Policy

The Republic of Albania signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 8 September 1998 and ratified it on 29 February 2000, becoming a State Party on 1 August 2000. It enacted national implementation legislation in 2006, which includes penal sanctions.[1] Albania submitted its 13^th Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report in April 2012.[2]

Albania attended the Eleventh Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November-December 2011, where it was represented by Deputy Minister of Defense, Dr. Arian Starova, and served as a vice-president of the meeting. Ambassador Gazmund Turdio opened the meeting on behalf of Albania as outgoing president of the Tenth Meeting of States Parties, held in Geneva in November–December 2010. During the meeting Albania made a number of statements, including on victim assistance, clearance, universalization, the International Support Unit, and cooperation and assistance. Ambassador Turdio reflected on his work as president in 2011 on universalization, including convening a workshop in Tirana for universalization partners, holding bilateral meetings with representatives of states not party in Geneva, promoting the convention at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and efforts to engage with Morocco in-country.[3] He noted that he had made statements to the media expressing deep concern over instances of new use of antipersonnel mines and called on all States Parties to condemn any future violations of the treaty’s norms.[4]

Albania also attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in May 2012, where it gave an update on its progress on victim assistance.

Albania is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and its Amended Protocol II on landmines and Protocol V on explosive remnants of war, but has never submitted an Article 13 report for Amended Protocol II.

Production, transfer, stockpiling, and retention

Production of antipersonnel mines in Albania was suspended in 1990 and officially ceased in 1991.[5] Albania may have been a minor exporter of antipersonnel mines in the past. The last use of antipersonnel mines in Albania occurred in 1998 and 1999 in the northeast of the country during the Kosovo crisis.

Albania completed the destruction of its stockpile of 1,683,860 antipersonnel mines on 4 April 2002, more than two years before its treaty deadline.[6] In its initial Article 7 report, Albania stated that “there are no justifiable reasons for the retention of APM [antipersonnel mines] for training or any other purpose” and has therefore not retained mines since becoming a State Party.[7]

Contamination and Impact

Mines

Albania declared that it had completed clearance of all known mined areas in accordance with its Mine Ban Treaty obligations in October 2009.[1] Albania became contaminated by mines and other ordnance mainly as a result of the Kosovo crisis of 1998–1999 when forces of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia laid extensive minefields in the northeastern border districts of Has, Kukës, and Tropojë.[2] In a decade of demining operations started in 2000 by the Albanian Armed Forces (AAF) and which continued with several demining organizations such as RONCO, HELP, Swiss Foundation for Demining (FSD) and DanChurchAid (DCA), Albania released through survey and clearance a total of 16.6km² of land, destroying 12,452 antipersonnel mines, 152 antivehicle mines, and 4,965 items of unexploded ordinance (UXO), including cluster munitions.[3]

Cluster munition remnants

Albania declared completion of clearance of all known unexploded submunitions in November 2009.[4] The northeast of the country had been contaminated with unexploded submunitions from at least six NATO cluster munitions during the conflict over Kosovo;[5] this left 44 areas covering 2.1km² affected by unexploded submunitions, including BLU-97B, BL755, MK118 Rockeye, KB-1, and KB-2 submunitions. Between 1999 and 2005, there were 32 incidents involving submunitions, which resulted in nine deaths and 44 people injured.[6]

Other explosive remnants of war

Clearance of explosive remnants of war (ERW) in the northeast border region of Kukës, mainly UXO resulting from the conflict in Kosovo in 1999, was completed by the end of 2009.[7]

Albania still faces a threat from abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO) around former army ammunition storage sites which were destroyed and looted during internal turmoil in Albania in 1997, leaving tons of dangerous munitions scattered around. The AAF conducted surface clearance of 15 so-called hotspots in 2003, but technical assessment conducted by the Albanian Mines and Munitions Coordination Office (AMMCO, formerly the Albanian Mine Action Executive, AMAE), which visited most of these hotspots in 2011, showed that the areas still contain live and abandoned ammunition which attract the attention of scrap metal collectors and pose a serious risk of injury to civilians.[8] Albania plans to complete hotspot clearance by the end of 2014.[9]

