Table of Contents

Country Reports

LM Report 2006

Croatia

Key developments since May 2005: Croatia hosted the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in November-December 2005. It served as President of the Meeting, a position with responsibilities until the next Meeting of States Parties in September 2006. In May 2006, Croatia stated that it had removed the tilt rods from its TMRP-6 mines. The Croatian company, Agencija Alan, removed TMRP-6 mines from its website and sales catalogues. On 15 December 2005, parliament passed the Law on Humanitarian Demining and the Law on Special Rights for Social Security and Pension Insurance for the Humanitarian Demining program. Of the total of 32 square kilometers planned for demining, Croatia released only 27.2 square kilometers. Parliamentarians criticized the slow pace of demining and limited implementation of victim assistance. There were 20 recorded landmine/UXO casualties in 2005, more than in 2004.

Mine Ban Policy

The Republic of Croatia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, ratified it on 20 May 1998 and became a State Party on 1 March 1999. National implementation legislation, the Law on Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, was approved by parliament on 1 October 2004 and by the president on 6 October 2004. Article 9, Section IV of the new law provides penal sanctions for violations.^[1]

In accordance with implementation law, a National Commission for the Coordination of Monitoring the Implementation of the Law has been established. It consists of representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, defense, interior and justice, as well as the Croatian Mine Action Center.^[2]

Croatia submitted its annual Article 7 transparency report on 28 April 2006, covering calendar year 2005. It has submitted seven previous Article 7 reports.^[3]

Croatia served as host and as the President of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in Zagreb in November-December 2005. In her welcome address, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said, “The message is clear: we must act with great urgency if we are to live up to our commitments under the Convention.” Further, she stressed the importance of responsibility and cooperation as the cornerstones of the Mine Ban Treaty. She said, “As sovereign states, we are responsible for what happens within our borders,” while also emphasizing the necessity of the cooperation of the international community in fulfilling treaty obligations.^[4]

The ICBL praised the Zagreb Progress Report and the Zagreb Declaration that emerged from the Sixth Meeting. It noted the importance of the Zagreb Progress Report as being a forward-looking document that identifies specific priorities for the following year.^[5]

Croatia will continue to serve as President of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties until the Seventh Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2006. The presidency is a key position with multiple responsibilities for ensuring effective operation of the treaty, including chairing the treaty’s Coordination Committee (which includes all of the Standing Committee co-chairs and co-rapporteurs).

At the Sixth Meeting of States Parties, Croatia made statements on universalization of the treaty, mine clearance and victim assistance. At the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2006, it presented an overview of the general status and operation of the convention in its role as president.^[6] It also made interventions on Articles 2 and 3.

Croatia has made a number of statements regarding sometimes controversial matters of interpretation and implementation for Articles 1, 2 and 3. With respect to Article 1 and the issues of joint military operations and “assisting” non-States Parties, the Ministry of Defense confirmed in April 2004 that Croatian soldiers are not allowed to use, or assist in the use of, antipersonnel mines within Croatia or in other countries, and that the transit of antipersonnel mines across Croatian territory by other states will not be tolerated.^[7]

With respect to Article 2 and antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes, Croatia informed States Parties in May 2006 that it has removed the tilt rods from its TMRP-6 antivehicle mines.^[8] It said that it “fully subscribes” to the statement in a Landmine Monitor Fact Sheet that “a mine that relies on a tripwire, breakwire, or tilt rod as its sole firing mechanism should be considered an antipersonnel mine.”^[9] It said, “Moreover, in order to make the agreement on this issue even stronger, we would like to point out that, although TMRP-6 mines do not rely on tilt rod as its sole firing mechanism, and in that sense do not constitute antipersonnel mines, we decided to take a step further and remove tilt rods from these mines so as to exclude every possibility for these mines to be activated by persons. This means that now all TMRP-6 mines in Croatia can be used exclusively as anti-vehicle mines which can only be detonated by pressure force of 250-300 kilos.”^[10]

In February 2006, a Ministry of Defense official stated that the Croatian company, Agencija Alan, had removed TMRP-6 mines from its website and all their sales catalogues. He also stated that no sanctions would be applied against the company since these were antivehicle mines, not prohibited by the treaty or other laws.^[11] Agencija Alan had offered the TMRP-6 with tilt rods for sale at weapons exhibitions and displayed them for sale in its product catalogue as late as August 2005.^[12] The ICBL believes that the sale of TMRP-6 mines with tilt rods would constitute a violation of the Mine Ban Treaty.

Croatia is a State Party to Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), and attended the Seventh Annual Conference of States Parties to the protocol in November 2005. Croatia submitted its annual report as required by Article 13 of the protocol on 30 September 2005. Croatia ratified CCW Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War on 7 February 2005.

On 22 November 2005, the ICBL held one of three international releases of Landmine Monitor Report 2005 in Zagreb, with a focus on mine action. The launch featured a panel discussion on mine action in the Balkans, with representatives of the mine action centers from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the International Trust Fund, the European Commission delegation to Croatia, and Norwegian People’s Aid. During the event, Croatia’s President, Stjepan Mesić, inaugurated a photo exhibition displaying a comparative study of mine-affected communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1996-1997 and 2005.

Production, Transfer, Stockpiling and Destruction

Croatia has regularly stated that it has never produced antipersonnel mines. There have been no reports of antipersonnel mines being imported or exported by Croatia.

Croatia completed the destruction of its stockpile of 199,003 antipersonnel mines on 23 October 2002, in advance of its treaty deadline of 1 March 2003. Six types of mines were destroyed in three phases. The total cost of the destruction program was €110,643 (US$105,111); it was completed without international financial support.^[13] An additional 45,579 mine fuzes were destroyed during the stockpile destruction program.^[14]

Croatia also possesses 19,076 MRUD Claymore-type directional fragmentation mines, which it does not classify as antipersonnel mines.^[15] It has repeatedly said these mines cannot be activated by accidental contact, but has not reported on what steps it has taken to ensure that these mines can only be used in command-detonated mode. A Ministry of Defense official stated that MRUD mines have not been laid and have never been found in minefields in Croatia, and that there have not been civilian victims of MRUD mines in Croatia.^[16]

Mines Retained for Research and Training

Croatia reported that at the end of 2005 it retained 6,236 antipersonnel landmines for training and development purposes.^[17] The mines are stored at the Croatian Armed Forces storage site, Jamadol, near Karlovac. In 2005, a total of 164 mines were destroyed during testing of demining machines by the Croatian Center for Testing, Development and Training (HCR-CTRO).^[18] In 2004, a total of 78 retained antipersonnel mines were destroyed, and 268 mines in 2003. Initially, Croatia announced that it would retain 17,500 antipersonnel mines, but in December 2000 decided to reduce this to 7,000.^[19]

In its 2006 Article 7 report, Croatia used the new expanded Form D on retained mines agreed by States Parties at the Sixth Meeting of States Parties. It says: “Based on the current needs for testing of demining machines in year 2006, we estimate that the following amount [175] of anti-personnel mines will be used (and consequently destroyed) in year 2006.”^[20]

Landmine and ERW Problem

Croatia is affected by landmines and, to a much lesser extent, explosive remnants of war (ERW). Mine contamination is a legacy of the armed conflict associated with the break-up of the former Yugoslavia during the early 1990s. During the four years of conflict in Croatia, mines were laid by all the warring parties, mainly to protect defensive positions on the lines of confrontation, which changed frequently; but also in areas of strategic importance, such as railway lines, power stations and pipelines. Minefields and other areas suspected of being contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) are located in 12 of the 21 counties of Croatia. Four of the counties are in the agriculturally-fertile region of Slavonia, which also has oil and natural gas reserves.^[21]

Following an extensive general survey in 2003-2005, Croatia identified 1,174 square kilometers of confirmed and suspected mined areas. In January 2006, Croatia reduced its estimate of total contamination to 1,147 square kilometers solely as a result of the amount of land demined in 2005. CROMAC declared that 10 to 15 percent of the total suspected areas were recorded minefields, the rest being areas suspected of being mine-contaminated.^[22]

Based on minefield records and assessments, mined areas contain an estimated 155,198 antipersonnel and 88,078 antivehicle mines. About 1.1 million inhabitants are believed to live in 121 mine-affected municipalities. In addition, the Article 7 report notes that five military facilities are partially contaminated with 65,824 antipersonnel mines and 1,707 antivehicle mines.^[23]

UXO can be found around a few warehouses, but these areas are said to be well marked and known to the local population. There are no dumps or caches of mines and other munitions.^[24] The majority of suspected mined areas are woods and forests followed by agricultural land, underbrush, meadows and pastures.^[25]

