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Key developments since May 2000: Romania ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on 30 November 2000 and it entered into force on 1 May 2001. Romania declared in June 2001 that it has just over one million antipersonnel mines in stockpiles, which it will destroy by detonation and disassembly.
Romania signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 30 November 2000.[1] The treaty entered into force on 1 May 2001.
At the Second Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2000, Romania’s Ambassador to the United Nations Anda-Cristina Filip stated that:
Romania has joined the new international standards concerning APLs set up by the provisions of the Ottawa Convention being aware of financial implications stemming from the process of national implementation, as well as of the possible effects on national security, given the fact that, for the time being, Romania is a participant only in arrangements of collective security. This is yet another proof of the genuine commitment of my country to the process of total elimination of APLs and the political willingness to enhance Romania’s contribution as a stability factor.[2]
Romania voted in favor of the November 2000 UN General Assembly Resolution 55/33V calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. Romania attended the meetings of the intersessional Standing Committees in December 2000, but not in May 2001. At the Standing Committee meeting on 8 December 2000, Romania announced its ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty and stated that it was preparing a draft strategy for implementation, creating a new national body tasked to manage the process, planning resources, and beginning work on the Article 7 transparency report. Romania’s initial Article 7 report is due by 28 October 2001.
On 18-19 June 2001, Romania attended a seminar in Warsaw entitled “Understanding the Ottawa Convention” and delivered a statement on its adherence to, and implementation of, the Ottawa Convention.[3] The Warsaw seminar was attended by Colonel Nicolae Ivaschescu, Arms Control Expert from the Ministry of Defense, and two members of the Romanian Embassy in Warsaw.
In December 2000, Romania reported that ratification of Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons was underway.[4] Romania attended as an observer the Second Annual Conference of Amended Protocol II. Romania supports talks in the Conference of Disarmament “in order to develop a new form of the Protocol II of the CCW.”[5]
The non-governmental organization Sibienii Pacifisti (People of Sibiu for Peace) started to research the landmine issue in 1999 and campaigned for Romania to join the Mine Ban Treaty. During an initial period when government personnel changed frequently, there was little official response to the activities of this NGO. The Romtechnica incident of 1999[6] prompted much public interest in the issue, and Sibienii Pacifisti organized conferences, published articles and gave radio and television interviews.
At the Second Meeting of States Parties in September 2000 Ambassador Filip stated that “national production of APLs ended in 1990.”[7] In its December 2000 report to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Romania said it “has not any anti-personnel minefields, does not produce such weapons and the transfer is prohibited since 1995 through unilateral Government moratoriums.”[8] Romania is “very interested in continuing discussion on possible alternative means for replacing” antipersonnel mines in its defense system.[9]
On 10 May 2001, at the meeting of the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Lieutenant-Colonel Jurca of the Ministry of Defense stated that Romania is “fully committed” to the Mine Ban Treaty, and is preparing for implementation, including an accurate account of the antipersonnel mine stockpile. He added that these mines are stored safely, and total about one million[10] – much less than some previous estimates. He said they are of “average complexity.” A national program for stockpile destruction is being prepared.[11]
On 18-19 June 2001, at the Warsaw seminar “Understanding the Ottawa Convention,” the Romanian representative declared that Romania held 1,076,629 antipersonnel mines in stockpiles.[12] The numbers and types were said to be as follows:
MAI-2 114,640
MAI-6 115,988
MAI-68 135,343
MAI-75 641,072
MSS 42,660
MAI-2/TNT 97
MAI-75/TNT 26,829[13]
Romania attended a technical seminar on destruction of the PFM1 ‘Butterfly’ mine in Budapest on 1-2 February 2000. However, Lieutenant-Colonel Jurca declared that Romanian stockpiles do not contain PFM-1 antipersonnel mines.[14]
Based on the experience of other States Parties, a governmental working group is preparing the draft of a governmental decision that will create the institutional framework for monitoring stockpile destruction.[15] Stockpile destruction will be by detonation and dismantling, depending on the model of mine.[16] No further information has been given of the partial stockpile destruction reportedly carried out in 1998.[17]
At the Second Meeting of States Parties, the Romanian Ambassador stated that Romania “will remain involved in the field of the demining activities and medical assistance to mine victims.” She said that previously engineering troops were deployed for demining in the framework of peacekeeping missions in Albania, Angola, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Medical assistance to mine victims was given in the Romanian field hospitals deployed with the UN-mandated missions in Angola, Somalia and Kuwait.[18] Details of these activities between 1995 and 1998 are given in Romania’s OSCE report of December 2000 – including over US$330,000 devoted to mine clearance in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This report also notes that Romania is studying the possibility of joining the US Demining 2010 Initiative and the Agenda for Mine Action.[19]
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[1] Law No. 204, 15 November 2000 (Law for the Ratification of the Convention regarding the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and their Destruction adopted in Oslo, Norway on the 10 September 1997), published in the Official Legislative Journal No. 590 on 22 November 2000. The Senate adopted the treaty on 5 September 2000 and the Chamber of Deputies adopted it on 24 October 2000. The President of Romania promulgated the law of ratification on 13 November 2000.
[2] Statement by Anda-Cristina Filip, Permanent Representative of Romania, Second Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 11 September 2000.
[3] Statement by Col Nicolae Ivaschescu, Arms Control Expert, Ministry of Defense at the seminar “Understanding the Ottawa Convention,” Warsaw, 18-19 June 2001.
[4] Report of the Permanent Mission of Romania to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), 19 December 2000, p. 2.
[5] Ibid, p. 1.
[6] Despite a formal moratorium on transfer of antipersonnel mines, the Romanian company Romtechnica seemingly offered three types of antipersonnel mines for sale in September 1999 at an arms exhibition in the United Kingdom. This incident, and the government’s response, is reported in detail in Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp. 782-783.
[7] Statement by Ambassador Filip, Second Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 11 September 2000; for details of previous production, see Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 756.
[8] Report to the OSCE, 19 December 2000, p. 1.
[9] Statement by Col Nicolae Ivaschescu, Arms Control Expert, Ministry of Defense at the seminar “Understanding the Ottawa Convention,” Warsaw, 18-19 June 2001.
[10] This repeated information provided to Landmine Monitor during an interview with the Romanian delegation to the Standing Committee meetings, Geneva, 8 December 2000.
[11] Statement by Lt. Col. Mircea Jurca, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 10 May 2001.
[12] Statement by Col Nicolae Ivaschescu, Arms Control Expert, Ministry of Defense at the seminar “Understanding the Ottawa Convention,” Warsaw, 18-19 June 2001.
[13] “All the mines are placed in designated storage areas, under safe and strict control of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior.” Statement by Col Nicolae Ivaschescu, Arms Control Expert, Ministry of Defense at the seminar “Understanding the Ottawa Convention,” Warsaw, 18-19 June 2001.
[14] Interview with Lt. Col. Mircea Jurca, Arms Control Section, General Staff, Ministry of National Defense, Budapest, 2 February 2001.
[15] Statement by Col Nicolae Ivaschescu, Arms Control Expert, Ministry of Defense at the seminar “Understanding the Ottawa Convention,” Warsaw, 18-19 June 2001.
[16] Ibid.
[17] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 782.
[18] Statement by Ambassador Filip, Second Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 11-14 September 2000.
[19] Report to the OSCE, 19 December 2000, p. 2.