Albania is also still tackling contamination that resulted from the 15 March 2008 explosion at a military depot used for demolition of munitions in Gerdec village, about 13km from the capital, Tirana. The explosion killed 27 people, injured some 300 others, and scattered up to 600,000 projectiles/pieces of 9,000 tons of UXO across four other villages, contaminating an area of approximately 3.5km². The explosion completely destroyed some 200 houses and damaged approximately 1,500 to some degree (as well as 32 businesses and 34 farms), inflicting damage estimated at that time at US$18.75 million (€12.7 million).[10]

The AAF conducted emergency clearance from 17 March to 3 April 2008;[11] DCA carried out some emergency clearance in 2008;[12] and Sterling International/Explosive and Ordnance Demilitarisation Solutions (EODS) took over clearance in 2009.[13] There is no available estimate of the current size of the contamination.[14]

Albania has also had to dispose of substantial stocks of obsolete munitions held in poorly maintained military depots near populated areas. As of the end of 2010, it still had about 74,000 tons of these dangerous surplus munitions, but by the end of 2011 stocks had fallen to 26,000 tons (26 million kg).[15] Albania has planned to complete destruction of these stocks by the end of 2013.[16]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

The Albanian Mine Action Committee (AMAC), an interministerial body formed in October 1999, serves as the “executive and policy making body for mine action” in Albania.[17] In 2008, AMAC contributed to the emergency response to the Gerdec explosion but responsibility for the operations in Gerdec was with the Ministry of Defense[18] until mid-2011.[19]

The AMAE, set up at the same time as AMAC, coordinated and monitored mine action in Albania until completion of demining at the end of 2010. In December 2010, the Ministry of Defense engaged AMAE to assist in tackling hotspots to help ensure that clearance and ammunition disposal was conducted according to international standards. In addition, AMAE was converted to AMMCO.[20] The Ministry of Defense and UNDP signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2011 which will run to December 2013 under which UNDP will give AMMCO technical and financial support and help to develop a humanitarian framework and standards for clearing hotspots. The Ministry of Defense provides storage for unexploded ammunition and is responsible for its destruction.[21]

Under an agreement between the Albanian Ministry of Defense and the United States (US) State Department, the International Trust Fund: Enhancing Human Security (ITF) contracted Sterling International/EODS in 2011 to clear ammunition hotspots. Sterling International/EODS subcontracted DCA, which had conducted mine clearance until 2009, to clear two hotspots in Ura e Gjadrit (Shkoder) and Gjeroven (Berat) in 2012.[22] Under this process, the AAF explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams are responsible for transporting ammunition found during clearance for disposal. The role of the AAF EOD teams was expected to increase in 2012.[23]

Sterling International/EODS also supports the Albanian Armed Forces in UXO/ammunition clearance and removal in Gerdec.[24]

Land Release

No mine clearance or cluster munition clearance activities were conducted in Albania during 2011. As noted above, major clearance operations were completed in 2009.[25]

Five-year summary of clearance[26]

Survey in 2011

In July to December 2011, an AMMCO team supported by a senior technical advisor from the Swiss Armed Forces conducted technical assessments of 15 hotspots in 11 locations, with three more remaining to be conducted during 2012. Of the 15 assessed, three were rated as high risk and therefore a high priority for clearance; two were discounted as presenting no risk; the remainder were categorized as either low or medium risk.[27] The assessments were designed to identify the exact location of hazards, determine clearance requirements, develop standing operating procedures for quality assurance and control, and determine the impact of hazards on the community and the need for risk education (RE) and victim assistance.[28]

In general, the assessment team found that all hotspots contain dangerous, scattered ammunition despite several surface clearance operations conducted in the past by the AAF. Ammunition attracts scrap metal collectors with the consequent risk to life and limb.[29]

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Albania was required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 August 2010. Albania reported completion and the fulfillment of its Article 5 obligations in October 2009.[30]

Compliance with Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Albania became a State Party on 1 August 2010 upon entry into force of the convention with a deadline for clearance of all unexploded submunitions of 1 August 2020. A general survey in 1999 had identified 44 areas contaminated by cluster munitions covering 2.1km². Albania stated in November 2009 that it had already completed clearance of all remaining contaminated areas with the destruction of 4,869 unexploded submunitions.[31]

Battle area clearance in 2011

Ordnance Demilitarization Solutions (based in the United Kingdom) was subcontracted by Sterling International/EODS to clear contamination at Gerdec; it continued operations in 2011 in cooperation with the AAF. This project is conducted under a Technical Agreement between the Albanian Ministry of Defense and the US State Department.[32]

