected from
government ministries and agencies, international agencies and NGOs, hospitals,
the media, and in some cases, databases that have been established by the
country campaigns of the ICBL. In Chechnya, 1,153 casualties were reported; it
has also been reported that 30 to 50 civilians are injured each month in
landmine incidents. In Georgia, 98 casualties were reported. In Macedonia FYR,
48 casualties were reported. In Tajikistan, 29 casualties were reported. In
Turkey, 49 casualties were reported, up significantly from five in 2000.
In 2001 and early 2002, landmine/UXO casualties also included nationals
coming from mine-free countries, or other mine-affected countries, killed or
injured while abroad engaged in military or demining operations, peacekeeping,
tourism, or other activities. These 13 countries include Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia,
Slovakia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. This is a significant increase from
the eight countries reported last year.
In 2001 and the first half of 2002, incidents during clearance operations or
in training exercises caused casualties among deminers in: Albania, Azerbaijan,
Croatia, Estonia, and Greece, as well as Abkhazia and Kosovo. There were
unconfirmed reports of demining casualties in several other countries.
Survivor Assistance
On 31 May 2001, the “International Complex
Program on the Rehabilitation of War Veterans, Participants of Local Conflicts
and Victims of Terrorism for 2001-2005” was approved by a resolution of
the Council of the Heads of Government of the CIS countries. In Chechnya, many
hospitals and clinics often function without running water, proper heating or
sewage systems. The ICRC has signed an agreement with the Chechen Ministry of
Health and the Chechen branch of the Russian Red Cross to assist the health
facilities in Chechnya. As of July 2002, there were no rehabilitation centers
operating inside Chechnya. In Georgia, specialized medical rehabilitation and
psychological support appears to remain inaccessible or unavailable for many
mine survivors.
In Armenia, in January 2002 the Yerevan Prosthetic-Orthopedic Enterprise
stopped providing assistance because of a lack of State funding. Operations
were due to resume in August 2002. In Ukraine, on 13 November 2001, the
President accepted a new decree on the medical and social protection of persons
with disabilities, including veterans and victims of war.
In Slovenia, on 1 to 2 July 2002, a workshop entitled “Defining
Strategies for Success” was held at the International Trust Fund for
Demining and Mine Victims Assistance center in the municipality of Ig, to
identify strategies for improving survivor assistance in the Balkans. In
Kosovo, concerns have been raised that, rather than seeking to establish
sustainable rehabilitation programs in Kosovo, some programs provide assistance
by transporting those requiring rehabilitation or prosthetics to other
countries. The Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Department of the Martin Horvat
hospital in Rovinj, Croatia was renovated to provide rehabilitation and
psychosocial support to young mine survivors. In Turkey, a new center for
prosthetics and rehabilitation was opened at Dicle University, near the
mine-affected areas. In Yugoslavia, HI and the Ministry of Social Affairs
signed a Memorandum of Understanding to assist in the process of reforms and
creation of a new policy addressing the needs of persons with disabilities.
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