BELARUS , Landmine Monitor Report 2001

Key developments since May 2000: Belarus for the first time revealed that it has 4.5 million stockpiled antipersonnel mines, of which 3.6 million are of the PFM-1 and PFM-1S type. Belarus destroyed 8,183 stockpiled antipersonnel mines from 1997-2000. Belarus hosted an UNMAS assessment mission from 31 July-4 August 2000. In the past ten years, the Armed Forces have cleared more than 350 hectares of mines and UXO.

Mine Ban Policy

While Belarus has not acceded to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, government officials have re-confirmed its full support for the treaty.^[1] In December 2000, the Deputy Chief of the Army’s Corps of Engineers said, “Belarus expresses a willingness along with the international society to join the ban movement, complying with the terms of the Ottawa Convention and to join it in the foreseeable future.”^[2] Belarus has made it clear that the main impediment to joining the Mine Ban Treaty is its lack of resources for implementation, particularly its inability to fund the destruction of its substantial stockpile of antipersonnel mines. Belarus’ Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva stated, “Under most favorable conditions Belarus will need millions of US dollars to carry out the destruction of its stockpiles of 4.5 million antipersonnel mines, our unwanted heritage from the former Soviet Union.”^[3]

In December 2000, Belarus legislators also reconfirmed their commitment to support the total ban on landmines as soon as the assistance necessary to destroy existing stockpiles is provided.^[4] Belarus has consistently voted in favor of the annual UN General Assembly resolutions supporting the Mine Ban Treaty, including in November 2000.

With the sponsorship of the UN Development Program (UNDP) office in Minsk, an official delegation participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties (SMSP) to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in September 2000 and made a statement in support of the treaty. Belarus attended the meetings of the intersessional Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction in Geneva in December 2000 and May 2001.

Belarus hosted an “International Workshop on Humanitarian Demining and Mine Stockpile Elimination” in Minsk on 6-7 March 2000.^[5] The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) carried out an assessment mission in Belarus from 31 July to 4 August 2000.^[6] In October 2000 Belarus experts participated in the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining-sponsored course, “Information Management System for Mine Action.” An expert from the Ministry of Defense took part in an international conference, “Military Contributions to Humanitarian Demining,” that was held 17-19 January 2001 in Tampa, Florida.

Military and political authorities welcomed the Landmine Monitor Report 2000. As stated by the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Belarus to the UN in Geneva, “To that end we welcomed a positive and important role of non-governmental organizations, which play an influential part in the international movement to ban APM. We wholly support the establishment of the Landmine Monitor project. In our opinion there is a unique civil society controlling mechanism that gives an opportunity to all states to ensure compliance with existing international arrangements in dealing with the APM-related problems.”^[7]

While the government ratified Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) on 7 October 1996, its instrument of ratification has not been submitted to the depository “due to financial constraints on its implementation.”^[8] Belarus participated in the Annual Conference of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II in Geneva in December 2000.

Belarus supports negotiation of a ban on mine transfers at the Conference on Disarmament, of which it is a member.^[9] Belarus also actively participates and supports the activities of the special group to support Global Humanitarian Mine Action within the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.

Production and Transfer

According to officials in the Ministry of Defense, Belarus has never produced and will not produce or modernize antipersonnel landmines, or their components, including Claymore-type mines or any other mines, in the future.^[10]

Government officials indicate that since 1992 Belarus has not exported antipersonnel mines.^[11] It has had an official moratorium on the export of all types of landmines in place since 1995, which had been extended through the end of 2002.^[12] Additionally, a decree at the beginning of 1998 banned the transit of antipersonnel mines and certain other goods through the territory of the Republic of Belarus.^[13]

Stockpiles and Their Destruction

Belarus’ stockpile of antipersonnel mines is a legacy of the Soviet era. Belarus has for the first time provided details on its stockpile of antipersonnel mines, notably that it has 4.5 million stockpiled antipersonnel landmines, of which 3.6 million are of the PFM and PFM-1S type.^[14] UNMAS noted that “it should be recognized that the disclosure of this information is a major step forward towards greater transparency, and provides an indication of Belarus’ commitment to eliminate the problem it faces.”^[15]

The types and quantities of antipersonnel mines in Belarus’ stockpile are detailed in the following table:^[16]