Mine Action Program

National Mine Action Authority: The Croatian Mine Action Center Council functions as the national mine action authority, appointed by the government in 1998. The council coordinates the work of the Croatian Mine Action Center and is headed by a president appointed by the prime minister and includes one member from 10 ministries. The council is said to meet once a month to discuss strategies, plans and progress in mine action.^[26]

Mine Action Center: The Croatian Mine Action Center (CROMAC) is responsible for coordinating mine action activities in Croatia. Its specific responsibilities include mine action information management, marking and fencing of mined and suspected hazardous areas, allocation of demining tasks through tenders, quality management, and coordination of mine risk education and victim assistance activities. In addition to its headquarters in Sisak, CROMAC has regional offices in Osijek, Karlovac and Zadar.^[27]

National Mine Action Legislation and Standards: On 15 December 2005, parliament passed the Law on Humanitarian Demining that had been under preparation since 2004; the law entered into force on 5 January 2006.^[28] When the previous Law on Humanitarian Demining was enacted in 1996, only one state company was authorized to conduct demining in Croatia. Although this law was amended twice, in 1998 and in 2000, following the creation of CROMAC and the establishment of other demining companies, CROMAC and demining operators decided to draft a new law rather than to continue to amend the earlier one.^[29]

Some of the regulations introduced by the law merely reflect current practices in Croatia, while others are entirely new, such as the possibility for deminers to gain invalidity and pension rights related to their profession. New regulations laid down by the law include: CROMAC’s practice of prioritizing demining in cooperation with mine-affected communities; non-Croatian citizens may obtain a demining license; an obligatory demining license for team leaders; demining tasks resulting from the National Mine Action Plan can be awarded only by applying the Law on Public Procurement; personal liability for deminers who miss mines or items of UXO during clearance operations; definition of the rights to which deminers, their families and other participants in the demining process are entitled in case of injury or inability to work as a result of demining operations; and daily monitoring of demining activities.^[30]

To comply with the new law, in December 2005 CROMAC began amending its standing operating procedures, which were based on International Mine Action Standards (IMAS); it planned to complete the process before the end of 2006.

A Law on Special Rights for Social Security and Pension Insurance for the Humanitarian Demining Staff was passed on 15 December 2005. The law provides that the following are entitled to a pension: deminers (regardless of their age as long as they have the requisite period of service), quality assurance and quality control officers, and officials from the Ministry of Interior who inspect demining operations. A beneficiary must have at least 30 years of service of which at least 10 years should have been spent performing survey, clearance or monitoring activities.^[31] In addition, the new law includes deminers in the national accelerated pension scheme, meaning that one year of demining work is recognized as one-and-half years for the purpose of a pension.^[32]

Strategic Planning and Progress

In January 2005, CROMAC approved the National Program for Mine Action in the Republic of Croatia 2005-2009. Revision of the program has been ongoing since 2005, and in June 2006, the program had not been submitted to parliament for approval. On 1 June, parliamentarians criticized the pace of demining in Croatia as too slow.^[33] CROMAC said the main problem was mobilizing resources for the program’s implementation, given that funding sources have to be identified before government approval can be obtained.^[34] The projected cost of the program was HRK3.32 billion (some $558 million).^[35]

The parliamentary session on 1 June 2006, however, supported the allocation of more government funding to mine action; an increase from 0.17 percent to 0.5 percent of the annual budget was suggested.^[36] CROMAC believes that the increase would permit the clearance of an additional 45 to 50 square kilometers per year, thereby reaching the demining goal of the draft national mine action program.^[37]

Croatia noted at the Sixth Meeting of States Parties that, “the total funds necessary to implement the 2005-2009 National Mine Action Plan are estimated at 450 million euros.” However, “total mine action expenditure from 1998-2005 amounted to 250 million euros and ... the rough estimate of the resources necessary to complete demining in Croatia (based on current information and prices) is about one-and-a-half billion euros ... one-tenth of the total yearly budget of the Government of Croatia.”^[38]

The main goals of Croatia’s draft national strategy were:

• Clearance of all registered minefields and those found during demining operations;
• Elimination of the mine threat from housing and infrastructure reconstruction sites, agricultural areas, meadows and pasture;
• Marking of all suspected mined areas and maintenance of existing markings;
• Inclusion of all at-risk groups in mine risk education;
• Continued psychosocial rehabilitation, support and economic reintegration of all mine survivors; and,
• Promotion at the international level of the Croatian approach to mine action.^[39]

The previous mine action program, announced in late 2000, aimed to make Croatia mine-free by 2010.^[40] Based on the 2005 estimate of 1,174 square kilometers of mine-suspected area, the draft National Mine Action Program 2005-2009 set a demining target of 346 square kilometers by the end of 2009.^[41] However, in light of the current revision of the mine action program, clearance targets may continue to change. Previously, the 2005 clearance target of 46 square kilometers (stated in Croatia’s Article 7 report of 8 June 2005) changed when the annual plan called for only 32 square kilometers to be demined.^[42] CROMAC explained that the 46 square kilometer target was an estimation of how much land had to be cleared annually to achieve the 2009 clearance deadline, whereas the annual plan set a clearance target for which funds and other resources were available.^[43] However, in reality, only 27 square kilometers were actually released in 2005 (about 85 percent of the plan, and less than 60 percent of the Article 7 target).

CROMAC attributed the under-performance in 2005 to extremely bad weather conditions in February, April and August, funding delays which delayed contracts and their implementation, and decreased funding by Croatian public companies.^[44] The cost of demining also increased in 2005, from HRK9.85 ($1.65) to HRK10.05 ($1.68) per square meter.^[45]

In 2006, Croatia estimated that there remained 1,147 square kilometers of suspected mined areas and revised its clearance target down to 320 square kilometers (28 percent of the total suspected area) by 2009.^[46] In May, Croatia explained that “the first imperative is to remove the danger of mines from populated areas and areas planned for economic development, tourism, nature preservation and transport.” Only 320 square kilometers “deserve priority” as they are comprised of “areas used by people in their every day life and activities.” CROMAC’s primary goal is to entirely remove the mine threat from those areas and to clear all registered minefields and those found during survey. According to CROMAC, the “remaining 800 square kilometers of suspected land consists of forested areas in mountains and hills and that have low economic value....”^[47] In 2005, CROMAC told Landmine Monitor that these areas would be marked, subject to general survey and possibly reduced further; any clearance would be left for others, such as the military.^[48]

In 2006, Croatia planned to spend HRK302 million (approximately $50 million) on clearance and technical survey, releasing a total of 28 square kilometers of land (the national mine action program called for the release of 75 square kilometers). Nearly 50 percent of the cost (HRK150.3 million) was supposed to come from the state budget, with HRK86 million (29 percent) from public companies, HRK56.7 million (18 percent) from donations and HRK10 million (3 percent) as World Bank loans.^[49]

The new Humanitarian Demining Law obliges CROMAC to develop a three-year demining plan, on which annual operational demining plans are based. The three-year plan is said to be an attempt to increase the efficiency of yearly plans by connecting them to the overall strategy.^[50]

At a meeting of the South-Eastern Europe Mine Action Coordination Council (SEEMACC) on 13 October 2005, CROMAC’s director suggested that Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia and Montenegro should jointly identify the mine situation on their common borders and send their demining priorities to donors through the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF).^[51] In November 2005, the head of the Croatian and Serbian mine action centers signed a protocol to remove mines from 376,000 square meters of no-man’s-land between the Batrovci-Bajakovo border crossing.^[52] Clearance operations, conducted by the Croatian company, Enigma, started shortly thereafter and were expected to be completed in April 2006. Severe weather conditions delayed completion to June.^[53]

Planning and prioritization of mine action is undertaken at the municipal and county levels, based on maps and data of confirmed and suspected mined areas sent by CROMAC twice-yearly. Municipalities submit their demining priorities to county authorities who also take account of development plans in setting regional demining priorities. From these, CROMAC drafts annual plans for approval by ministries and then by the government.^[54]

CROMAC is in charge of the management of mine action information in Croatia; the Mine Information System (MIS) is used. According to CROMAC, this has the advantage of being compatible with the information system used in the state administration. Some counties and municipalities have digitalized cadastral plans that CROMAC can access by intranet; it is planned that all counties and municipalities will have digital cadastral plans in coming years.^[55] CROMAC reported that its system will be merged with the CROMAC Geo Information Project (GIP) which is currently being developed.^[56] Since 2004, Norway has assisted CROMAC with the GIP project, which is intended to allow for better identification and location of minefields.^[57]

