Key developments since May 2005: Mongolia has initiated its step-by-step approach to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty in 2008. Amendments to the Law on State Secrets are being prepared in order to exclude landmines from the secrecy list and place details regarding the number of stockpiled antipersonnel mines in the public domain. Army engineers disposed of more than 1,000 items of explosive ordnance in 2005. One civilian was reported injured by unexploded ordnance in 2005.
Mongolia has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. At the treaty’s intersessional meetings in May 2006, Mongolia’s representative stated, “Mongolia fully supports the international community’s effort and initiatives undertaken on the Convention.... The Mongolian Government has paid close attention to the Ottawa process ever since its inception.... Due to particular considerations related to its national security and some specific circumstances of our country, Mongolia has not joined the Convention and declared its step by step approach towards signing it.”[1]
He further said Mongolia is starting to formulate a plan and strategy “to implement its step-by-step accession to the Mine Ban Treaty in 2008.” The plan will be submitted to the State Security Council for approval. “As a first step, the ministries will initiate amendments to the Law on State Secrets, to exclude landmines (currently listed as a state secret) from the list and place details regarding the number of stockpiled antipersonnel mines in the public domain and international organizations.”[2]
In October 2005, at the UN, Mongolia’s representative declared, “Mongolia denounces the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of all types of anti-personnel landmines and supports the efforts undertaken by the international community to ban this dangerous and indiscriminate weapon. My Government’s Program of Action for 2004-2008 sets out the clear-cut objective to ‘accede to the Ottawa Convention on a step-by-step basis and reveal the information on the number and types of stockpiled landmines.’”[3]
Mongolia was absent from the vote on UN General Assembly Resolution 60/80 on 8 December 2005, calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. However, it voted in favor of the draft version considered by the UNGA First Committee on 28 October 2005. Mongolia voted in favor of each previous annual pro-Mine Ban Treaty UNGA resolution since 1998.
Mongolia has stated on several occasions that it has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines, and, while it has a large operational stockpile, has never used antipersonnel mines in the past.[4] Mongolia’s stockpile includes 11 types of antipersonnel mines (including the Soviet-manufactured PMN, OZM-3 and POMZ mines) and antivehicle mines, all obtained from the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s.[5]
In September 2004, the government approved a Program of Action for 2004-2008 that includes a step-by-step approach to accession by 2008.[6] In October 2004, during an official visit to Canada, the then-President of Mongolia denounced antipersonnel mines and expressed support for a ban.[7] Mongolia’s President and Canada’s Prime Minister issued a joint statement declaring, “Mongolia also states its intention not to acquire, transfer or deploy its anti-personnel mines.”[8]
Under the Program of Action, the ministries of defense and foreign affairs formulated a plan aimed at accession in 2008 with the following elements: in 2005, initiate amendments to the Law on State Secrets in order to exclude landmines from the list and place details regarding the number of stockpiled antipersonnel mines in the public domain; in 2005-2008, assess the condition of the antipersonnel mine stockpile, and the time and finances required to destroy the mines; in 2007, submit a voluntary national transparency measures report in accordance with Article 7 of the Mine Ban Treaty.[9]
As of May 2006, amendments to the secrecy law had been drafted by the ministries of defense and foreign affairs and were being considered by the National Security Council.[10] They would then be reviewed by other relevant ministries and discussed by the cabinet before being submitted to parliament for approval.[11] It is expected that parliament will consider the amendments sometime in 2006.[12] The amendments will provide a legal framework for all involved parties to cooperate, and are necessary in order to undertake other activities included in the Program of Action.[13]
In May 2006, Mongolia reiterated that it “plans to submit a voluntary national transparency measures report, in accordance with Article 7 of the Mine Ban Treaty....”[14]
Mongolia participated as an observer in the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in Zagreb, Croatia in November-December 2005, but did not make any statements. It did not attend the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in June 2005.[15] However, during the June 2005 intersessional meetings, the ICBL met with Mongolia’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, who affirmed that the political will to join the treaty existed at the highest levels in Mongolia, and indicated that resources for stockpile destruction was the main concern.[16] The ICBL’s Diplomatic Advisor, retired Ambassador Satnam Singh, undertook a special advocacy mission to Mongolia in September 2005. He met with the Chief of the Armed Forces, the State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign Policy Advisor to the President, parliamentary leaders and others. The officials made clear that amendment of Mongolia’s secrecy law is key so that the government can declare its stockpile and begin preparations to destroy it.[17]
Mongolia is party to the original Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons, but has not ratified Amended Protocol II on landmines. Mongolia did not attend the Seventh Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in November 2005 as an observer.
