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Key developments since May 2001: An agreement with Turkey on the non-use of antipersonnel mines and their removal from their common border areas entered into force on 1 May 2002. Bulgaria reported the completion of decommissioning of antipersonnel mine production facilities. Bulgaria has provided detailed information to Landmine Monitor on its antivehicle mine stockpile and states that none of the mines it possesses are inconsistent with the Mine Ban Treaty.
Bulgaria signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 4 September 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 March 1999. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reported that implementation legislation has been enacted, and that sanctions for violations of the Mine Ban Treaty are included in the penal code.[1]
Bulgaria submitted Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 transparency reports on 27 August 1999, 5 April 2000, 1 March 2001, and 22 April 2002. The Article 7 Report submitted on 22 April 2002, for the period 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2002, provided details on national legislation and the completion of decommissioning former production facilities, and included additional information in the voluntary Form J on victim assistance.[2]
Bulgaria participated in the Third Meeting of States Parties in September 2001 in Managua, Nicaragua.[3] In its statement to the meeting, Bulgaria described the process of antipersonnel mine stockpile destruction in Bulgaria, which was completed in December 2000, well in advance of the treaty deadline. Bulgaria also expressed continued support for the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe as a forum for establishing an antipersonnel mine-free region.[4] Bulgaria also associated itself with the statement delivered by Belgium on behalf of the European Union.
On 29 November 2001, Bulgaria cosponsored and voted in favor of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 56/24M calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. Bulgaria attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in January and May 2002 in Geneva.
Bulgaria signed a bilateral agreement with Turkey in March 1999 on the non-use of antipersonnel mines and their removal from their common border areas.[5] The agreement with Turkey was ratified and the documents of ratification exchanged during a visit by the Turkish Prime Minister to Bulgaria on 30-31 January 2002.[6] It “provides that the destruction of the mines in the areas adjacent to their common borders will take place over a period of six years. 90 days after the agreement has come into effect, initial information on the location of APMs and their numbers will be exchanged. This information as well as the process of removal and destruction of the APMs will be monitored through annual surveillance visits.”[7] The agreement took effect on 1 May 2002.
Bulgaria is a party to Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), and submitted its annual report as required by Article 13 of the Protocol II on 31 October 2001.[8] It attended the Third Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II, and the Second CCW Review Conference, both in Geneva in December 2001. At the Review Conference, the delegation associated itself with the statement delivered by Belgium on behalf of the European Union. Peter Kolarov of the Bulgarian Mission in Geneva is serving as the coordinator of the CCW group of government experts examining mines other than antipersonnel mines, which was formed in December 2001 and has met in May and July 2002.
Bulgaria has stated that production of antipersonnel mines ceased in 1998, and export stopped in 1996.[9] The decommissioning of production facilities previously reported as being “in process” was reported in April 2002 as having been “completed – all lines of APMs production in Dunarit EAD – Russe are permanently decommissioned.”[10]
Destruction of the original stockpile of 885,872 antipersonnel mines was completed on 20 December 2000.[11] As of 31 March 2002, Bulgaria retained 3,693 antipersonnel mines for permitted purposes under Mine Ban Treaty Article 3. Bulgaria expended 327 mines to train army engineers between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2002; this apparently included all training stocks of the PFM-1S. Previously Bulgaria reported that a total of 4,000 antipersonnel mines were being retained; the discrepancy of 20 mines is explained as a “technical error” and the corrected (increased) totals of three types are given in the Article 7 Report of 22 April 2002.[12]
Landmine Monitor invited the Foreign Ministry to make known its position on the legality under the Mine Ban Treaty of antivehicle mines equipped with sensitive fuzes or with antihandling devices capable of being detonated by the unintentional act of a person.[13] It responded as follows:
Currently the Ministry of the Interior has a stockpile of 2,894 anti-tank mines (ATM) of the following types: TM-46; TM-62M; TM-62PZ and B-3. According to the Engineering Arms Material Manual their fuzes are activated between 180 and 500 kilograms of pressure. Therefore, they are impossible to activate unintentionally by a person.