Summary of Efforts to Comply with Article 5

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Croatia must destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2009. In May 2006, Croatia declared, “given that, as of January 2006, 1,147 square kilometers was still mine-suspected, and that the 2006 annual demining plan calls for the return to use of 28 square kilometers, it is quite evident that Croatia’s likelihood of meeting the 2009 Convention deadline for demining is, indeed, very, very slim.”^[58] Parliamentarians debating the 2005 demining plan on 1 June 2006 warned that Croatia would be free of mines only in 40 years’ time, if demining continued at the current pace, and urged state bodies to increase funding. Funding was said to be the main obstacle to approval of the proposed National Program for Mine Action 2005-2009, and to Croatia’s fulfillment of its Article 5 obligations.^[59]

At the Standing Committee meetings in May 2006, Croatia’s representative feared that “resignation and apathy, couched as realism, may become the threat to the demining process in our country,” and said it needed “political will ... backed by economic support from the Croatian budget and public and private Croatian sources, as well as from the international community.”^[60]

Demining

In 2005, demining and survey activities were carried out by 27 commercial companies and one NGO, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA). A total of 600 deminers, 53 demining machines and 129 mine detection dogs were used by these organizations. Two new demining companies started operations in 2006. CROMAC employed 150 staff, of whom, 90 were involved in field operations (either as deminers/surveyors, monitors or quality assurance officers) and stationed in regional offices.^[61]

NPA employed 40 national staff in 2005, one team for general survey and task impact assessment, two teams for technical survey, one team for mine clearance, three medical teams, one mechanical team (one MV-4 mine clearance machine), two mine detection dog teams, and logistics and administration staff. Unlike commercial companies, NPA is able to take on projects in smaller areas, difficult terrain or remote locations―projects with social benefits but which may not be profitable.^[62]

Identification of Mined Areas: Surveys and Assessments

From 2003 to 2005, CROMAC conducted an extensive general survey to define more precisely the borders of suspected mined areas and the categorization of areas within these borders. Depending on the information held by CROMAC, areas were classified either as known mined areas (minefields) or as suspected mined areas. This resulted in CROMAC’s estimate of 1,174 square kilometers of confirmed and suspected mined areas in 121 towns and municipalities in 12 counties.

The total area affected by mines and UXO fell from 6,000 square meters in 1999 to 4,000 square kilometers in 2000 and, at the end of 2001, to 1,700 square kilometers.^[63] By 2003, the estimate had been reduced to 1,354 square kilometers, then to 1,174 square kilometers in April 2005, and to 1,147 square kilometers in January 2006. Thus, from 2000, estimates of the contaminated area were reduced by 2,853 square kilometers, while clearance operations from 2000 to 2005 accounted for only about 103 square kilometers of this reduction (3.6 percent of the reduction in suspected mined areas).^[64]

Demining companies carried out technical survey on 17,522,250 square meters in 2005, less than in 2004 (23,083,734 square meters). NPA released 689,894 square meters through technical survey during 2005, according to CROMAC.^[65] NPA reported to Landmine Monitor that it had returned 1,060,134 square meters of land to communities through technical survey during 2004-2005.^[66]

Marking and Fencing

CROMAC is responsible for marking mine-suspected areas during surveys. In 2005, four thousand signs were placed in suspected mined areas.^[67] CROMAC stated that, as of May 2006, mine-suspected areas were marked with a total of 9,500 warning signs; one-third of the signs were missing because people had removed them and were replaced.^[68]

Fencing of mined areas has been conducted by demining companies, but CROMAC will take over this task in future. Areas that are not a priority according to the demining plan, are fenced. Areas being cleared are also fenced. If during clearance operations it is found that the minefield boundaries extend beyond those in the tasking document, the demining company is obliged to fence off the additional area.^[69]

Mine and ERW Clearance

In 2005, 27,180,633 square meters of land (almost 85 percent of the plan) was released through clearance and technical survey.^[70] This is some 6.5 square kilometers less than in 2004 (33,684,932 square meters released).^[71] Mine clearance decreased in 2005 by about one square kilometer, but the main shortfall was in technical survey (17.5 square kilometers in 2005, 23 square kilometers in 2004). The numbers of mines and UXO destroyed in 2005 were also less than in 2004.^[72]

Area (square meters) Cleared/Surveyed and Mines/UXO Destroyed in Croatia in 2005[73]

Operator	Mine clearance	Antipersonnel mines	Antivehicle mines	UXO	Technical survey
Commercial companies	9,157,324	2,052	972	24,420	16,832,356
NPA	501,059	135	46	450	689,894
Army	352,400
Total	10,010,783	2,187	1,018	24,870	17,522,250

NPA conducted clearance in 2005 on seven projects, clearing and destroying 135 antipersonnel mines, 46 antitank mines and 450 items of UXO. NPA, however, cleared twice as much land in 2005 as in 2004 (276,953 square meters), as a result of reallocating former general survey teams to manual clearance. Also in 2005, NPA assisted nine families in five municipalities to purchase seeds and tools to start post-clearance agricultural activities.^[74]

Types of land returned to communities in 2005 consisted of agricultural areas (54.6 percent), infrastructure (14.9 percent), forest (12.1 percent), meadows and pastures (5.8 percent), underbrush (4.4 percent), and houses and yards (1.8 percent); “other areas” accounted for 6.4 percent.^[75]

In 2005, the commercial demining companies RU-RU and MUNGOS conducted clearance operations in the areas of Logorište (Karlovac county) and Volinja (Sisak-Moslavina county) around two derelict army barracks previously used to store munitions.^[76] As these barracks exploded during the war, a large amount of UXO was scattered in the area; this helps to explain the large amount of UXO found in 2005.^[77]

Between January and April 2006, clearance operations released 46,073 square meters of land, and survey by NPA released 21,503 square meters.^[78]

CROMAC reported that, in total, between January and April 2006, 1.7 square kilometers were cleared and 3.7 square kilometers were released through survey, including the destruction of 160 antipersonnel mines, 53 antivehicle mines and 116 items of UXO.^[79]

Since 1998, CROMAC has handed over some 210 square kilometers to local communities, as a result of either technical survey or mine clearance.^[80] A further 300 square kilometers were reduced through general survey.^[81]

Demining in Croatia is conducted through manual, mechanical and mine detection dog methods. Dogs are used for quality assurance of technical survey, mine clearance by commercial demining companies and by NPA. During clearance operations, dogs may also be used as a second or even third method when combined with mechanical and manual clearance. Standing operating procedures allow mine detection dogs to work only in certain conditions; the vegetation must be prepared and low, and contamination with explosives must also be low. Dogs may work both on flat and hilly areas, but are not recommended to be used in forested areas.^[82]

Quality assurance is conducted by CROMAC’s quality assurance and quality control officers. In 2005, quality assurance was conducted on 173 demining projects on a sampling area of 167,234 square meters. Quality assurance was also performed on 21 technical survey projects totaling a sampling area of 25,678 square meters.^[83]

After clearance or technical survey and quality assurance has been completed, CROMAC hands over the land to the towns, municipalities or counties by issuing a demining certificate or a statement on non-contamination of the site.^[84]

Following reports in 2005 that some farmers were independently removing mines from agricultural areas, CROMAC issued a warning through the newspapers in May 2005 informing people that such activities are prohibited by law. There have been no more reports of this kind since then.^[85]

In 2005, one deminer working for a commercial company was killed by a KB-1 cluster submunition during clearance operations in Lika-Senj county in September 2005. The accident was investigated by the police and CROMAC; they concluded that the deminer was following standing operating procedures and that the demining accident was a human mistake.^[86] Since 1998, 25 deminers have been killed, 24 seriously injured and another four slightly injured during demining operations in Croatia.^[87] All investigations following demining accidents are compiled by the Ministry of Interior.

