Thirty-five of the 53 countries in the region are States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty. Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine have signed but not ratified the treaty. There are thirteen non-States Parties in the region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, Latvia, Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Since the previous Landmine Monitor report, as of 31 July 2002 there had been no change in the number of countries that are States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty.
Based on statements and progress in internal procedures, it appears two signatories (Cyprus and Greece) may ratify and two non-signatories (Turkey and Yugoslavia) may accede by the end of 2002.
Although the United Nations records that Tajikistan acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 12 October 1999, it is not clear that Tajikistan considers itself a State Party formally bound by the treaty. In a January 2002 response to an OSCE questionnaire, Tajikistan suggested that it had signed, but not ratified the Mine Ban Treaty. A Foreign Ministry official reportedly said in June 2001 that Tajikistan had not deposited its instrument of ratification.
Of the 35 States Parties, 33 submitted Article 7 reports in 2002. Initial reports were submitted by Albania, Iceland, Malta, Romania, and Turkmenistan. Tajikistan has not submitted its initial Article 7 Report, which was due on 28 September 2000.
Nineteen States Parties have enacted implementation legislation. States Parties that report that legislation is being developed include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Moldova, and Romania.
Five signatories (Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine) and eight non-signatories (Armenia, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Finland, Latvia, Turkey and Yugoslavia) in the region voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 56/24M in November 2001, which called for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia were among the 19 countries that abstained.
During the 2001-2002 reporting period, seven States Parties in this region have acted as co-chairs or co-rapporteurs in the intersessional Standing Committees of the Mine Ban Treaty: Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Norway, Romania, and Switzerland.
Since the Landmine Monitor Report 2001, the most extensive use of antipersonnel mines in the region has been in Chechnya, where both Russian forces and Chechen fighters have continued to use mines. Georgian Armed Forces reportedly mined several passes in the Kodori gorge, apparently ending Georgia’s six-year moratorium on the use of antipersonnel mines. No new mine use by Uzbekistan along border areas with Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan has been reported since June 2001.
In this reporting period, States Parties that expressed views on the issue of involvement in joint military operations with non-States Parties where antipersonnel mines may be used include: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. There are increasingly serious questions regarding the position of Tajikistan regarding the use of antipersonnel mines by Russian forces stationed in Tajikistan.
All non-States Parties in the region have export moratoria in place or have stated that they no longer allow the export of antipersonnel mines. Russia is the sole remaining producer in the region, although it said in December 2001 that “anti-personnel fougasse [blast] mines have not been manufactured in the Russian Federation for more than four years.”
States Parties in the region that have reported on the status of efforts to convert former production facilities include: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.
Albania completed destruction of its stockpile of 1,683,860 antipersonnel mines on 4 April 2002; Sweden completed the destruction of its antipersonnel mine stockpile in December 2001; the Czech Republic completed the destruction of its stockpile of more than 360,000 antipersonnel mines in June 2001 (as reported last year). Fifteen other States Parties in the region have completed stockpile destruction: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
States Parties with remaining stockpiles to destroy are: Croatia, Macedonia FYR, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Croatia destroyed 56,028 stockpiled antipersonnel mines in 2001. Italy reported the destruction of an additional 757,680 antipersonnel mines and expects to complete destruction by the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2002. Portugal reported that its destruction program is underway and 36,654 antipersonnel mines had been destroyed. Romania began its stockpile destruction in August 2001 and by April 2002 reported the destruction of 130,474 antipersonnel mines. By 22 May 2002, Slovenia had destroyed 121,919 antipersonnel mines and had a total of 46,979 remaining to be destroyed.
Turkmenistan reported destroying 412,601 antipersonnel mines between December 1997 and October 2001. It requested a seven-year extension of its deadline for stockpile destruction, but such an extension is not permitted under the Mine Ban Treaty. Turkmenistan subsequently indicated it intended to meet the deadline of 1 March 2003.
As of June 2002, Macedonia FYR had not started destruction of its stockpile of 42,871 antipersonnel mines but had a plan in place to complete destruction before the 1 March 2003 deadline. No stockpile destruction or planning has taken place in Tajikistan.
Among States Parties providing new Article 7 Reports, Moldova declared a stockpile of 12,121 antipersonnel mines and will retain 849; Romania declared a stockpile of 1,076,839 antipersonnel mines and will retain 4,000; Turkmenistan declared a stockpile of 761,782 antipersonnel mines, including PFM-1 and PFM-1S type mines. Iceland and Malta officially confirmed that they do not possess stockpiles of antipersonnel mines.