In 2011, teams cleared or deep searched a total of 111,329m², finding a total of 4,339 items of ordnance, including 2,747 items found during deep search operations. Overall, 2,856 items were moved to storage and 1,474 munitions destroyed.[33] Since the beginning of the project, Sterling International/EODS has searched 273,760m² to a depth of up to two meters on flat ground and 1.5 meters on hills, finding 21,709 munitions.[34]

Sterling International/EODS started another project in Gerdec in September 2011 to assist the AAF to remove an estimated 300,000 fuzes. By the end of 2011, Sterling International /EODS had removed 723 live fuzes, 6,793 parts of fuzes, and 18 high-explosive shells.[35]

DCA, subcontracted by Sterling International/EODS and funded by the US State Department, started operating in November 2011 on a hotspot at Ura e Gjadrit, near the Gjader river covering 91,000m². The AAF had previously conducted surface clearance in the area, but an assessment in July 2011 found mortar rounds, small arms ammunition, and mortar fuzes.[36] As of 27 January 2012, DCA teams had cleared a total of 32,620m², removing 509 fuzes, 350 artillery shells, 68 mortars, 76 hand-grenades, and seven rocket-propelled grenades, as well as quantities of small arms ammunition.[37]

Quality management

An AMMCO monitoring team conducted six quality control and two quality assurance inspections of hotspot clearance operations in 2011. The AMMCO team consists of one team leader and two monitors.[38]

Safety of demining personnel

No demining accidents occurred during 2011.[39]

Risk Education

The AMMCO monitored and coordinated RE activities, conducted by the Albanian Red Cross (ARC) in 12 regions in Albania.[40]

The ARC implemented a data collection project in 12 prefectures. In addition, 5,000 leaflets prepared in consultation with AMMCO were distributed by ARC volunteers to areas affected by unexploded ammunition and containing messages for a safe behavior. The ARC, with funding from the ICRC, produced and distributed 2,000 new posters, mainly to areas around the hotspots where clearance operations were under way.[41]

Casualties Overview

In 2011, the Albanian Mine and Munitions Coordination Office (AMMCO) reported six casualties of abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO); five men and one woman. In 2010, one AXO casualty was reported. No mine or cluster munition remnants casualties have been reported in Albania since 2005.

A total of 972 mine/unexploded ordnance and AXO/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties (139 killed; 833 injured) have been identified in Albania between 1997 and 2011. The AMAE casualty database for Kukes region[1] contained information on 272 mine and ERW casualties (34 killed; 238 injured) for the period 1999–2005. Countrywide AXO casualty data for 1997–2010 listed 700 casualties (105 killed; 595 injured).[2]

Cluster munition casualties

At least 53 cluster munition remnants casualties (nine killed; 44 injured) are recorded in the Kukes database.[3] Two additional casualties due to the use of cluster munitions were also identified.[4]

Victim Assistance

Albania is responsible for landmine survivors, cluster munition victims and other survivors of explosive remnants of war. Albania has commitments to victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Conventional Weapons and has victim assistance obligations under the Cluster Munition Convention.

There are at least 833 mine/ERW (including AXO) survivors in Albania.

Victim Assistance since 1999[5]

Since 1999, Albania made significant progress in developing all components of victim assistance in the northeast with the introduction of an initial victim assistance plan in 2003. Extensive data collection used for program design and information sharing contributed to the success of the regional victim assistance program in 2005-2009. Needs based and comprehensive community based programming, as well as linkages to broader development strategies, were applied to develop an exemplary victim assistance program. However, after the country was declared mine free in 2009, resources for victim assistance in Albania were insufficient to continue meeting the needs of survivors.

The national NGO, ALB-AID (formerly VMA-Kukes, founded in November 2000) provided direct victim assistance. Progress was most prominent in the areas of medical care, employment and economic support in the northeast. A prosthetic and rehabilitation center was built in the mine affected region. Conditions at the National Orthotic-Prosthetic Center had been deteriorating since 2005, and in 2010 the center lost ICRC support. Economic inclusion and psychological support remained the most serious needs of survivors. Overall, widespread poverty, unregulated working conditions, and poor medical care posed significant problems for many persons with disabilities.