All deminers, quality assurance employees, monitors and auxiliary workers are required to be insured. Demining companies have to send a copy of deminers’ life insurance certificates to CROMAC.^[88]

Research and Development

The Croatian Center for Testing, Development and Training conducts testing of mine detection dogs and demining machines; it performs annual re-certification of all machines. In 2006, the center continued research on the use of bees for landmine detection and area reduction in cooperation with the Faculty of Agronomy at Zagreb University. The experimental phase of using bees for area reduction showed positive results and CROMAC believed the method will be used once it is finalized.^[89]

At the start of 2006, HCR-CTRO conducted trials of Japanese dual sensor systems. Systems tested at the Benkovac site included the Mine Hunter Vehicle which carries a standard metal detector and two ground penetrating radar systems, the Gryphon robotic vehicle, and the dual sensor Advanced Landmine Imaging System. Preliminary results of trials were presented at the international symposium on humanitarian demining in Sibenik in April 2006. In 2006, HCR-CTRO planned to take part in several International Test and Evaluation Program for Humanitarian Demining (ITEP) projects.^[90]

Mine Risk Education

Organizations involved in mine risk education (MRE) in 2005 included the Croatian Red Cross, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Croatian Mine Victims Association (CMVA), Association of Civilian Mine Victims of the Homeland War and NPA. Around 100 people were involved in MRE programs in Croatia, 20 percent of them volunteers; one mine survivor, working for CROMAC, is involved in MRE programs.^[91]

MRE is coordinated by CROMAC; the new demining law makes this a legal obligation for CROMAC. CROMAC has seen no need to include IMAS in its MRE programs “because there is a long tradition in MRE programs since 1995 in Croatia.”^[92]

MRE has been targeted at adults as they form a large proportion of mine casualties. Hunters continue to be particularly at risk, mainly in the southern counties. They were targeted with specific MRE activities in a joint effort with the Croatian Hunting Association.^[93] However, MRE providers have found that changing behavior, rather than merely improving knowledge, is difficult. CROMAC concluded that MRE is more effective (in terms of reducing the number of mine casualties) when directly combined with the marking of suspected areas. Also, raising funds for demining is more successful if followed by mine awareness activities.^[94] The Be Aware, Mines! educational campaign was organized as part of preparations for the Sixth Meeting of States Parties, held in Zagreb in November-December 2005; the campaign continued in early 2006.

In 2005, as in previous years, the main provider of MRE in Croatia was the Croatian Red Cross.^[95] The main target groups for MRE were male outdoor workers, hunters and children.^[96] In 2005, 65 educators from 49 Red Cross branches in 14 counties organized 868 MRE lectures attended by 20,984 people (7,462 men, 3,173 women, 10,349 children).^[97] There were some 30 public events attended by approximately 10,000 people, and 10 performances of an MRE theater production were held for 2,000 children.^[98] In 2006, the Croatian Red Cross branch in Vinkovci organized a new theater show called “Mines are an invisible killer” for 100 children, followed by a quiz.^[99] Hunters were warned about the hazard of mines in the hunting grounds around the town of Solin through the sale of hunting dog leashes with a “Beware Mines” message.^[100]

Nine safe play-areas were constructed in 2005 in order to prevent casualties among children.^[101] To secure the necessary funds, there were 11 local fundraising projects, which also had an MRE impact. According to ICRC, by the end of 2005 there were 36 safe play-areas in Croatia.^[102] In 2006, there were plans to build five additional playgrounds.^[103]

The Croatian Red Cross and ICRC, in cooperation with CROMAC, NPA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, conducted five MRE workshops for directors from Red Cross branches and for MRE instructors. An MRE brochure was developed for the Red Cross instructors in the field in January 2006.^[104]

The Croatian Red Cross continued providing MRE lessons in schools and public companies in 2006; it trained 140 employees of the Croatian Power Company, one of the largest public enterprises.^[105]

In 2003, CROMAC stated that “mine awareness programs must be implemented parallel with demining activities.”^[106] The only organization, however, that has integrated MRE into clearance activities as part of ongoing community liaison is NPA. During 2005, NPA, CMVA and Bembo Association organized 10 MRE plays in seven municipalities in NPA areas of operation for 3,000 people (two-thirds were children). During April and May 2006, NPA and Bembo Association organized 16 more shows in elementary schools; over 2,000 children and 20 teachers attended.^[107]

A national organization based in Split, the Regional Center for Assistance and Disaster Relief, in conjunction with the State Administration for Protection and Rescue and CROMAC, prepared a pilot project, Children for a Safer World, to integrate MRE and emergency preparedness into the school curriculum. A qualitative survey was carried out in all elementary schools in Split. It was planned that the project will be organized in all elementary schools in Splitsko-Dalmatinska county for children in the first class. As of March 2006, the budget for the project had not been finalized.^[108]

In 2005, CROMAC provided landmine safety briefings to 200 railway workers from the Croatian Forest Company involved in reconstruction and maintenance of railroad tracks that might be mined. At a governmental meeting on tourism in 2006, CROMAC stated that, “Mines are not a threat to Croatian tourism at the well-known tourist destinations, but adventure tourism in some areas represents a special problem. Maximum efforts are made by nature and national parks to inform tourists on the issue in detail since they have all relevant information including that such areas are properly marked.”^[109]

Funding and Assistance

Mine action funding in 2005 identified by Landmine Monitor, including government contributions and international and domestic donations, totaled some $42.6 million. CROMAC reported government contributions totalling KN192,769,625 ($32,409,154), or 57 percent of the total reported expenditure in 2005.^[110] Eight countries and the European Commission (EC) reported contributing $9,491,287, which is a small reduction from 2004 ($9,824,386 donated by seven countries and the EC).^[111] International donors reporting funding in 2005 were:

• Austria: €100,000 ($124,490) to ITF for demining;^[112]
• EC: €1,010,000 ($1,257,349) to CROMAC for demining;^[113]
• France: €100,000 ($124,490) to CROMAC for mine clearance;^[114]
• Germany: €800,000 ($995,920) to Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB) for demining activities;^[115]
• Japan: ¥2,051,968 ($18,636) for the production of an animated mine risk education film;^[116]
• Luxembourg: €250,000 ($311,225) to CROMAC for mine clearance;^[117]
• Norway: NOK25,061,500 ($3,890,813), consisting of NOK11,780,000 ($1,828,852) to CROMAC for extensions to the scan centre, and NOK13,281,500 ($2,061,961) through ITF to NPA for mine clearance;^[118]
• Slovenia: $58,813 for mine action coordination;^[119]
• US: $2,709,551 through the ITF, consisting of $2,304,051 for demining and survey, $28,000 for mine risk education, and $377,500 for survivor assistance (including $312,000 to the DUGA Center for mine survivors for reconstruction and $65,500 to CMVA).^[120]

In addition, Adopt-A-Minefield reported providing $352,536 to ITF for mine clearance.^[121] Donations reported by ITF as allocated to mine action in Croatia in 2005, and not noted above, totaled $407,101, from public and private donors; these contributions were allocated to mine clearance.^[122]

ITF reported directing $10,050,640 to Croatia in 2005 (36.3 percent of ITF expenditure in 2005). This represents a significant increase, some 83 percent more than ITF directed to Croatia in 2004 ($5,489,272; 22 percent of ITF expenditure in 2004).^[123]

Of the total ITF expenditure in 2005, $9,870,609 (98.2 percent) was used for demining and technical survey. ITF funding was directed to 18 commercial operators and one NGO (NPA) in 2005; 21 demining and 13 technical surveys were implemented, and 5,635,474 square meters of land were released (3,460,000 square meters in 2004). Two technical survey projects planned for 2005, postponed due to poor weather, were to be completed in 2006.^[124]

Of the remaining funding for Croatia in 2005, ITF spent $44,400 (0.5 percent) on MRE, $39,237 (0.4 percent) on victim assistance and $96,395 (0.9 percent) on other activities.^[125]

CROMAC reported mine action funding of KN69,338,336 ($11,657,422) from 17 donors in 2005. Donations reported by CROMAC but not identified by Landmine Monitor were: Italy, KN1,850,000 ($311,029) and Monaco, KN375,875 ($63,194).^[126] NPA reported having received $59,126 from Monaco for its activities in Croatia during 2005.^[127] CROMAC has identified a decrease in domestic donations since 2003, from seven percent of total funding in 2003, to four percent in 2004 and two percent in 2005. This has been influenced in part by the completion of a large project funded by Croatian Highways in early 2005.^[128]

Expenditure: Landmine Monitor estimated that total expenditure on mine action in Croatia in 2005 was KN337,452,126 ($56,733,719), an increase from 2004 (KN314,522,819, or $52,112,191).^[129] Total expenditure is calculated from CROMAC’s reporting on specific activities: KN335,708,446 ($5,645,335) or 99.5 percent was spent on demining, including CROMAC expenses; KN944,250 ($158,751) or 0.3 percent was spent on MRE; and KN799,430 ($134,403) or 0.2 percent was spent on victim assistance.^[130] CROMAC identified a total funding requirement of KN500 million ($82,781,457) to fulfill the objectives of the national mine action strategy for 2005.^[131]

Funds for MRE and victim assistance are primarily managed by NGOs and by some government ministries.^[132] The Croatian Mine Victims Association reported receiving funding from several donors in 2005 and early 2006 of about $87,600, including the estimate for an in-kind contribution of a car.^[133] NPA reported contributions to MRE of some KN362,950 ($61,020) for 2005 and early 2006, including funding from the embassies of Australia and Norway.^[134]