Nomenclature	Quantity	Type
MON-50	55,449	Directional
MON-90	37,438	Directional
MON-100	39,187	Directional
MON-200	18,216	Directional
OZM-72	300,185	Bounding
PMN	54,096	Blast
PMN-2	300,158	Blast
POM-2	70,680	Fragmentation
POMZ-2M	94,392	Fragmentation
PFM-1 and –1S	3,635,152	Blast
TOTAL	4,584,953

Antipersonnel mines that are command detonated are not illegal under the Mine Ban Treaty. Belarus military officials state that the MON series, OZM-72 and POMZ-2M mines are command detonated.^[17]

The government estimates that it would need US$46 million, depending on the method of destruction used, to develop technologies necessary to carry out the destruction of its stocks. Belarus does not have either the scientific capabilities or the facilities to destroy landmines.^[18] Belarus’ antipersonnel mines can be destroyed by Open Burning/Open Detonation, except for the PFM-1/1S type, but government officials have expressed their concern that the destruction of antipersonnel mines in that fashion is environmentally unsound.^[19]

Last year, Belarus reported that it had destroyed, by detonation, 6,939 antipersonnel mines of all types with an expired shelf life.^[20] Since then, Belarus has destroyed an additional 1,244 antipersonnel mines, including 1,216 PMN-2 mines, 21 MON-100 mines and 7 MON-50 mines.^[21]

The numbers and types of antipersonnel mines and booby-traps destroyed by Belarus in 1997-2000 are detailed in the following table:^[22]

Type	Model	Number
Circular area	POMZ-2m	3,908
Circular area	OZM-4	210
Blast	PMN	551
Blast	PMN-2	1,216
Directional	MON-50	73
	MON-90	1,088
	MON-100	21
Booby-trap	MC-3	965
Booby-trap	MB-2	151
Total		8,183

According to the Ministry of Defense, the majority of Belarus’ stockpiled antipersonnel mines are concentrated in the Gomel region, although there are approximately ten small stockpiles of AP mines at other ammunition storage locations throughout the country. The storage conditions shown to an UN Mine Action Service assessment team in August 2000 were considered safe, secure, and adequate. The depot that was shown to the team had an alarm system, adequate fire-fighting precautions and capabilities, and was isolated to a sufficient degree from the local population.^[23]

As with Ukraine, the substantial stocks of the PFM-series that Belarus possesses pose a particular and unique destruction challenge. Standard destruction techniques (i.e. OB/OD) cannot be used for stockpiled PFM-1/1S mines, as this could result in the production of toxic substances. This problem remains particularly critical since the safe shelf life of all of the 3.6 million PFM-1/1S mines has expired.^[24] As noted in the UNMAS mission report, unless action is taken in the short-term, there is a risk that PFM-1/1S type mines will spontaneously combust during storage, resulting in an undesirable explosive event.^[25] The problem of destruction of PFM-1 mines was subsequently addressed at the Seminar on the Destruction of the PFM-1 Mine in Budapest, Hungary, on 1-2 February 2001.

Technical representatives from Belarus attended this conference. Belarus proposed building destruction facilities on its territory since most of its PFM-1 mines are stockpiled in one place close to its borders with Russia and Ukraine.^[26] A proposal to construct mobile facilities to destroy the mines was also discussed, but Belarus’ experts expressed concern that this approach would require additional costs connected with training and employing of personnel and building corresponding infrastructure in each country.^[27]

The Belarus delegation proposed to approach UNDP with a request to coordinate international donors in developing a joint strategy and identifying agencies through which the funds could be mobilized and allocated.^[28]

Landmine Problem

There is an unknown number of German and Soviet mines scattered in old World War II battlefields, in particular in the Vitebsk, Gomel, and Minsk regions.Most of the UXO have been found in the Brest, Gomel, Mogilev, Minsk, and Vitebsk regions. According to UNMAS, “[UXO] constitutes more serious threat than landmines, the most dangerous areas being those area where trench battles took place.”^[29] According to information provided to UNMAS, “The majority of this contaminated area is in agricultural land and forests. None of the areas contaminated with mines or UXO are marked or fenced, and there is little information available to indicate the potential density of contamination.”^[30]

There is no direct donor support for mine action projects in Belarus. On 4 June 1999, Belarus requested UN assistance to resolve its landmine and stockpiled antipersonnel mines problem. An UNMAS assessment mission took place from 31 July to 4 August 2000, which looked at the scope of the landmine/UXO problem in the country, evaluated its humanitarian and socio-economic impact, and identified possible requirements for UN and international assistance.^[31]