Mongolia’s Ministry of Defense and a US Department of Defense team determined in 1998 that Mongolia is not mine-affected[18] but contamination from explosive remnants of war (ERW) is reportedly extensive.[19] The report of a NATO workshop in the Mongolian capital, Ulanbaatar, in June 2004, identified 187 abandoned former Soviet military sites in Mongolia covering 4,140 square kilometers. Land on and around these sites cannot be used for agricultural or other purposes because of the presence of abandoned munitions and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Some 40 percent of the land is reported to be seriously eroded. In addition, Mongolia has some 1,500 square kilometers of UXO-contaminated former battlefield areas from World War II, and 910 square kilometers of present and old military sites of the Mongolian Armed Forces.[20]
The Engineering Division of the General Staff of the Armed Forces is the only agency clearing ERW. It has 12 explosive ordnance disposal teams attached to military units in the provinces, which respond to calls from the public and local authorities for assistance.[21] Police are responsible for sealing off the vicinity of any ERW threat until it is cleared. Engineering Division personnel remove items of explosive ordnance for detonation in a secure area.[22]
In 2005, the Engineering Division responded to three calls from the public concerning UXO. In Khovd province, five aircraft bombs and three mortar shells found in a 1930s battlefield were destroyed. In Dornod province, five mortar shells were disarmed. They also disarmed 1,050 items of explosive ordnance found among scrap metal at a factory in Darkhan city.[23]
The NATO workshop recommended that Mongolia develop a plan for detailed assessment, clearance and rehabilitation of abandoned military sites.[24] Officials from the Engineering Division and the Ministry of Defense said no survey or clearance of contaminated sites occurred in 2004, 2005 or the first three months of 2006 due to financial and technical constraints.[25] Officials also said that in view of the limited social and economic impact of contaminated areas clearance did not rank as a government priority.[26] The Ministry of Defense said it carries out contamination surveys of land after it is used for military purposes and that clearance of affected areas is compulsory.[27]
In 2005, one civilian casualty caused by UXO was reported; a man lost his one finger and a toe in Khovd province, near the border with China, when he was sorting scrap metal.[28] No casualties were reported in 2004. The last known UXO casualty was in 2000 when a man was killed.[29] No casualties were reported from January to May 2006.
The State Statistical Office and independent research units do not have any data on people disabled as the result of landmine or UXO incidents.[30]
Emergency and continuing medical care, physical rehabilitation, other types of social services and assistance to people injured by mines/UXO is provided in accordance with legislation such as the Mongolian Law on Social Welfare and the Law on Social Assistance for People with Disabilities.[31] These laws do not include specific provisions for people with disabilities caused by landmines or UXO.
The Takhilt Rehabilitation Center provides rehabilitation and vocational training to approximately 500 people with disabilities per year and is run by a disabled medical doctor. The National Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Center for the Disabled provides services with a community focus.[32]
As of July 2005, political parties are reviewing the disability legislation to turn it into rights-based legislation. Mongolia has a National Coordination Council on Disability consisting of the ministries of health, education, construction, foreign affairs, and social welfare and labor, as well as three people with disabilities from the National Federation of Disabled People’s Organizations.[33]
Approximately 50 NGOs and six state organizations work with and provide services for people with disabilities in Mongolia, and there are 31 disabled people’s organizations grouped in the Mongolian National Federation of Disabled People’s Organizations.
[1] Statement by Col. Lkhagva Gantumur, Chief of Military Engineering Division, General Staff, Mongolian Armed Forces, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 8 May 2006.
[2] Statement by Col. Lkhagva Gantumur, Mongolian Armed Forces, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 8 May 2006.
[3] Statement by H.E. Baatar Choisuren, Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the UN, General Debate of the First Committee, UN General Assembly 60th Session, 5 October 2005, p. 5.
[4] Interview with Col. Lkhagva Gantumur, General Staff, Ulaanbaatar, 22 March 2006; interview with Shagdar Rinchenmyadag, Disarmament Officer, Department of Multilateral Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ulaanbaatar, 15 May 2005; statement by Col. Chimeddorj Sosorbaram, Director of Strategic Management and Planning, Ministry of Defense, First Review Conference, Nairobi, 3 December 2004.
[5] Presentation to Mongolian Red Cross Society workshop by Col. Lkhagva Gantumur, Mongolian Armed Forces, Ulaanbaatar, November 2004. Previously, several Mongolian officials have said no mines have been imported since 1985, and one, in 2004, said that none had been acquired in the past 10 years. See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1069.
[6] Government of Mongolia, “Mongolian Government’s Action Plan for 2004-2008,” 2004.