Landmine/UXO Casualties

In 2005, CROMAC reported 12 new landmine/UXO casualties in nine incidents and one demining accident in its operational areas; four people were killed (all male adults, including one deminer) and eight injured. There were eight additional mine/UXO casualties reported outside mine/UXO-suspected areas; three were killed (including two boys), and five injured; several of the incidents were under investigation for possible criminal activity; one involved a Dutch tourist.^[135] This represents an increase from the 16 casualties (14 killed and two injured) reported in 2004.^[136]

Of 13 mine casualties (one outside CROMAC operational areas), five were injured and three were killed by bounding antipersonnel mines, two were injured by a pressure-activated antipersonnel mine, and two were injured by an antivehicle mine; a deminer was killed by a KB-1 bomblet.^[137] Of the civilian casualties, five occurred while fishing or hunting (two were killed), one was killed while collecting snails, three were injured while farming, one while grazing sheep, and one while digging a canal.^[138]

A 27-year-old Dutch tourist stepped on a landmine while mountain climbing on the southern Croatian island of Vis on 21 July; his left foot was amputated.  Vis was not known to be mined (and is outside of CROMAC operational areas).^[139]

Casualties continued to be reported, with two to May 2006; one was killed and one injured; both were civilians.^[140]

CROMAC collects data on all casualties, but those occurring within the boundaries of mine-suspected areas are recorded separately from casualties outside these areas. As of February 2006, the CROMAC database recorded 1,779 mine/UXO casualties since 1991 in mine-suspected areas, with 503 casualties occurring since the end of the war in 1995; 440 people were killed, 1,305 injured and the status of 34 casualties is unknown.^[141]

As of February 2006, 353 casualties were recorded outside mine-suspected areas since 1991; 69 people were killed, 257 injured, and the status of 27 casualties is unknown.^[142] The majority of these incidents were a result of UXO; incidents of this kind are dealt with by the Ministry of Interior.^[143] Sources of information for CROMAC data collection include hospitals, police, army, media and sometimes mine survivors. Although the CROMAC database contains information on age, gender, type of injury and location, only 50 percent of registered casualties have complete information.

The Ministry of Family, Veterans Affairs and Intergenerational Solidarity also maintains a database on those killed and injured in war, including casualties due to landmines, as well as a database of military deminers killed or injured during clearance operations. Emergency services, including the police, throughout the country are obliged by law to register every injury, especially traumatic injuries; however, the cause of injury is not always noted, and regarding explosions it is often not clear what type of device was involved.^[144]

The CMVA also records data for the whole territory of Croatia. Between 1990 and 2006, the CMVA database recorded 1,804 mine/UXO casualties. According to the CMVA, within mine-suspected areas, 1,171 civilians were mine casualties (290 killed, 881 injured) and 280 were casualties of UXO (64 killed, 216 injured). Outside of mine-suspected areas, 13 were mine casualties (one killed and 12 injured) and 340 were UXO casualties (68 killed and 272 injured).^[145] Deminers numbered 140 mine casualties (65 killed and 75 injured) and 52 UXO casualties (26 killed and 26 injured).^[146]

In order to improve data quality and assist in the development of a national strategy for mine victim assistance, the government noted that the Croatian Institute for Health Insurance and hospitals could use the World Health Organization classification category Y368 “War operations after the ceasefire” when registering patients to identify injuries caused by mines to provide a better understanding of the services that survivors are accessing.^[147]

Survivor Assistance

At the First Review Conference in Nairobi, Croatia was identified as one of 24 States Parties with significant numbers of mine survivors and “the greatest responsibility to act, but also the greatest needs and expectations for assistance” in providing adequate services for the care, rehabilitation, and reintegration of survivors.^[148]  Croatia presented its 2005-2009 objectives for the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in November-December 2005, in Zagreb. Time-based objectives include: restart regional mine action coordination bodies (2005); complete reconstructing DUGA center for mine survivors (mid-2006); update CROMAC database, incorporate information from other databases, and expand other injury surveillance mechanisms to include “mine explosion” as a cause of injury; restart national victim assistance coordination body, including survivor participation (end 2006); implement National Strategy of Unique Policy for the Disabled 2003-2006, and develop new strategy for after 2006; and develop standing operating procedures for casualty evacuation (2008). Objectives without timeframes include: survivor inclusion; emergency helicopter service, routine upgrading of ambulances and medical equipment, continuous emergency treatment training for practitioners and emergency first-aid training for the public; strategy for greater cooperation among stakeholders and a network to coordinate surveillance, monitoring and information sharing; revise Book of Rules on mobility devices to take technical advances and needs of people with disabilities into account; and continue development of psychological support programs.^[149]

At the Standing Committee meetings in May 2006, Croatia stated that the most important progress made to the national victim assistance plan was establishing timeframes and estimating the number of survivors benefiting from future assistance, in cooperation with stakeholders. In December 2005, a fund was established to encourage employment of people with disabilities. Progress was made on the integrating of victim assistance into the broader healthcare and social services through the Croatian Trauma Register Project, which aims to record and monitor all trauma cases from the occurrence of the injury until rehabilitation/reintegration is completed. In March 2006, the National Plan of Activities for Regulating Children Rights and Interests 2006-2012 for children with special needs was passed; it entails a needs assessment to enable the development of support programs.^[150]

Croatia included the voluntary Form J, giving details of survivor assistance activities, with its annual Article 7 report submitted on 28 April 2006.^[151]

Several Croatian mine survivors participated in the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in November-December 2005. A survivor was in the Croatian delegation to the Standing Committee meetings in May 2006, but no victim assistance expert was included.^[152]

The National Mine Action Program for 2005-2009 includes victim assistance and rehabilitation, which is mainly organized and conducted by NGOs in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^[153]

Croatia has a well-developed public health infrastructure and health system, including clinics, clinical hospitals, specialized hospitals and rehabilitation centers.^[154] In Split and Osijek, there are independent emergency facilities, while in other towns there are 24-hour emergency services, including emergency transport and specialized response teams. Surgery can be performed in all country hospitals but the larger regional centers of Rijeka, Split, Osijek and Zagreb have a wider range of services. Staff are well qualified and there are sufficient resources, but some equipment and ambulances need upgrading. The Croatian Institute for Health Insurance approves treatment and pays the costs,^[155] but mine survivors must pay for medicines not on the institute’s list, and for everything that exceeds the national limits. In 2005, there were 47 health centers, 22 general hospitals, 18 teaching hospitals and clinics, two clinical hospital centers, five clinical hospitals, 29 specialized hospitals (two privately owned), seven health resorts (two privately owned), four emergency medical aid centers, 278 polyclinics, 145 medical centers providing home-based care, and 168 pharmacies.^[156]

There are 14 specialized hospitals for physical rehabilitation throughout Croatia, one Institute for Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Devices, and private prosthetic workshops.^[157] Four hospitals have facilities for the fitting of prostheses; orthopedic devices are produced and supplied by 400 registered contract companies. Reportedly, all Croatians covered by health insurance are entitled to physical rehabilitation and devices according to their needs.^[158] But some mine survivors claim that the rehabilitation available is incomplete, and that they and other amputees with health insurance have to pay about 10 percent of the cost of a basic prosthesis.^[159] According to CMVA, the government does not cover the rehabilitation costs of a large proportion of its members.^[160] By law, civilians are entitled to rehabilitation once a year for up to 21 days, but only those whose disability exceeds 80 percent have their costs covered by state institutions.^[161] Homeland Defenders are entitled to physical rehabilitation twice a year and, if after 21 days doctors determine the rehabilitation period is insufficient, the period may be extended.^[162] Medical secondary schools offer a four-year training course for physiotherapists, but prosthetic technicians are trained abroad and receive on-the-job training. Bauerfeind in Zagreb, a private orthopedic firm, offered scholarships for a two-year prosthetic/orthotic training program to three mine survivors, and in 2005, one trainee began practice at the Orthopedic Institute in Zagreb.^[163] As part of the rehabilitation training program, one student from Croatia enrolled in the prosthetics and orthotics technology course at the School of Health Studies, University of Ljubljana, and was scheduled to complete the study program in the 2005/2006 academic year.^[164]

The local NGO Croatian Guide Dog and Mobility Association (CGDMA) operates a dog training school and provides support to the visually-impaired in Croatia, which trained 34 blind people to use a cane and nine guide dogs in 2005. The CGDMA has 164 members, two of whom are mine survivors. Construction of a regional center in Zagreb was due for completion by the end of 2006.^[165]

