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Bolivia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997, deposited its instrument of ratification on 9 June 1998, and it entered into force on 1 March 1999. Bolivia has not yet enacted any national implementation legislation.[1]
Bolivia attended the Third Meeting of States Parties in Nicaragua in September 2001. The Bolivian delegation reiterated Bolivia’s “commitment to the principles of the Ottawa Convention,” commented on the need for international cooperation in dealing with the issue of landmines and urged States that have not yet ratified the ban treaty to do so.[2]
Bolivia submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report on 8 November 1999 for the period from 1 January 1999 to 8 November 1999.[3] On 28 May 2002, it submitted an Article 7 Report for calendar year 2001.[4] Bolivia reports that it has never produced, exported, or used antipersonnel mines and it has no stockpiles, including any mines retained for training.[5]
Bolivia cosponsored and voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 56/24M in November 2001.
On 21 September 2001, Bolivia joined the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. It subsequently participated in the third annual meeting of State Parties to Amended Protocol II of the CCW, as well as the Second CCW Review Conference, in December 2001.
Bolivian territory is not mine-affected, but the border with Chile was mined by Chile in the 1970s, particularly in 1978 during a territorial dispute. In 2001, Bolivia provided Landmine Monitor with detailed information on the Chilean minefields near the border.[6] Chile ratified the Mine Ban Treaty in September 2001 and is currently taking steps to clear the border areas of landmines.
In September 2001, Bolivia welcomed Chile’s ratification of the treaty and the measures it has taken to deal with the landmine problem, but emphasized there is still “a long road ahead before freeing this zone of anti-personnel mines that put at risk the lives of indigenous people from both countries who do not recognize borders in the mutual pursuit of food, grazing land and economic activities.”[7] It also commented on the need for “serious safety measures such as clearly marking mined areas with signs warning of the existing danger.”[8]
Bolivia’s Ministry of Defense has indicated that the country lacks detailed maps of mined areas on the border with Chile as these areas are in Chilean territory.[9] In the past Bolivia has stated that the local population knows the existence of mined areas and avoids entering them.[10]
Bolivia told Landmine Monitor that it has not offered help to Chile in the demining of the border, and there are no contacts on this issue between the Bolivian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces and their Chilean counterparts.[11] In 2001, it was reported that deputies from Bolivia and Chile met for two days in Cochabamba, Bolivia to discuss demining of the border areas, and issued a joint declaration on the matter.[12] A second meeting on the demining of the border was planned in Valparaíso, but as of June 2002 had still not taken place.
In 2002, Bolivia provided three military mine action supervisors to the MARMINCA mine clearance efforts by the OAS in Central America.[13] It provided two supervisors in the year 2000.
While it is difficult to obtain information on landmine incidents, authorities told Landmine Monitor that there were no landmine casualties along the border in 2001 or first quarter of 2002. On 26 May 2000, the first recorded Bolivian landmine casualty since 1997 occurred.[14]
Basic health services exist in the border area, while more specialized health services, including surgery, are found in the capitals of departments such as La Paz, Oruro, and Polosí.[15] Bolivia has policies in place for people with disabilities, including Law 1678 of 15 December 1995, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Landmine Monitor that no official records are kept to confirm whether landmine survivors receive the benefits stipulated by this law.[16]
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[1] Ministry of Foreign Affairs response to Landmine Monitor, faxed by Ambassador Fernando Rojas Alaiza, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 10 May 2002.
[2] Statement by Bolivia to the Third Meeting of States Parties, 18-21 September 2001.
[3] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has told Landmine Monitor that Bolivia also submitted an Article 7 Report for the period from 8 November 1999 to 30 April 2001. It has not been posted on the website of the UN Department of Disarmament Affairs. Ministry of Foreign Affairs response to Landmine Monitor, 10 May 2002.
[4] The report was still pending input from the United Nations as Landmine Monitor Report 2002 went to print, so Landmine Monitor did not have access to the report.
[5] Article 7 Report, 8 November 1999; Ministry of Defense Response to Landmine Monitor, faxed by Ambassador Jorge Soruco Villanueva, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, 22 March 2001.
[6] For further details see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 277; Article 7 Report, 8 November 1999; Ministry of Defense Response to Landmine Monitor, 22 March 2001.
[7] Statement by Bolivia to the Third Meeting of States Parties, 18-21 September 2001.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ministry of Defense response to Landmine Monitor, 10 May 2002.
[10] Article 7 Report, 8 November 1999; Ministry of Defense Response to Landmine Monitor, 22 March 2001.
[11] Ministry of Defense response to Landmine Monitor, 10 May 2002.
[12] “Chile y Bolivia levantarán de su frontera minas antipersonales”, El Tribuno (Salta, Argentina), 28 January 2001.
[13] “Contributing Countries (International Supervisors) to the OAS Program of Demining in Central America,” Table provided in email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Carl Case, OAS, 18 June 2002.
[14] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 280.
[15] Ministry of Defense Response to Landmine Monitor, 22 March 2001.
[16] Ministry of Foreign Affairs Response to Landmine Monitor, 10 May 2002.