Mine Clearance

As reported in the UNMAS assessment, “Belarus is actively committed to overcoming its landmine/UXO problem, and has devoted a substantial amount of resources to carry out clearance operations. The results to date have been substantial, recognizing the complexity of the problem posed and the myriad of other important issues competing for limited resources.”^[32] The primary responsibility for mine/UXO clearance rests with the Ministry of Defense. There is limited interaction with other ministries on the issue.^[33]

The Ministry of Defense claims to have cleared some 27 million explosive devices since the end of World War II. Over the past 10 years, from 50,000-80,000 explosive items were detected and defused annually.^[34] Of that number, more than 2,500 were antipersonnel mines. The following statistics were provided by the military to UNMAS:^[35]

TYPE	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
AP Mines	28	1,220	347	50	182	108	250	289	164
UXO	18,733	57,443	84,985	7,527	10,521	6,396	4,704	10,437	7,566
TOTALS	18,761	58,663	85,332	7,577	10,703	6,504	4,954	10,726	7,730

The above figures reflect a total cleared area of 3,500,000 square meters, most of which could not previously be used for agricultural or other economic purposes.^[36] The cleared areas were in the Krupsky district, the Minsk region, the Dubrovensky district, the Vitebsk region, the Baranovichi district, and the Brest region.^[37] The Belarus Armed Forces also provided to UNMAS a list of areas, in priority order, that remain to be cleared:

Region	District	Area (Km²)
Vitebsk	Dokshitsy	2.00
	Doubrovitsa	172.00
	Verkhnedvinsk	2.00
	Orsha	6.35
	Sennensk	9.58
Grodne		0.00
Brest	Baranovichi	0.07
	Brest City	0.70
	Kobrin	0.01
	Luninets	1.88
	Liakhovichine	17.70
Gomel	Chechersk	1.50
	Zhlobin	0.50
	Svetlogorsk	0.70
	Octiabrsk	5.00
	Rechitsa	2.00
	Loyevsk	24.00
	Kalinkovichi	2.00
Mogilve	Chausy	12.00
	Dribinsk	24.00
	Belinichi	3.00
	Klichevsk	10.00
	Bobruisk	1.00
	Slavgorod	36.00
	Osipovichi	4.00
Minsk	Slutsk	12.25
	Stariye Dorogi	0.02
	Kletsk	3.14
Total		353.41

A new mine detector, which was a joint project of a number of countries including Belarus, will be tested for two years beginning in 2001 in Belarus. The mine detector will be used to clear territories that have been mined since the war.^[38] There are no other initiatives on research and development into landmine detection and clearance technology in Belarus.^[39]

As characterized by UNMAS, “Requests for EOD action are made by local authorities to the Armed Forces, which is capable of deploying 45 EOD teams from a total of 200 trained and qualified personnel. These teams have specific areas of responsibility within Belarus’ 22 Military Districts, with each district having two teams earmarked for its own requirements.”^[40] The number of requests and quantity of mines and UXOs destroyed in the regions in 2000 are shown in the following table.^[41]

	REGIONS
	Minsk	Brest	Gomel	Mogilev	Grodno	Vitebsk	Total
Requests	115	169	247	127	142	298	1,098
Mines and UXOs found & destroyed	851	306	2334	283	321	3,635	7,730

Ministry of Defense EOD teams consist of five personnel, four of whom are conscripts who receive limited training and serve for only fourteen months. There is a problem of skills retention and the pay rates for recalled reservists are prohibitively high. The Ministry of the Interior also deploys a 10-15-person EOD team that is trained to defuse aircraft bombs.^[42]

According to UNMAS, the Belarus military “possess some mechanical means of mine clearance based on the T-72 armored fighting vehicle, in addition to a limited mine dog capability. The Armed Forces are, however, short of suitable detection and individual personal protection equipment (PPE). Belarus authorities cite an estimated requirement for 200 additional and complete sets of PPE, while acknowledging that the personal protection equipment currently being issued to clearance teams consists only of combat body armor and helmets. Similarly, detection equipment being employed is based on dated, Soviet-era technology, with an effective detection depth of 300mm. The Belarus Armed Forces also suffer from a shortage of vehicles and fuel for use in mine/UXO clearance operations.”^[43]