Croatia has a network of 80 social services centers including social workers, psychologists, special-education teachers, and education, career and legal counselors. Children with disabilities receive education in the regular education system or in special facilities with assistance of support staff; however, teachers are not adequately trained on the special needs of children with disabilities. The government has recognized the importance of sports activities for people with disabilities and supports programs implemented by the Croatian Sport Association of Persons with Disabilities. Adult mine survivors and other people with disabilities can follow adapted education programs, through the system of adult education, approved by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports. The Ministry of Family, Veterans Affairs and Intergenerational Solidarity supports an economic reintegration program for disabled veterans and children of those killed, imprisoned or missing.^[166]

The National Center for Psycho-trauma in Zagreb, which offered psychological support to survivors of the war, including mine survivors, ceased operations in 2005, and its activities shifted to the four Regional Centers for Psycho-trauma in Zagreb, Osijek, Rijeka and Split, with satellite centers in each of the 21 counties of Croatia. While all offer psychological support to military survivors of the war and the members of their families, including mine survivors, they do not offer support to civilian survivors.^[167]

The main psychosocial support network for mine survivors remained the CMVA, which is the only NGO that takes care of mine victims and their family members, regardless of whether they had been involved in a mine incident as civilians, soldiers, or deminers. CMVA’s activities include an ongoing survey of mine survivors in Croatia and a wide range of direct and indirect support and awareness-raising activities in cooperation with partners.^[168] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration provides financial and material support, and the Croatian Red Cross cooperates with fund-raising campaigns through its local branches.^[169] CROMAC and NPA also provided technical and administrative support.^[170] In 2005, 34 young people participated in the summer program for young mine survivors at the Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Department of the Dr. Martin Horvat Hospital in Rovinj, including 10 from Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[171] In March 2006, CMVA and NPA organized the first ‘winter’ program, which gave 40 young landmine/UXO survivors from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina the opportunity to go skiing at Kranjska Gora (Slovenia), and participate in workshops.^[172] CMVA has been unable to secure funding for a similar project targeting adult survivors; although the interest of potential participants is high, donors have shown little interest in funding activities for adults.^[173]

A contract between Istrian county and the DUGA center was signed in January 2005 and renovation of the building began in September 2005.^[174] The center is planned to open by the end of 2006, providing psychosocial support and rehabilitation through skill and confidence-building activities. It will have the capacity to host 500-600 survivors from southeastern Europe each year, and to accommodate 40 participants on its premises.^[175]

Since September 2005, five mine survivors work in the SCAN Centre transferring analogue data to digital using equipment donated to CROMAC by Norway.^[176] Another is employed in the Karlovac office as a data operator and MRE clerk; one survivor works with the NPA database, one survivor and former deminer is employed monitoring the ITF project, and one survivor works for the demining equipment manufacturer DOK-ING Ltd.^[177] In February 2006, Mine Aid employed one social worker to provide psychosocial support to mine survivors.^[178]

Disability Policy and Practice[179]

Croatia has extensive legal provisions for the rights and entitlements of people with disabilities, including mine survivors; however, many are not fully implemented, partly due to a lack of knowledge about entitlements.

In December 2005, the Law on Humanitarian Demining was passed by parliament. Under its provisions, the rights of deminers, their relatives and other participants in demining injured or unable to work after their injuries have been listed and defined.^[180]

Pension benefits vary based on the level of disability. Civilian deminers who suffer an amputation are eligible to receive a pension of KN1,200 ($202) a month, though veterans may receive as much as KN18,000 ($3,026) a month for 100 percent disability.^[181] However, the average monthly cost of living for a family of four was approximately KN6,000 a month ($1,009).^[182] The cost of rehabilitation is about KN400 ($67) per day; the cost of an average prosthesis is KN4,000 ($672), or KN10,000-50,000 ($1,681-8,406) for a high quality prosthesis.^[183] In December 2005, the government was criticized by several members of parliament, including one with a disability, for having implemented only 12 of 70 measures planned under the national strategy for people with disabilities adopted in 2003.^[184]