More precise information on the stockpiles of three signatories has been reported. Greece is believed to possess 1.25 million antipersonnel mines and reported to the Standing Committee meetings in May 2002 the types of mines and initial estimates of destruction costs. Poland has revealed that it possesses six types of antipersonnel mines. It has not officially revealed the size of its stockpile, but informal discussions indicate this to be over one million. Lithuania has reported possessing 8,091 antipersonnel mines.
Non-signatories Finland, Turkey, and Yugoslavia are believed to possess large stockpiles, but have declined to reveal the quantities.
Ukraine and the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2001 to establish a trust fund to finance the destruction of 400,000 antipersonnel mines. This is in addition to a similar agreement between Canada and Ukraine signed in March 2001.
Albania, Austria, Norway, and Switzerland have decided not to retain any antipersonnel mines under Article 3. Other States Parties previously possessing antipersonnel mines have opted to retain a quantity under Article 3. Quantities retained are less than 5,000 mines, with two exceptions—Sweden, which is retaining 13,948, and Italy, which is retaining a maximum of 8,000. In May 2002 Italy stated that of the 8,000, approximately 2,500 units are actually just components that should not be counted as retained mines. Two States Parties have reduced the number of mines retained—Portugal has reported that it will retain 1,115 (previously 3,523), and Slovenia will retain 3,000 (previously 7,000). Hungary decided to retain 1,500 mines that it previously proposed destroying. Belgium and Bulgaria have reported on the specific purposes for which mines are retained or used.
States Parties that have made statements since May 2001 on the issue of antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices include: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
The US stores antipersonnel mines on the territory of twelve states, including four States Parties and one non-signatory in this region: Norway (123,000 US antipersonnel mines), Germany (112,000), United Kingdom at Diego Garcia (10,000), Greece (1,100) and Turkey (1,100). In this reporting period, the only new statement on this issue by a European State Party has been by the United Kingdom. In March 2002, the UK stated that US antipersonnel mines were not transited, stockpiled or maintained on British Indian Ocean Territory (Diego Garcia) during the conduct of operations in Afghanistan. It also stated that the Mine Ban Treaty applied to British Overseas Territories.
In Europe, three States Parties to the treaty are mine-affected to a high degree: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. In Albania, the 1999 conflict in Kosovo caused mine contamination in the northern districts, and civil disorder in 1997 caused mine/UXO contamination in other areas. In Bosnia and Herzegovina the total area potentially affected is estimated as 4,000 square kilometers, much of which has still not been surveyed. The national Mine Action Center had records of 18,228 minefields in April 2002, but estimates the probable total number to be 30,000, containing approximately one million mines. In Croatia, the estimate of mine/UXO contamination was reduced in late 2001 from 4,000 square kilometers to 1,700 square kilometers, with only 10 percent actually contaminated by about 500,000 mines and UXO.
Signatory Poland remains significantly affected by mines and UXO from World War II. The extent of mine/UXO contamination can be measured by comparing the quantity of mines and UXO that continue to be detected in Poland over 50 years later (3,842 mines and 45,322 UXO in 2001) with the quantities detected and destroyed in Croatia (3,545 mines and 3,124 UXO in 2001) and in Bosnia and Herzegovina (3,113 mines and 2,675 UXO in 2001) from conflicts of the 1990s.
Ten other countries (five States Parties, 3 three signatories, and three non-signatories) are mine-affected to lesser degrees and from a variety of causes: FYR Macedonia (some mines but mainly UXO from the 2001 conflict), Cyprus (divided by a heavily mined buffer zone, with some marked minefields outside the zone), Czech Republic (mines and UXO at the former Soviet military area of Ralsko), Denmark (the mined island of Skallingen), Greece (mines and some UXO from World War II, the civil war, and planned minefields on the border with Turkey), Hungary and Latvia (mines and UXO in former Soviet and World War II battle areas), Turkey (mining of borders, some of which has been or is being demined, and of parts of the south-eastern districts), the United Kingdom (minefields on the Falklands/Malvinas islands), and Yugoslavia (mines in southern Serbia and the border with Croatia, UXO in other areas).
Other European countries suffer from residual mine-contamination dating from World War II, including Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, and Lithuania. The UN mine clearance operation in Kosovo was completed in 2001, with residual mine/UXO contamination reportedly remaining.
Virtually all states of the former Soviet Union are mine-affected. The most serious problems are in the regions of Abkhazia (Georgia), Chechnya (Russia), and Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan). Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan remain mine-affected due to Uzbek-laid mines along border areas with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Other mine- and UXO-affected countries include Armenia, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine.
The major European mine action donors in 2001 were the European Commission ($25.3 million), Norway ($19.7 million), United Kingdom ($15.4 million), Denmark ($14.4 million), the Netherlands ($13.9 million), Germany ($12.3 million), Sweden ($8.5 million), Switzerland ($8.4 million), Italy ($5 million), Finland ($4.5 million), France ($2.7 million), Ireland ($2 million), Belgium ($1.9 million), Austria ($0.9 million), and Spain ($0.7 million). These numbers do not include funding for mine action research and development.