[7] Statement by Natsagiin Bagabandi, President of Mongolia, during his visit to Canada, 23-28 October 2004.
[8] Joint Statement on an expanded partnership between Canada and Mongolia, issued by Prime Minister Paul Martin and President Natsagiin Bagabandi, 20 October 2004.
[9] Interview with Shagdar Rinchenmyadag, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ulaanbaatar, 15 May 2005; interview with Col. Chimeddorj Sosorbaram, Ministry of Defense, Ulaanbaatar, 15 May 2005.
[10] Email from Amb. Satnam Jit Singh, ICBL Diplomatic Advisor, 13 May 2006, reporting on a meeting with Col. Lkhagva Gantumur, General Staff, Mongolian Armed Forces, Geneva, 9 May 2006.
[11] Interview with Gen. Tserenbaljid Dashzeveg, Military Advisor to the President of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, 21 March 2006; interview with N. Enkhbayalag, Head, Department of Policy, Planning and International Relations, Ministry of Defense, Ulaanbaatar, 23 March 2006; interview with Col. Lkhagva Gantumur, Mongolian Armed Forces, Ulaanbaatar, 22 March 2006.
[12] Email from Amb. Satnam Jit Singh, ICBL Diplomatic Advisor, 13 May 2006, reporting on a meeting with Col. Lkhagva Gantumur, General Staff, Geneva, 9 May 2006; interview with Gen. Tserenbaljid Dashzeveg, Military Advisor, Ulaanbaatar, 21 March 2006.
[13] Interview with Gen. Tserenbaljid Dashzeveg, Military Advisor, Ulaanbaatar, 21 March 2006; interview with Shagdar Rinchenmyadag, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ulaanbaatar, 15 May 2005.
[14] Statement by Col. Lkhagva Gantumur, Mongolian Armed Forces, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 8 May 2006.
[15] Previously, it attended intersessional meetings in January 2002, February 2003, February 2004 and June 2004, as well as annual Meetings of States Parties in September 2002 and September 2003.
[16] Email from Amb. Satnam Jit Singh, ICBL Diplomatic Advisor, 28 June 2005.
[17] Email from Amb. Satnam Jit Singh, ICBL Diplomatic Advisor, 9 September 2005. See also, “It’s a minefield,” Mongol Messenger, 14 September 2005.
[18] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1069.
[19] Under Protocol V to the Convention on Conventional Weapons, explosive remnants of war are defined as unexploded ordnance and abandoned explosive ordnance. Mines are explicitly excluded from the definition.
[20] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 821; NATO, “Rehabilitation of Former Military Sites,” NATO/CCMS Workshop, Report No. 267, Ulaanbaatar, August 2004, para. 5.3.
[21] Interview with Col. Lkhagva Gantumur, Mongolian Armed Forces, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[22] Interview with Col. Lkhagva Gantumur, Mongolian Armed Forces, Ulaanbaatar, 22 March 2006.
[23] Interview with Lt. Col. Engel Gantulga, Engineering Division, Ministry of Defense and General Staff, Mongolian Armed Forces, Ulaanbaatar, 22 March 2006.
[24] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 821; NATO, “Rehabilitation of Former Military Sites,” NATO/CCMS Workshop, Report No. 267, Ulaanbaatar, August 2004.
[25] Interview with Col. Lkhagva Gantumur, Mongolian Armed Forces, Ulaanbaatar, 22 March 2006; interview with H. Bor, Senior Expert, Public Administration and Management Department, Ministry of Defense, Ulaanbaatar, 23 March 2006.
[26] Interview with Gen. Tserenbaljir Dashzeveg, Military Advisor, Ulaanbaatar, 21 March 2006; interview with Col. Lkhagva Gantumur, Mongolian Armed Forces, Ulaanbaatar, 22 March 2006; interview with H. Bor, Ministry of Defense, Ulaanbaatar, 23 March 2006.
[27] Interview with Col. Lkhagva Gantumur, Mongolian Armed Forces, Ulaanbaatar, 22 March 2006.
[28] Interview with Col. Lkhagva Gantumur and Lt. Col. Engel Gantulga, Mongolian Armed Forces, Ulaanbaatar, 22 March 2006.
[29] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1070.
[30] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 1069.
[31] For other relevant laws, see International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, “Country paper: Mongolia,” www.worldenable.net, accessed 15 May 2006.
[32] Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability, “Mission to Mongolia,” 12-15 July 2005, www.apcdproject.org, accessed 15 May 2006.
[33] Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability, “Mission to Mongolia,” 12-15 July 2005.