Mine Awareness

Mine awareness is undertaken by the Belarus Armed Forces for its mine clearance personnel, although the assessment mission team was not able to ascertain the extent, content, or manner of conduct of this training. Mine awareness education is also provided to the civilian population in affected areas prior to the commencement of clearance operations by EOD teams. Training is conducted by individual EOD team officers, with no standard script or materials available, based only on the officer’s personal experience with the issues.^[44]

Films depicting the EOD clearance task in the Grodno region have been shown on national television. Mine awareness training for schools is also being developed by the Ministries of Defense and of Education, with support from non-governmental organizations such as the Support Center for Associations and Foundations (SCAF) and the Belarus Campaign to Ban Landmines (BCBL). It is planned to incorporate this initiative in the national secondary education curriculum.^[45]

Mine awareness training already available remains locally developed, and there have not yet been any efforts to specifically target the provision of mine awareness training. UNICEF has not had any involvement with mine awareness issues in Belarus, and none of the current or proposed mine awareness training initiatives currently underway is based on the International Guidelines for Landmine and UXO Awareness Education.^[46]

Landmine Casualties

In 2000, six people, including two children, were injured by UXO in Belarus.^[47] The number of accidents within Belarus has been relatively limited, although the figures provided must be considered with caution in the absence of a comprehensive nationwide monitoring and analysis system to collect the relevant data.

For the period from 1944-1999, there were 5,997 mine and UXO casualties, including 3,375 maimed and 2,622 killed.^[48] In the ten years to 1999, thirty-seven children have been wounded and twenty-five killed.

Survivor Assistance

Medical, surgical, rehabilitation and reintegration services are available through the Ministry of Health network of hospitals and health-care institutions. However, due to lack of funding, many are experiencing shortages. There are 170 rehabilitation departments in outpatient clinics, twenty inpatient clinics, fifteen specialized rehabilitation centers and 26 sanatoriums in Belarus. The military hospital in Minsk acts as a central treatment facility for all shock/trauma victims, which includes landmine/UXO casualties. No separate record of mine victims is kept. Staff working at this facility provides an advisory and medical consultancy service to other medical facilities around the country.^[49] A center for medical and social rehabilitation of the disabled was also recently opened. A private agency develops individual rehabilitation programs for veterans of the war in Afghanistan.^[50]

With regard to military personnel engaged in clearance operations, all Explosive Ordnance Disposal team members receive limited first aid training but do not carry shock/trauma equipment while on operations. The treatment and evacuation of casualties is the same as for civilian casualties; anecdotal evidence suggests that the majority of mine/UXO victims reach a surgical facility in less than three hours.

Most prosthetic and rehabilitation facilities are available in Belarus. The Belarus Prosthetic Rehabilitation Center is the main supplier and producer of prosthetics in the country. The center has the capacity to produce 259 wheelchairs and 1,220 prosthetic devices monthly, which are distributed through the regional and local social welfare departments. A motorcycle factory in Minsk also produces wheelchairs. In 2000, some 3,500 wheelchairs were needed in Belarus, and 3,170 wheelchairs and 721 other relevant devices were actually produced. The Center also produced 12,101 prosthetic devices. There is a potential to increase the production of mobility and prosthetic devices for export to other countries.

The Belarus Red Cross hopes to support a mine victim program, pending availability of funding. There are no specific programs in Belarus available to mine victims. Physiotherapy and psychosocial rehabilitation resources appear to be very limited. Reintegration of victims appears problematic, although companies are requested to engage handicapped people. There are limited social security and pension benefits available to handicapped persons.^[51]

Disability Policy and Practice

A national disability law exists in Belarus: "Law on Social Protection of People With Disabilities in the Republic of Belarus.”^[52] All disabled people are assisted through individual programs of rehabilitation; however, due to the current economic crisis this care is often not adequate. The National Council on the Problems of Disabled and Handicapped, which is chaired by the First Deputy of the Prime Minister, coordinates the implementation of the law.^[53] In 1999, a Law on Psychiatric Counseling was adopted by the parliament and hopefully will result in better services to be provided to landmine survivors.

There is a system of state insurance against social risks available, funded by regular contributions from an individual’s salary and in accordance with the state budget for the current year and the appropriate legislation. As an interim measure, the Belarus Red Cross supplements the meager state pension for disabled citizens with food and items of clothing.