States Parties 161 States Not Party 36
Prepared in November 2011
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Chile's Article 5 deadline: 1 March 2012
Extension period requested: 8 years (1 March 2020)
1. Full details of previous land release, disaggregated by activity and year. 2. Clarification of discrepancy in figures reported for estimated remaining contamination.3. Details of the security perimeter for each mined area.
Number and estimated size of contaminated areas The request indicated that a total of 199 mined areas were originally emplaced and registered by the Armed Forces covering a total of 23,207,281m2 in six regions of the country, as set out in Table 1 (see PDF).
The estimated area of contamination includes a security perimeter around the mined area based on a possible antipersonnel or antivehicle mine explosion. A technical survey considers the position of the mines in the marked areas, the condition and characteristics of the terrain, the rainfall levels registered, the proximity of access roads, among other factors before determining the security perimeter.
Chile should provide the size of the security perimeter for each remaining mined area as well as how this perimeter was released on previously cleared mined areas Chile did not indicate whether the security perimeters in each mined area were released after full clearance or by non-technical means. The information will help to understand how Chile released 9,335,809m2 since 2003 and will also assist States Parties to assess the planned productivity.
Past progressThe request indicates that through March 2011 a total of 48 minefields and 4 dangerous areas have been released totalling 9,335,809m2 and culminating in the destruction of 28,222 antipersonnel mines and 12,623 antivehicle mines in six regions of the country. Chile reported that in March 2011 13,871,472m2 remained across five regions (see Table 2 in PDF), of which four-fifths is located in the region of Arica Parinacota.
Full details of previous land release are needed to understand how this total land release of more than 9.3km2 was calculated, disaggregated by activity (clearance, technical survey, non-technical survey), and by year. In previous annual reporting and clarifications to Landmine Monitor, Chile claimed that some 1.8km2 was actually cleared from 2003 until the end of 2009. A further 2.98km2 was released through technical survey in 2010, which means that at least 4.5km2 remains to be accounted for. The figure requiring clarification may even be higher, as Chile reported to the Analysing Group that the 2.98km2 released by technical survey was actually from a higher initial total contamination of more than 26km2.
Chile projected that in 2011, 19 areas measuring a total of 3,100,836m2 would be addressed and 23 areas will be certified, but stated that this would leave 128 areas covering 14,188,262m2 to be released in 2012–2020. However, the remaining area reported in the Extension Request in April 2011 is less than the amount reported by Chile to Landmine Monitor in August 2011 (see Table 3 in PDF) by approximately 300,000m2. Chile could clarify the reason for the increase in the total estimate of contamination between April and August 2011.
Work plan during the extension periodAnnual targets in 2012–2020 are based on geographic and climate conditions as well as the availability of personnel. The request indicates the clearance operations in Magallanes y Antartica Chilena are the most difficult. Even though the region contains only 7% of the remaining contaminated area, Chile believes it will require all eight years of the additional period requested to complete, as clearance is only possible during the Austral summer months of December to March each year. According to the request, by 2018, Chile will have cleared all mined areas except those in the region of Magallanes y Antartica Chilena.
However, the numbers in the above table provided in August 2011 do not correspond to Tables 1 and 2 (in PDF). The difference is approximately 300,000m2.
Resource mobilisationThe request indicates that Chile projects that US$61.3 million is needed during the period of 2011-2020. Chile intends to cover the full cost of fulfilling its obligations under Article 5, one of the very few States Parties that have so far submitted an extension request to do so. The total amount will come from national state funds.
Chile admits it has taken a conservative approach to identifying mined areas and clearing them, which has slowed overall progress. On the other hand, its reliance on mostly national resources shows clear national ownership. Chile should clarify the small discrepancy of the remaining problem to allow for a common baseline during the extension period. The request provides only limited information on past productivity. Chile should provide the States Parties with a total amount of land released, broken down by year starting in 2003 and disaggregated by activity (clearance, release by technical survey, and release by non-technical survey). This should detail how much of the released area was the security perimeter.