The ATMs...cannot be activated unintentionally by a person even in a combat situation due to the great pressure needed for the activation of their fuzes. The pressure needed to activate a TM-46 mine is between 50 kg and 150 kg and it is further ensured against activation (the pressure cover should be deformed in advance to activate the fuze). Analysis on mine production and testing has been made by the manufacturers, and analysis on their use has been performed by the customers. Deviations from the indicated characteristics and safety in the mine handling have not been reported.[14]
The TM-46 is the only ATM reported to be capable of having an antihandling device and Bulgaria indicates that, “almost all TM-46 mines will be deactivated by the end of 2002.”
The Bulgarian response included a chart with technical characteristics of the mines. Bulgaria also reports it possesses types of remotely delivered AVM (anti-invasion mine 1-B and anti-invasion mine 2-B) that are pressure activated and have self-destruct and self-neutralizing mechanisms. A new non-contact, presumably magnetic influence, fuze has been designed for these mines that will also contain a self-destruct mechanism.[15]
Bulgarian officers participated in the OSCE mine monitoring groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bulgaria reiterated its willingness to “take part in the exchange of equipment and antipersonnel mines discharge technology.”[16]
In the period 2000-2001, Bulgaria received financial assistance from Canada totaling Can$65,000 (US$43,765) to buy 15 protective mine clearance suits and receive training on their use from Med-Eng Systems Inc. in Ottawa.[17] This helped Bulgaria to send more experienced and trained deminers to work in Southeastern Europe.[18]
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[1] Letter from Ivan Piperkov, Head of Global Security and Disarmament Department, International Security Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2 July 2001; Article 7 Report, Form A, 22 April 2002.
[2] Article 7 reports, submitted on 27 August 1999 for the period 1 March-27 August 1999, submitted on 5 April 2000 for the period 27 July 1999-5 April 2000, submitted on 1 March 2001 for the period 5 April 2000-1 March 2001, and submitted 22 April 2002 for the period 1 March 2001-31 March 2002.
[3] The delegation included Ivan Piperkov, Head of Global Security and Disarmament Department, International Security Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Angel Topalov from the Ministry of the Economy.
[4] Statement by Ivan Piperkov, Head of Global Security and Disarmament Department, International Security Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the Third Meeting of States Parties, Managua, Nicaragua, 18-21 September 2001.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Report from Bulgarian Council of Ministers website, www.government.bg, accessed on 23 April 2002, and Article 7 Report, Form J, 22 April 2002.
[7] Email from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 28 May 2002.
[8] CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report, submitted on 31 October 2001.
[9] See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 570–571, and Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 651-652 for information on past production and transfer.
[10] Article 7 Report, Form E, 22 April 2002.
[11] The initial Article 7 Report, on 27 August 1999, listed the stockpile as comprising mine-types PMN, OZM, PM-79, SHR-II, PFM-1C, and MON-50. Not listed were three further types (PSM-1, MON-100, MON-200) noted in a 1999 Bulgarian government publication—these were included in the retained stock referred to in later Article 7 reports.
[12] Article 7 Reports, Forms D, 22 April 2002 and 1 March 2001. Bulgaria initially declared it would retain 10,446 mines, but decided to reduce this to 4,000, as noted in the Article 7 Report submitted on 5 April 2000.
[13] Landmine Monitor researcher’s questionnaire submitted on 19 February 2002.
[14] Email from Ivan Piperkov, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 28 May 2002.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report, Form E, 10 December 2001.
[17] “Reaffirming the Commitment: 2000 - 2001 Report on the Canadian Landmine Fund,” Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada, p. 22. The US$ equivalent is that recorded in the United Nations Mine Action Investments database.
[18] Email from Ivan Piperkov, Head of Global Security and Disarmament Department, International Security Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 28 May 2002.
