Author(s):
Sylvie Brigot <brigot@icbl.org> .
Wednesday 11 April 2007
On 26 and 27 March 2007, the ICBL participated in the “ Mine action as a confidence building measure” workshop, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The workshop gathered together representatives of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Russia, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan. Hosted by the Government of Kazakhstan, it was organised by the OSCE, and its current chair Spain, Canada and the International Trust Fund for demining and victim assistance. These two days provided a needed and useful occasion for states to engage with each other on the mine, and ERW issue in the region, including mines disseminated along their common borders with Uzbekhistan. Participating States, Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, as well as the ICBL, ICRC, ISU and the UN, used this key opportunity to encourage States in the region to accede to the Convention, as well as discuss steps that could be taken, particularly encouraging Kazakhstan and Kyrgystan to vote in favour the UNGA resolution this year, and Mongolia to take a step forward in their “step by step” approach by submitting an article 7 report.
LTG Bulat Sembinov, Deputy Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan, opened the workshop by emphasising the role of Kazakhstan in enhancing global and regional security, their belief in multilateralism and reiterated its support for the humanitarian objectives of the Mine Ban Treaty, even if, for the time being, “ Kazakhstan was not ready yet to make the step of joining the Convention”. Reasons invoked included “long border which should be covered and protected including the use of antipersonnel landmines in certain circumstances” and the need for alternative to protect those borders prior to “full destruction or non use” of antipersonnel landmines. Kazakhstan Ministry of Defense also mentionned the destruction of 3000 munitions (containers with antipersonnel landmines) 3 years ago by the method of open detonation as well as a plan for further destruction of antipersonel landmines, he said “ we have neither time nor money to destroy at once huge numbers of APMs, but we do it gradually. We don’t seek for donors because we are in the position to destroy our stockpile ourselves. …… we retain stockpiles and we reserve the right to use APMs in the future”. Minister of Defense agreed to provide Landmine Monitor with further information.
Roman Dolgov, ICBL Russia giving an overview of the landmine problem in Central Asia and South Caucasus. At the back the ICBL delegation.
The Deputy Minister recalled Kazakhstan’s moratoria on export of antipersonnel landmines, “including their re-export and transit” from 6 August 1997, and stated that his country “had no minefields on its territory that needed clearance, does not manufacture APLs and keeps their stock in safe storage”.
Since 19 of August 2003, a unit of engineers is deployed in Irak, as part of the Coalition Forces, under the name “Kazbat” which, together with Polish, US and Ukrainian engineers “has destroyed more than 3,5 million ammunitions and explosive ordnance”. Participants were later invited to visit the unit and learned about their methods of operations during a visit at the Military Institute of Foreign Languages.
Tajikistan updated participants on the status of its mine action programme, regretting the lack of pledges from international donors, and the late arrival of funding, which allow them to deploy only 2 out of 6 of their trained demining units, and no survey teams, and thereby prevent Tajikistan to meet its annual objectives. Tajikistan needs at least $12 million over the next three years “to meet all obligation under Article 5 and other mine action projects”,not including victim assistance. Turkmenistan foccussed its intervention on the destruction of their 6,631,771 million antipersonnel mines stockpile, and their decision to not retain any mines. They also added “they were considering accession to other protocols of the CCW” and also in future a ban on antivehicule mines and “other types of mines”.
Mongolia stated that after the amendement of its secrecy law, information related to antipersonnel landmines was not considered a State secret any more. However, Mongolia is yet prepared yet to disclose any information regarding its stockpile.The Azerbaijan National Mine Action Center (ANAMA) as well as representatives from UNMACA, the National Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan updated participants on the status of their national programmes, as well as on existing, or possible, cooperation betweeen these countries and other states in Central Asia.
The Ministry of Defense of Russia reiterated the step by step destruction, or disposal, of its APM stocks and provided information on the amounts of APMs and other UXOs cleared by Russian peace keepers in conflict zones. (Abkhazia, Tajikistan, Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo). In response to a request of the delegation of Afghanistan, the Russian Ministry of Defense representative expressed their readyness to provide minefields maps upon an official request of the Afghan governement. Representative of Russia based NGO ‘League of humanitarian demining”, engaged in MRE and mine clearance, stated that “due to ERW problem of the Second World War, 540 000 hectares are to be cleared in Russia”. He added that “there were 5 districts in Chechnya that require demining”, and estimated the density of APMs and ERW at 0,5-1,5 item per m2.
The United Nations, the ICRC , the Implementation Support Unit and the mine action operator Swiss Foundation for Demining, were also participating in the workshop. Campaigners from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, as well as the Executive. Director represented the ICBL in this workshop. ICBL intervened in the Opening plenary, and gave two overviews, in Russian, on “the Landmine Problem in Central Asia and the South Caucasus” and “landmine victims in Central Asia and the South Caucasus”.
For more information, read Central Asia country chapters of the Landmine Monitor report at www.icbl.org/lm
