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Thursday 13 July 2006
On 10 July 2006, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia destroyed all 4,000 antipersonnel mines that it previously planned to keep for training purposes as a State Party to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.
“This is a very positive step, and we congratulate Macedonia. We hope to see more and more states follow Macedonia’s example and destroy all antipersonnel mines in their arsenals,” commented Sylvie Brigot, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).
The Mine Ban Treaty requires destruction of stockpiled antipersonnel mines within four years, but allows States Parties to keep “the minimum number absolutely necessary” for mine clearance training and research. The ICBL and several States Parties have questioned the need to retain any live mines for training purposes. The ICBL has expressed concern that many States Parties have not adequately determined the minimum number of mines to retain, and have not been actively using the mines for the permitted purposes, thereby abusing the exception in the treaty.
“We urge all States Parties to regularly review their need to retain antipersonnel mines for training or development purposes, and to reassess the absolute minimum number needed, if any,” said Ms. Brigot. With encouragement from the ICBL, States Parties agreed at the Mine Ban Treaty’s First Review Conference in December 2004 to report annually and in detail on the intended purposes and actual uses of any retained mines, and agreed to a special form for this purpose in December 2005 at the Sixth Meeting of States Parties.
Macedonia. Photo: Sara Marullo
FYR Macedonia completed the destruction of its 38,921 stockpiled antipersonnel mines in February 2003, ahead of its treaty deadline, and announced it would keep 4,000 mines for training. The subsequent decision to destroy all of the retained mines is a positive example for other States Parties. In his address at the destruction event, Major General Miroslav Stojanovski, Chief of the General Staff of the Army, stated that “the destruction is an important political decision for the Republic of Macedonia, motivated in order to be in compliance with the Ottawa Treaty.”
The destruction event was held at the Krivolak army field, and was attended, among others, by the military attaches from Germany, Greece, China, and Russia, representatives from NATO, KFOR and the OSCE, media, and the Landmine Monitor researcher for FYR Macedonia.
* Read about the landmine situation in FYR Macedonia in Landmine Monitor Report 2005.
* More information on mines retained for training in mine detection, mine clearance or mine destruction techniques.