The major recipients of mine action funding in Europe remain Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosovo. In contrast, Albania, which has a significant mine/UXO problem, received very little funding.
Bosnia and Herzegovina received a total of $16.6 million in 2001, a similar amount to the previous year, despite a funding crisis caused by loss of donor-confidence in mid-2001. In Croatia mine action is funded largely by the State, including a World Bank loan. Expenditure by the Mine Action Center in 2001 was $26.4 million (a large increase on 2000), including external donations totaling $5.8 million (similar to 2000). Mine action funding for Kosovo in 2001 included $1.2 million donated to the Mine Action Coordination Center and $7.2 million channeled through the International Trust Fund to mine action agencies working in Kosovo. An evaluation for UNMAS estimated that from 1999 to 2001 Kosovo received $85 million in mine action funding and in-kind assistance.
In Albania, about $2.9 million was donated for mine action in 2001, the large majority of this going to international organizations carrying out short-term mine clearance programs. The mine action structure in Albania received very little funding and only on an emergency basis to maintain its existence. In 2001 and early 2002, a small amount of funding was also provided by international donors for mine action in Yugoslavia and FYR Macedonia.
Mine action funding for Azerbaijan for 2001 totaled about $5.5 million. In 2001, Armenia received $3.15 million in humanitarian demining assistance from the United States. HALO received $1.1 million from the US and Germany for clearance operations in Abkhazia. In addition, the US transferred demining equipment to the Georgian government in 2001 and 2002.
Mine Clearance and Survey
During 2001 and early 2002 planned clearance operations of some type (including clearance of mixed mine/UXO contamination and clearance for military purposes) took place in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, FYR Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yugoslavia, as well as Abkhazia, Chechnya, Kosovo, and Nagorno-Karabakh. Additionally, EOD responses to reported mine/UXO also took place in Belgium, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, and Latvia. Among the mine/UXO-affected countries of this region, Armenia, Denmark and Uzbekistan report no clearance plans or activity in 2001.
There were humanitarian mine action programs and national mine action plans in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, as well as Abkhazia, Kosovo, and Nagorno-Karabakh. Albania is developing a national mine action plan. The Armenian National Mine Action Center was opened in March 2002. At the US-funded center, two 80-person companies are being trained in humanitarian mine action, including a Mine Detecting Dog section. In FYR Macedonia, UNMAS opened a Mine Action Office in Skopje in September 2001 to coordinate mine action responses by various agencies and to develop a strategy for rapid implementation of mine action.
In Abkhazia, HALO reported to have cleared 405 landmines and 306 pieces of UXO in 2001, in addition to completing demining operations on the banks of the Gumista River, in Sukhum. In Azerbaijan, a general survey was carried out in 11 districts and found 50 million square meters of land to be affected by mines and UXO; 84 minefields were identified and marked. The Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Center reported that, in 2001, 73.5 million square meters of land was surveyed and 5.5 million square meters of land cleared, a reduction from the achievements in the year 2000. In Croatia, 42.3 million square meters of land was handed over to communities for use, after general surveys reduced the suspected area by 26.3 million square meters, technical surveys reduced the suspected area by 2.4 million square meters, and clearance operations were carried out on 13.6 million square meters of land (an increase on 2000). Greece reported the completion of clearance of all minefields on the Greek-Bulgarian border in December 2001, including the destruction of 25,000 antipersonnel and antivehicle mines. In Kosovo during 2001, 8.1 million square meters were cleared, completing in December 2001 the UN-coordinated mine action program which started in mid-1999. From 1999 to December 2001, 32.2 million square meters were cleared of mines and UXO. In Nagorno-Karabakh, HALO reportedly destroyed 441 antipersonnel mines, 145 antivehicle mines, and 13,536 pieces of UXO during the reporting period.
In 2001, the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) was installed in Albania, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Estonia, Macedonia, as well as in Kosovo and Northern Ossetia (Russia). SAC and its contracted implementing partners are engaged in or planning for Landmine Impact Surveys in Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In 2001, mine risk education programs were carried out in Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kyrgyzstan, FYR Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, and FR Yugoslavia, as well as Abkhazia, Chechnya, Kosovo, and Nagorno-Karabakh.
UNICEF and the ICRC were involved, usually with local Red Cross societies, in MRE programs in Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Russia, Tajikistan and FR Yugoslavia, as well as Abkhazia, Chechnya, Kosovo, and Nagorno-Karabakh. Handicap International supported the local NGO APM, carrying out programs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Médecins sans Frontières carried out a program in FR Yugoslavia in 2001. UNICEF was expected to start mine risk education activities in Central Asia in January 2002, following an assessment mission conducted on its behalf by the GICHD in the summer of 2001. However, as of July 2002, there were no reports of UNICEF MRE activity in the region.