Victim assistance in 2011

In 2011, the main victim assistance provider in Albania, ALB-AID, continued to implement victim assistance programs at an extremely reduced level due to decreased funding with just one economic inclusion project, which continued into 2012. In other parts of Albania, except the Gerdec munitions storage explosion site, direct services from ALB-AID for survivors are not provided to survivors due to the lack of funding.[6]

Assessing victim assistance needs

ALB-AID maintained data on all its survivor members in 2011 and continued its media monitoring of explosives and small arms incidents. The Albanian Red Cross Society continued collecting data on AXO casualties in 12 AXO affected prefectures of Albania for use by AMMCO. Data is disaggregated by age and gender, recorded in the IMSMA database and regularly shared with the relevant institutions and agencies.[7]

Victim assistance coordination[8]

Albania has a National Victim Assistance plan, which is in aligned with the recommendations of the Cartagena Action Plan.[9] The national Mine Action Plan (2010) aimed to make victim assistance sustainable by building sufficient national capacity and by implementing the National Strategy on People with Disabilities (NSPWD).[10] The Albanian Disability Rights Foundation (ADRF) monitored the implementation of the NSPWD.[11]

Albania reported in detail on victim assistance in its 2011 Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report.[12] It also provided updates on victim assistance at the Mine Ban Treaty and Cluster Munitions Convention intersessional meetings in April and May 2012 and at the Eleventh Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in December 2011.[13]

Survivors were represented at all levels of planning and implementation of victim assistance through the participation of ALB-AID.[14]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[15]

In 2011, the National Prosthetic and Orthotic Center (NPOC) in Tirana operated at minimum levels following the withdrawal of support of the ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) in 2010. As a result, in the absence of an adequate national prosthetics and rehabilitation facility in the capital, beneficiaries from throughout the country continued to utilize the capacity of the facilities in Kukes. Kukes Hospital began allocating some funding for prosthetic materials in 2011 in addition to covering all staff and running costs as in past years.[16] However resources were insufficient compared to needs and the Kukes Prosthetic Workshop was facing difficulties in securing enough raw materials and components for the production of new and major repairs of prostheses for 2012.[17] This was a result of increased needs due to the influx of survivors from other parts of Albania who were treated at Kukes Prosthesis Workshop.[18]

The five–year collaborative project aimed at supporting Albania in developing a physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR) system at the national level concluded in 2011. This project included physiotherapy training within the Nursery Faculty of Tirana and aimed to create a sustainable response to rehabilitation needs of landmine survivors in Kukes.[19] Following the completion of the project, the Nursing Faculty continued to implement a sustainable program for the development of physiotherapy training into 2012.[20]

Resource constraints and lack of infrastructure make it difficult for persons with disabilities to participate fully in many social activities. Governmental social services agencies were often unable to implement their programs due to lack of funding.[21] ALB-AID had no resources for psychological support activities in Kukes and social inclusion activates decreased significantly.

Legislation prohibited discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of other state services. However, service providers did sometimes discriminate against people with disabilities. The law mandated that new public buildings be accessible to persons with disabilities, but this was not regularly enforced.[22]

Throughout 2011, UNDP, ADRF and ALB-AID were advocating for the Albanian Parliament to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and for the government to increase support and funding for persons with disabilities.[23]

Albania signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 22 December 2009.

Support for Mine Action

In 2010, Albania declared that it had completed clearance of all known mined areas in accordance with its Mine Ban Treaty obligations, and that it had also completed clearance of cluster munition remnants in accordance with the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Albania still faces a threat from abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO). During the internal turmoil of 1997, army ammunition storage areas (ASAs) were destroyed and looted countrywide, leaving tons of dangerous munitions scattered around Albania.[1]

In 2011, the United States provided US$1,073,346 for mine action including $332,705 for victim assistance through ITF Enhancing Human Security (formerly the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance; hereinafter, ITF) to Handicap International and the Albanian Red Cross. US funds through the ITF also included $25,000 to the Albanian Red Cross for risk education.[2] Switzerland provided CHF20,000 (US$22,568) for clearance through UNDP.[3]

In 2011, the government of Albania contributed US$450,000 to support its victim assistance activities.[4]

International contributions: 2011[5]

Summary of contributions in 2007–2011 (US$)[6]