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[1] Article 7 Report, Form A, 8 June 2005. Croatia previously reported that it had “already met its commitments pursuant to Article 9 of the Convention with present national legislation” and that the new law “will only regulate aforementioned commitments in more details.” It noted that Article 163 of the Criminal Law defines legal sanctions for violations of international law, with penalties including fines and imprisonment from six months to three years or long-term imprisonment. National Gazette, No. 141, 13 October 2004, p. 5993; Article 7 Report, Form A, 18 June 2004.
[2] Article 7 Report, Form A, 8 June 2005.
[3] Previous reports were submitted on 8 June 2005, 18 June 2004, 30 April 2003, 26 April 2002, 30 May 2001, 26 January 2001 and 3 September 1999.
[4] Address by the President of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia, 28 November 2005.
[5] See ICBL, “Act Now for a Mine-Free World: Report on Activities, Sixth Meeting of States Parties, Zagreb, Croatia, 28 November-2 December 2005.” This includes ICBL’s assessment of the meeting, details on activities during the meeting and key documentation.
[6] “Overview of the general status of implementation: Update on the pursuit of the aims of the Nairobi Action Plan and the priorities contained in the Zagreb Progress Report,” Dijana Pleština, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, President of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties, and member of CROMAC Council, Geneva, 8 May 2006.
[7] Interview with Col. Slavko Haluzan, Ministry of Defense, Zagreb, 8 April 2004; telephone interview with Vice Skracic, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 26 March 2003; interview with Sanja Bujas Juraga, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zagreb, 23 January 2001. A similar statement was made in January 2000; see Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 611.
[8] Croatia intervention on Article 2, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 12 May 2006; email from Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, 22 March 2006. In May 2003, Croatia said, “As it is certainly possible that TMRP-6 mines when equipped with tilt-rods could be activated by a person, Croatia is prepared to discuss this issue within the framework of Article 2 discussions of the Convention.” Since that time it had made no further comment. “Claymore-Type Mines,” intervention by Croatia, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 16 May 2003.
[9] The ICBL, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and many States Parties have expressed the view that antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes such as tilt rods, tripwires and breakwires are prohibited by the treaty because they function as antipersonnel mines.
[10] Croatia intervention on Article 2, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 12 May 2006.
[11] Email from Capt. Vlado Funaric, Armaments Inspector and UXO Military Advisor, Ministry of Defense, 22 February 2006.
[12] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 301-302.
[13] Article 7 Report, Form F, 28 April 2006. The mines destroyed included: PMA-1 (14,280); PMA-2 (44,876); PMA-3 (59,701); PMR-2A/2AS (74,040); PMR-3 (4); and PROM-1 (6,102). Croatia acquired its stockpile of antipersonnel mines by taking over Yugoslav Army depots during the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. At entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty, Croatia reported possessing 198,649 antipersonnel mines, plus additional components. This total was revised in later reports, due to more accurate information and other factors. Article 7 Report, Form B, 3 September 1999. See also Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 612; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 210.
[14] Article 7 Report, Form F, 28 April 2006. These fuzes included: 15,476 UPMR-2A, 2AS; 13,256 UPMR-3; 11,870 UPROM-1; 2,514 UPMAH-1; 1,960 UPMAH-2; and 503 UPMAH-3. Landmine Monitor noted that while all were listed by Croatia as antipersonnel mine fuzes, two types could also be fuzes for antivehicle mines (UPMAH-1 and UPMAH-3), and one type is capable of dual use (UPMR-2A). A Ministry of Defense official clarified in February 2006 that these fuzes were not for antivehicle mines. He said that UPMAH-1 was used for the antipersonnel mine PMA-1, UPMAH-3 for PMA-3, and UPMR-2A for PMR-2A and PMR-2AS. He confirmed they were all destroyed in 2002. Email from Capt. Vlado Funaric, Ministry of Defense, 22 February 2006.
[15] Email from Capt. Vlado Funaric, Ministry of Defense, 22 February 2006; “Claymore-Type Mines,” intervention by Croatia, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 16 May 2003. Claymore-type mines used in command-detonated mode are permissible under the Mine Ban Treaty, but if used with tripwires are prohibited.
[16] Email from Capt. Vlado Funaric, Ministry of Defense, 22 February 2006.
[17] Article 7 Report, Form D, 28 April 2006. The mines included: 830 PMA-1A; 1,288 PMA-2; 1,302 PMA-3; 909 PMR-2A; 70 PMR-3; and 1,837 PROM-1.
[18] Email from Nikola Pavkoviċ, Director, HCR-CTRO, 21 March 2006; Article 7 Report, Form D, 28 April 2006; intervention by Croatia on Article 3, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 12 May 2006. The mines destroyed included: 46 PMA-1; 46 PMA-2; 41 PMA-3; 14 PMR-2A; and 17 PROM-1. Croatia provided details on how many of which types of mines were used for testing various machines, including demining machines (Mine-Wolf, M-FV 1200, M-FV 2500/580, MVR-01 and MV-10) and excavators (MT-01 and ORKA).
[19] Article 7 Report, Form D, 30 May 2001.
[20] Article 7 Report, Form D, 28 April 2006.
[21] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 303.
[22] CROMAC, “Annual Report for 2004;” emails from Miljenko Vahtarić, Assistant Director, CROMAC, 18 April and 22 August 2005, and interview, Sisak, 15 March 2006.
[23] Article 7 Report, Form C, 28 April 2006; presentation by Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, EU Mine Action Coordination Meeting for South Eastern Europe, Sarajevo, 6 April 2005; see Landmine Monitor Report 2005,
p. 303.
[24] Emails from Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, 18 April and 22 August 2005.
[25] Article 7 Report, Form C, 28 April 2006.
[26] Emails from Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, 18 April and 22 August 2005; email from Neven Karas, Assistant Director, CROMAC, 26 April 2005; interview with Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, 17 May 2005. The council includes representatives of the following ministries: finance; foreign affairs; economy, labor and entrepreneurship; sea, tourism, transport and development; agriculture, forestry and water management; environmental protection, physical planning and construction; science, education and sports; and culture.
[27] Emails from Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, 18 April and 22 August 2005; CROMAC, www.hcr.hr, accessed 29 May 2006.
[28] Narodne Novine (National Gazette), No. 153/05, 28 December 2005.
[29] CROMAC, www.hcr.hr, accessed 3 February 2006.
[30] Ibid, accessed 20 January 2006.
[31] Ibid.
[32] Interview with Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, Mine Risk Education and Victim Assistance Advisor, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006.
[33] “MPs dissatisfied with current pace of removal of land-mines,” HINA (Zagreb), 1 June 2006; interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 13 June 2006; and telephone interview, 16 June 2006.
[34] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006; and email, 31 May 2006.
[35] For details see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 304. Average exchange rate for 2005: US$1 = HRK5.947999, used throughout this report. “Midpoint Exchange Rates of the Croatian National Bank, (2005 period average),” www.hnb.hr, accessed 20 June 2006.
[36] Email from Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, 2 June 2006.
[37] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 13 June 2006; and telephone interview, 16 June 2006.
[38] “Clearing mined areas,” statement by Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, Sixth Meeting of States Parties, Zagreb, 29 November 2005.
[39] Email from Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, 22 August 2005; and telephone interview, 8 September 2005.
[40] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 658.
[41] The 2005 National Program for Mine Action in the Republic of Croatia 2005-2009 set the following mine clearance targets (square kilometers): 46 in 2005, and 75 in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009; Article 7 Report, Form C, 8 June 2005.
[42] Email from Nataša Mateša-Mateković, Head of the Department for Planning and Analysis, CROMAC, 7 March 2006.
[43] Ibid; Article 7 Report, Form C, 8 June 2005.
[44] Information provided by Kristina Ikić Baniček, Advisor for International Cooperation and Donations, CROMAC, 15 March 2006. Public companies with projects in suspected mined areas are obliged to include mine action in their budgets.
[45] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 13 June 2006.
[46] The target at the start of 2005 was 346 square kilometers and 27 square kilometers had been released by the end of the year, thus the remaining target should be 319 square kilometers.
[47] Statement by Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006. As the remaining suspected mined areas covered 1,147 square kilometers at the beginning of 2006, the total size of suspected mined areas left after clearance of 320 square kilometers should be 827 square kilometers (or 828 square kilometers after clearance of 319 square kilometers).
[48] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 306-307.
[49] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006; statement by Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[50] Email from Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, 2 June 2006.
[51] SEEMACC, “Minutes of the 15th Meeting of the South-Eastern Europe Mine Action Council held in Bijela, Montenegro on 13th October 2005,” www.see-demining.org, accessed 20 March 2006.
[52] “Vukovar: Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro sign a protocol on demining,” HINA, 14 November 2005.
[53] Email from Stoja Pejic, Donor Relations Advisor, Serbian Mine Action Center, Belgrade, 23 March 2006; telephone interview with Gregor Sancanin, Program Manager, ITF, Belgrade, 29 May 2006.
[54] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006. Annual demining plans must be approved by the ministries of sea, tourism, transport and development; agriculture, forestry and water management; interior; defense; culture; environmental protection; physical planning and construction.
[55] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 13 June 2006; and telephone interview on 16 June 2006.
[56] Information provided by Damir Jelinic, Head of Department for Data Base, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006.
[57] Email from Brede Gundersen, Centre for Property Rights and Development, Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority (NMCA), 7 May 2006.
[58] Statement by Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[59] “Members of Parliament dissatisfied with current pace of removal of land-mines,” HINA, 1 June 2006.
[60] Statement by Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[61] CROMAC, “Council on the Report for 2005 and Demining Plan 2006,” www.hcr.hr, accessed 3 February 2006; emails from Nataša Mateša-Mateković, CROMAC, 27 February and 15 March 2006.
[62] Information provided by Vanja Sikirica, Mine Action Advisor, NPA, Zagreb, 15 March 2006.
[63] See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 575; Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 657-658; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 212.
[64] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 303.
[65] Email from Nataša Mateša-Mateković, CROMAC, 27 February 2006.
[66] Information provided by Vanja Sikirica, NPA, Zagreb, 15 March 2006.
[67] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006.
[68] Statement by Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[69] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006; and email, 31 May 2006.
[70] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006; email from Nataša Mateša-Mateković, CROMAC, 27 February 2006.
[71] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 306-307.
[72] Article 7 Report, Form C, 8 June 2005; see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 307.
[73] Emails from Nataša Mateša-Mateković, CROMAC, 7 March and 24 April 2006; Article 7 Report, Form C, 28 April 2006.
[74] Information provided by Vanja Sikirica, NPA, Zagreb, 15 March 2006.
[75] Email from Nataša Mateša-Mateković, CROMAC, 27 February 2006.
[76] Email from Nataša Mateša-Mateković, CROMAC, 24 April 2006.