Mine risk education is not included in the national mine action programs of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Croatia, although informal links at the local level are made to integrate it with mine clearance and other activities. In Kosovo, MRE was included in the UN mine action plan and integrated with other activities during 2001. In Macedonia FYR, the ICRC and the Macedonian Red Cross launched a community-based MRE program in September 2001. In Russia, the Mine Action Center Foundation, in cooperation with specialists of the Engineers Corps of the Russian Army, medical experts, and the NGO IPPNW/Russia, produced a MRE lecture course for 12- to 16-year-old students. In Tajikistan, the ICRC, the Tajik Red Crescent and the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense launched a pilot-project based on the principle that, “all activities start and finish in the community.” In practice, mine-affected communities are involved in all stages of the project (survey, needs assessment, design of materials, field testing, training, evaluation). In Georgia, there are no governmental or non-governmental programs for mine risk education.
In 2001, mine/UXO incidents occurred in 20 countries in Europe and Central Asia. New casualties were also reported in the regions of Abkhazia, Chechnya, Kosovo, and Nagorno-Karabakh. This is an increase since the last Landmine Monitor report because of UXO incidents in countries not generally considered to be mine-affected. Belgium and Latvia were removed from the list and the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland added.
In countries and regions in Europe and Central Asia with established mine casualty databases, there is no clear pattern to the increase or decrease in casualty rates. In Albania, nine casualties were recorded in 2001, down from 35 in 2000. In Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2001, 87 casualties were recorded, down from 100 in 2000. In Croatia, 34 casualties were recorded, up from 22 in 2000. In Kosovo, 22 casualties were recorded, down from 95 in 2000. In Nagorno-Karabakh, 18 casualties were recorded, up from 15 in 2000.
In other countries, data on landmine/UXO casualties is collected from government ministries and agencies, international agencies and NGOs, hospitals, the media, and in some cases, databases that have been established by the country campaigns of the ICBL. In Chechnya, 1,153 casualties were reported; it has also been reported that 30 to 50 civilians are injured each month in landmine incidents. In Georgia, 98 casualties were reported. In Macedonia FYR, 48 casualties were reported. In Tajikistan, 29 casualties were reported. In Turkey, 49 casualties were reported, up significantly from five in 2000.
In 2001 and early 2002, landmine/UXO casualties also included nationals coming from mine-free countries, or other mine-affected countries, killed or injured while abroad engaged in military or demining operations, peacekeeping, tourism, or other activities. These 13 countries include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. This is a significant increase from the eight countries reported last year.
In 2001 and the first half of 2002, incidents during clearance operations or in training exercises caused casualties among deminers in: Albania, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Estonia, and Greece, as well as Abkhazia and Kosovo. There were unconfirmed reports of demining casualties in several other countries.
On 31 May 2001, the “International Complex Program on the Rehabilitation of War Veterans, Participants of Local Conflicts and Victims of Terrorism for 2001-2005” was approved by a resolution of the Council of the Heads of Government of the CIS countries. In Chechnya, many hospitals and clinics often function without running water, proper heating or sewage systems. The ICRC has signed an agreement with the Chechen Ministry of Health and the Chechen branch of the Russian Red Cross to assist the health facilities in Chechnya. As of July 2002, there were no rehabilitation centers operating inside Chechnya. In Georgia, specialized medical rehabilitation and psychological support appears to remain inaccessible or unavailable for many mine survivors.
In Armenia, in January 2002 the Yerevan Prosthetic-Orthopedic Enterprise stopped providing assistance because of a lack of State funding. Operations were due to resume in August 2002. In Ukraine, on 13 November 2001, the President accepted a new decree on the medical and social protection of persons with disabilities, including veterans and victims of war.
In Slovenia, on 1 to 2 July 2002, a workshop entitled “Defining Strategies for Success” was held at the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance center in the municipality of Ig, to identify strategies for improving survivor assistance in the Balkans. In Kosovo, concerns have been raised that, rather than seeking to establish sustainable rehabilitation programs in Kosovo, some programs provide assistance by transporting those requiring rehabilitation or prosthetics to other countries. The Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Department of the Martin Horvat hospital in Rovinj, Croatia was renovated to provide rehabilitation and psychosocial support to young mine survivors. In Turkey, a new center for prosthetics and rehabilitation was opened at Dicle University, near the mine-affected areas. In Yugoslavia, HI and the Ministry of Social Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding to assist in the process of reforms and creation of a new policy addressing the needs of persons with disabilities.
