The Republic of Slovenia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 27 October 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 April 1999. Slovenia never produced, imported, or exported antipersonnel mines. It inherited its stockpile of antipersonnel mines from the former Yugoslavia. Legislation to enforce the antipersonnel mine prohibition domestically was passed in December 1998 and April 1999. On 30 April 2011, Slovenia submitted its 12^th Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report.

Slovenia completed the destruction of its stockpile of 168,898 antipersonnel mines on 25 March 2003, just ahead of its 1 April 2003 treaty-mandated destruction deadline. Slovenia initially announced it would retain 7,000 antipersonnel mines for training and development purposes, but later reduced the quantity to 3,000; as of April 2011, Slovenia had reduced the number of mines retained to 2,978.[1]

Slovenia served as co-rapporteur and then co-chair of the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance (2004–2006) and the General Status and Operation of the Convention (2008–2010).

Slovenia attended the Tenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in November–December 2010 in Geneva and the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in June 2011.

Slovenia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and its Amended Protocol II on landmines and Protocol V on explosive remnants of war.

Mine clearance in Slovenia was completed in the early 1990s; there are no known mined areas in Slovenia. Slovenia is contaminated by unexploded ordnance from World War I, World War II, and the independence war of 1991.

 

Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Policy

The Republic of Slovenia signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified on 19 August 2009. It was thus among the first 30 ratifications to trigger the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010.

Slovenia submitted its initial Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report on 26 January 2011, for calendar year 2010.

According to the report, Slovenia’s national implementation measures for the convention’s provisions are enacted through Article 307 of its Criminal Code on the Illegal Manufacture of and Trade in Weapons or Explosive Materials, adopted in 1994 and last modified in 2009.[1] Draft legislation to specifically implement the convention had been submitted to Parliament in July 2010, but was never adopted.[2] In June 2011, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said the legislation was found not to be necessary because, according to the Constitution, international agreements and treaties are implemented directly.[3]

Slovenia actively engaged in the Oslo Process that led to the creation of the convention and enacted legislative measures on cluster munitions prior to the conclusion of the process. In July 2007 it had adopted a declaration calling on the government to support all international efforts to conclude an international instrument prohibiting cluster munitions and to consider national measures, including appropriate legislation to ban cluster munitions.[4]

Slovenia continued to engage in the work of the convention in 2010 and the first half of 2011. It attended the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010, where it announced that it had initiated the process of destroying its stockpile of 1,080 cluster munitions and pledged to destroy the stockpile well before the deadline set by the convention. Slovenia also called for increased funding from donors to achieve the aims of the convention, noting its own financial contributions to the International Trust Fund for Demining and Victims Assistance.[5]

Slovenia participated in the convention’s first intersessional meetings in Geneva in June 2011, but did not make any statements. At both meetings, Slovenia assisted Australia in its role as Friend of the President of the First Meeting of States Parties on clearance.

In a May 2011 letter to the Monitor, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Žbogar, said that the convention’s increasing number of signatories and States Parties is a “positive development” that “gives us hope that a comprehensive ban of cluster munitions will soon become a global standard.”[6] The Minister of Foreign Affairs also expressed his thanks to civil society for “their invaluable contribution to our joint endeavours to reach a common goal—a world free of cluster munitions.”[7]

At the First Meeting of States Parties, Slovenia appealed to all States Parties to spare no effort on universalization of the convention and expressed its belief that the convention will become a universal norm with an impact on states not party.[8]

During the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA’s) First Committee on Disarmament and International Security, Slovenia called the entry into force of the convention on 1 August 2010, “the most important event in the field of conventional weapons in the course of this year.”[9] Slovenia participated in a UN Special Event on the convention held during the UNGA First Committee in New York in October 2010.

Interpretative issues

Slovenia has elaborated its views on several important issues related to interpretation and implementation of the convention, including the prohibition with assistance with prohibited acts in joint military operations, the prohibition on transit and foreign stockpiling, and the retention of cluster munitions for training and research purposes.

In May 2011, the Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated Slovenia’s views on the prohibition on assistance with prohibited acts in joint military operations, saying, “Allow me to stress that Slovenia will not participate in any joint military operation with non-States Parties to the Convention involving the use of cluster munitions.”[10]

The Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated Slovenia’s position on transit and foreign stockpiling, stating that, “As the Convention also includes the prohibition on transit and stockpiling of cluster munitions by third countries on the territory of States Parties, we consider such activities illegal on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia.” [11]

On the issue of retention of cluster munitions for training or research, Slovenia has indicated its intention to destroy its entire stockpile of cluster munitions.[12]

Slovenia has yet to make known its views on the prohibition on investment in cluster munition production.

Convention on Conventional Weapons

Slovenia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. Slovenia continued to participate in the CCW deliberations on cluster munitions in 2010 and the first half of 2011.

Slovenia has expressed its opposition to a provision in the draft chair’s text that would allow for a transition period during which prohibited cluster munitions could still be used.[13]

In 2009, Slovenia stated that it viewed “the efforts in the framework of the CCW process and the Oslo Process [as] complementary” and urged states to try to conclude work by the end of 2010.[14]

Use, production, and transfer

Slovenia is not known to have used or exported cluster munitions. Slovenia has stated that it has never produced cluster munitions or their components.[15]

Stockpiling and destruction

In its initial Article 7 report, Slovenia reported a stockpile of 1,080 cluster munitions, which it has identified as 155mm howitzer PAT-794 CARGO Long-Range/Base Bleed (LR/BB) projectiles. The origin of the PAT-794 projectile is unclear.[16] Slovenia did not report the possession of any explosive submunitions.[17]

According to the Article 7 report, Slovenia has concluded a contract for the destruction of its cluster munitions at “MAXAM Bulgaria” destruction facilities. The entire stockpile was due to be transported to Bulgaria for destruction by the end of January 2011, with the final deadline for the completion of destruction by September 2011.[18]

In June 2011, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said that Slovenia planned to complete the stockpile destruction before the end of 2011 and well in advance of its obligations under the convention.[19]

In its Article 7 report, Slovenia stated that no cluster munitions have been retained for training or research purposes.[20]

 

In 2010 Slovenia contributed US$723,423 in mine action funding, a decrease of 2% from 2009.[1] All of Slovenia’s support for mine action in 2010 was contributed through the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF). The largest contribution ($461,569) was a global contribution to support the work of the ITF, while the remainder went towards two states and one area.

In addition to financial contributions, Slovenia provided in kind support to the ITF in 2010 valued at $119,559.

From 1998 to 2010, Slovenia contributed a total of $7,715,561 to the ITF.[2]

Contributions by recipient: 2010

Summary of contributions: 2006–2010[3]

N/A = Not applicable