[77] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006.
[78] Email from Nataša Mateša-Mateković, CROMAC, 24 April 2006.
[79] Ibid.
[80] Statement by Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006. CROMAC reports handing over 208.96 square kilometers of land since 1998. Email from Miljenko Avhatric, Assistant Director, CROMAC, 10 July 2006.
[81] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 13 June 2006; and telephone interview, 16 June 2006.
[82] Email from Nataša Mateša-Mateković, CROMAC, 24 April 2006; email from Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, CROMAC, 27 April 2006.
[83] Email from Nataša Mateša-Mateković, CROMAC, 27 February 2006.
[84] Ibid.
[85] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006.
[86] Interview with Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006; and email, 20 March 2006.
[87] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 307.
[88] Interview with Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006.
[89] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 13 June 2006; and telephone interview, 16 June 2006; interview with Nikola Pavković, Director, Center for Testing, Development and Training Ltd., Zagreb, 15 March 2006.
[90] Interview with Nikola Pavković, HCR-CTRO, Zagreb, 15 March 2006.
[91] Interview with Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, CROMAC, Sisak, 23 March 2006; interview with Vijorka Roseg, MRE Coordinator, Croatian Red Cross (CRC), Zagreb, 23 March 2006.
[92] Email from Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, CROMAC, 22 February 2006. MRE programs in Croatia were started in 1995 by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education; in 1996, ICRC, Croatian Red Cross and UNMAC started implementing MRE; in 1998, CROMAC became involved.
[93] Croatia, “Report on the execution of the plan for demining of the Croatian territory and financial sources used for 2005,” 2006, p. 13; email from Ivica Budor, General Secretary, Croatian Hunting Association, 22 February 2006.
[94] Croatia, “Report on the execution of the plan for demining of the Croatian territory and financial sources used for 2005,” 2006, p. 13; email from Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, CROMAC, 22 February 2006.
[95] Email from Vijorka Roseg, CRC, 20 February 2006; CRC, “Annual Report 2005,” February 2006.
[96] Croatia, “Report on the execution of the plan for demining of the Croatian territory and financial sources used for 2005,” 2006, pp. 13-14.
[97] Email from Vijorka Roseg, CRC, 20 February 2006; CRC, “Annual Report 2005,” February 2006.
[98] Email from Željko Zorica, President, Bembo Association, Zagreb, 18 February 2006; email from Vanja Sikirica, NPA, 22 March 2006; email from Damir Borojević, Director of Theater Daska, Sisak, 13 March 2006. The theater production “No, no, not mine(s)” has been played for 52,000 children since 1999, not in 2005, as stated in Landmine Monitor Report 2005.
[99] Email from Vijorka Roseg, CRC, 20 February 2006.
[100] Email from Martina Belošević, Croatian Mine Victim Association (CMVA), 28 June 2006.
[101] Information provided by Vijorka Roseg, CRC, at MRE coordination meeting, Sisak, 13 March 2006.
[102] ICRC, “ICRC Special Report, Mine Action 2005,” Geneva, May 2006, p. 15.
[103] Article 7 Report, Form I, 28 April 2006.
[104] CRC, “Silent Threat Landmines, Mine Risk Education Program,” Zagreb, 2004, www.hck.hr, accessed 28 June 2006.
[105] Information provided by Vijorka Roseg, CRC, at MRE coordination meeting, Sisak, 13 March 2006.
[106] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 308.
[107] Information provided by Vanja Sikirica, NPA, and Martina Belošević, CMVA, 17 March 2006.
[108] Emails from Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, CROMAC, 22 February and 23 March 2006.
[109] Email from Martina Belošević, CMVA, 28 June 2006.
[110] Interview with Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: $1 = HRK (KN) 5.947999, used throughout this report. “Midpoint Exchange Rates of the Croatian National Bank, (period average).”
[111] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 309.
[112] Austria Article 7 Report, Form J, 27 April 2006; email from Alexander Kmentt, Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 27 April 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: €1 = US$1.2449, used throughout this report. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[113] Email from Laura Liguori, Security Policy Unit, Conventional Disarmament, EC, 20 June 2006.
[114] France Article 7 Report, Form J, 26 April 2006; CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report, Form E, 6 October 2005.
[115] Germany Article 7 Report, Form J, 27 April 2006; Mine Action Investments database.
[116] Emails from Kitagawa Yasu, Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines (JCBL), March-May 2006, with translated information received by JCBL from Multilateral Cooperation Department, 11 May 2005 and Non-proliferation and Science Department, 11 April 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: US$1= ¥110.11. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[117] Email from François Berg, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Luxembourg, 30 March 2006.
[118] Email from Annette A. Landell-Mills, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 21 June 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: US$1 = NOK6.4412. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006.
[119] Email from Irina Gorsic, Counsellor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 26 June 2006.
[120] Email from H. Murphey McCloy Jr., Senior Demining Advisor, US Department of State, 19 July 2006.
[121] Email from Zach Hudson, Program Manager, Adopt-A-Minefield, 2 June 2006. This amount has been included in the Landmine Monitor total for 2005.
[122] ITF, “Annual Report 2005,” pp. 12-17. This amount has been included in the Landmine Monitor total for 2005.
[123] Ibid, p. 20.
[124] ITF, “Annual Report 2004,” p. 51.
[125] ITF, “Use Of Donations by Countries in Year 2005,” in email from Iztok Hočevar, Head of International Relations Department, ITF, 11 May 2006.
[126] Information provided by Kristina Ikić Baniček, Advisor for International Cooperation and Donations, CROMAC, 15 March 2006.
[127] Information provided by Vanja Sikirica, NPA, 15 March 2006.
[128] CROMAC, “Council on the Report for 2005 and Demining Plan 2006;” information provided by Kristina Ikić Baniček, CROMAC, 15 March 2006.
[129] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 309.
[130] CROMAC, “Council on the Report for 2005 and Demining Plan 2006;” information provided by Kristina Ikić Baniček, CROMAC, 15 March 2006.
[131] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 304.
[132] Interview with Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, CROMAC, Sisak, 15 March 2006.
[133] CMVA, “Annual Financing Report for 2005,” provided by Martina Belošević, CMVA, 30 January 2006.
[134] Information provided by Vanja Sikirica, NPA, 15 March 2006.
[135] Information provided by Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, CROMAC, 27 and 29 January 2006; Article 7 Report, Form J, 28 April 2006.
[136] CROMAC, “Council on the Report for 2005 and Demining Plan 2006,” 27 January 2006; see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 310.
[137] Information provided by Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, CROMAC, 19 January 2006.
[138] Information provided by Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, CROMAC, 29 January 2006.
[139] “Dutch tourist seriously injured by land mine on Croatian island,” Associated Press, Zagreb, 21 July 2005.
[140] Email from Martina Belošević, CMVA, 27 June 2006.
[141] Information provided by Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, CROMAC, 19 January 2006.
[142] Information provided to Landmine Monitor by Martina Belošević, CMVA, Zagreb, 30 January 2006.
[143] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 311.
[144] “Final Report of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, “Victim assistance objectives of the States Parties that have the responsibility for significant numbers of landmine survivors,” Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, p. 135.
[145] Information provided by Ljiljana Čalić-Žmirić, CROMAC, 19 January 2006.
[146] Information provided by Martina Belošević, CMVA, 30 January 2006.
[147] “Final Report of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, p. 136.
[148] UN, “Final Report, First Review Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction,” Nairobi, 29 November-3 December 2004, APLC/CONF/2004/5, 9 February 2005, p. 33.
[149] “Final Report of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, pp. 135-142.
[150] Statement by Croatia, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 8 May 2006.
[151] Article 7Report, Form J, 28 February 2006.
[152] Statement by Croatia, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 8 May 2006.
[153] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 311.
[154] Interview with Dr. Dunja Skoko-Poljak, Senior Advisor, Board of Professional Medical Affairs, Ministry of Health, Zagreb, 19 January 2006.
[155] “Final Report of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, pp. 136-138.
[156] Interview with Dr. Dunja Skoko-Poljak, Ministry of Health, Zagreb, 19 January 2006; data from Croatian Medical Statistic Chronicles 2004-2005, December 2005.
[157] Email from Dr. Miroslav Jelić, Director, Institute for Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Devices, 15 February 2006.
[158] “Final Report of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, p. 138.
[159] Email from Dr. Miroslav Jelić, Institute for Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Devices, 15 February 2006.
[160] Interviews with mine/UXO survivors, Zagreb, 20 January 2006.
[161] Interview with Dr. Dunja Skoko-Poljak, Ministry of Health, Zagreb, 19 January 2006.
[162] Interview with Milena Horvat, Head, Department for Military and Civilian War Victims, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Zagreb, 14 February 2006; interview with Nevenka Babić, Assistant to the Minister, Ministry for Homeland War Defenders, Zagreb, 22 February 2006.
[163] Interview with Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, Zagreb, 16 March 2006; email from Dr. Carl Schmidt, Director, Bauerfeind, Zagreb, 20 February 2006; see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 312.
[164] ITF, “Annual Report 2005,” p. 36; information provided by Nataša Uršić, GIS Project Leader, ITF, Ljubljana (Slovenia), 17 March 2006.
[165] Interview with Mira Katalenić, President, Croatian Guide Dog and Mobility Association, Zagreb, 23 January 2006; see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 312.
[166] “Final Report of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, pp. 139-142.
[167] Interview with Dr. Mladen Lončar, Head, Department for Psycho-trauma, Ministry of Homeland War Defenders, Zagreb, 22 February 2006; National Program of Psychosocial and Medical Support for Homeland War Defenders and their Family Members, January 2005, National Gazette of the Republic of Croatia, No. 45/05.
[168] Information provided by Martina Belošević, CMVA, 30 January 2006; see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 312.
[169] “Final Report of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties / Zagreb Progress Report,” Part II, Annex V, Zagreb, 28 November-2 December 2005, pp. 139-140.
[170] CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 Annual Report, Form B, 30 September 2005, p. 8.
[171] ITF, “Annual Report 2005,” p. 36; interview with Vanja Sikirica, NPA, Zagreb, 5 February 2006; see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 312-313.
[172] CMVA, “Report of Winter Workshops for Young Landmine Survivors,” Zagreb, March 2006, p. 3; interview with Vanja Sikirica, NPA, Zagreb, 16 March 2006.
[173] Information provided by Martina Belošević, CMVA, 30 January 2006.
[174] Interview with Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, Zagreb, 24 February 2006.
[175] Ibid.
[176] Article 7 Report, Form J, 28 April 2006.
[177] Interview with Vanja Sikirica, NPA, Zagreb, 23 March 2006; information provided by Slavko Majetić, Director, DOK-ING Ltd., Zagreb, 20 February 2006.
[178] Interview with Dijana Pleština, CROMAC Council, Zagreb, 22 March 2006.
[179] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 313-314.
[180] Email from Neven Karas, CROMAC, Sisak, 8 February 2006.
[181] Interview with Dr. Mladen Lončar, Ministry of Homeland War Defenders, Zagreb, 22 February 2006.
[182] Croatian Bureau of Statistics, www.dzs.hr, accessed 20 February 2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: $1 = HRK (KN)5.947999, used throughout this report. “Midpoint Exchange Rates of the Croatian National Bank, (period average).”
[183] Information provided by Mato Lukić, CMVA, 2 March 2006.
[184] US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2005: Croatia,” Washington DC, 8 March 2006.