Belarus

Last Updated: 17 December 2012

Mine Ban Policy

Commitment to the Mine Ban Treaty

Mine Ban Treaty status	State Party
National implementation measures	Existing law deemed sufficient
Transparency reporting	17 April 2012
Key developments	EC-funded stockpile destruction program underway with expected completion in 2013

Policy

The Republic of Belarus acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 September 2003, becoming a State Party on 1 March 2004. It has cited various articles of its criminal code as national implementation measures, as well as decrees specific to antipersonnel mines.[1] Belarus submitted its ninth Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report on 17 April 2012.

Belarus attended the Eleventh Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Phnom Penh in November–December 2011, where it provided an update on the progress of its joint stockpile destruction project with the European Commission (EC), and on remaining technical challenges in fulfilling its destruction obligation. However, Belarus gave no timetable for beginning or completing the project.[2] Belarus also attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2012 and made two statements.

Belarus is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. It submitted an annual report as required by Article 13 on 27 March 2012, covering the period from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011. Belarus is also a party to CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war, and it submitted a national report pursuant to Article 10 on 27 March 2012.

Belarus has said it did not produce or export antipersonnel mines after independence in 1992, and never used antipersonnel mines for protection of its borders or for other purposes.[3]

Stockpiling and destruction

Belarus’ original stockpile of antipersonnel mines inherited from the former Soviet Union totaled approximately 4.5 million. It completed the destruction of non-PFM types at the end of 2006.[4]

Belarus failed to meet its deadline of 1 March 2008 to destroy all stockpiles of antipersonnel mines it owns, possesses, or has under its jurisdiction or control.[5] Belarus conducted an inventory of its stockpile in 2010-2011 and the Ministry of Defense revised downward the number of stockpiled mines, with 3,356,636 PFMs still remaining to be destroyed.[6] This change was reflected in Belarus’ 2011 Article 7 report.[7]

Belarus has repeatedly stated that it requires international assistance in order to destroy its remaining antipersonnel mines.[8] Attempts to provide assistance through projects financed through the EC collapsed in 2006 and 2008 for various reasons.[9]

A new program was “re-launched” by the EC on 30 June 2010 with a period of performance stipulated at 28 months.[10] On 30 December 2010, the EU officially announced that on 21 December, the contract was awarded to the Spanish company Explosivos Alaveses SA (EXPAL), for a total value of €3,900,000 (US$5,171,790).[11] At the 11^th Meeting of the States Parties in December 2011, Belarus told States Parties that “all necessary administrative procedures have been finalized by EXPAL and Belarusian authorities,” that construction of the destruction facility was underway, and that destruction was about to begin. Belarus announced an expected completion date of May 2013.[12]

During the May 2012 intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Belarus reported that the construction of the destruction facility was taking longer than planned and described steps it had taken to facilitate the import of necessary materials.[13] It noted the creation in February 2012 of a Coordinating Committee, in which representatives of the Belarus government, the EC, and the contractor were meeting monthly to address outstanding issues. Further work was still needed to finish the construction, including treatment of gases released during destruction of the mines and an associated environmental impact study. Belarus did not provide a date for starting the destruction and stated that destruction should be finished “in 2013.” Subsequent information provided informally to the Monitor indicated that destruction would begin by the end of 2012 and that the contractor would need to request a one-year extension (at least) of the initially set deadline of May 2013.[14]

Mines retained for research and training

In its Article 7 report submitted in 2012, Belarus reported retaining 6,030 antipersonnel mines for research and training purposes, the same number as it first declared in June 2004.[15] At the May 2012 intersessional Standing Committee meetings, however, Belarus reported that eight mines were destroyed in February 2012 during training in mine detection and mine destruction activities, and that another similar training was planned for the second half of 2012.[16] Belarus has said that it retains antipersonnel mines for training of mine detection dogs, testing of protective equipment and mine detectors, and training of personnel.[17]

[1] See Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 189.

[2] Statement of Belarus, Eleventh Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Phnom Penh, 1 December 2011.

[3] Statement by Aleh Shloma, Representative of Belarus, UN General Assembly, First Committee, New York, 21 October 2004.

[4] Belarus destroyed approximately 300,000 antipersonnel mines between 1992 and 2003. In cooperation with the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency and donor countries, Belarus completed the destruction of 294,775 antipersonnel mines other than PFM-type mines in December 2006. This stockpile consisted of 45,425 PMN, 114,384 PMN-2, 12,799 POMZ-2, 64,843 POMZ-2M, and 57,324 POM-2 antipersonnel mines. A total of 217,133 mines were destroyed by open detonation and 12,799 POMZ-2 and 64,843 POMZ-2M mines were disassembled at Belarusian industrial plants. Also in 2006, Belarus destroyed the victim-activated components of its 5,536 MON-type and 200,826 OZM-72 mines.

[5] In informing States Parties that it would not meet the deadline, Belarus stated that it “is not capable to destroy [sic] over 3.3 million stockpiled PFM type mines in terms stipulated in the Convention…. The international community has no experience so far in destruction of large quantity of the PFM mines with the environmentally appropriate technology. Open detonation of this type of mines may cause severe consequences for population and environment and is therefore unacceptable. There has always been an understanding that the issue of PFM type mines is unique from the point of view of the Convention…. We have repeatedly stated that the Republic of Belarus has no possibilities to accomplish the destruction of the stockpiled PFM mines without the assistance of the international community. In this regard we welcome and highly appreciate the contribution of the European Community in solving this issue.” Note Verbale and Non-Paper sent from the Permanent Mission of Belarus to the UN in Geneva to the Permanent Mission of Jordan to the UN in Geneva (as President of the Eighth Meeting of States Parties), 18 February 2008.

[6] Statement of Belarus, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 20 June 2011. Notes by the ICBL. In 2004, Belarus initially declared a stockpile of 3,374,864 of the PFM and PFM-1S type antipersonnel mines. As of June 2010, Belarus reported possessing 3,370,172 PFM-1 mines. The slight decrease in stockpiles is the result of a Belarusian private company, Stroyenergo Joint Stock Co., destroying 1,812 PFM-1 mines during a test of its pilot destruction unit in 2009.

[7] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form B, 30 April 2011.

[8] See, for example, Statement of Belarus, Mine Ban Treaty Ninth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 26 November 2008; and statement of Belarus, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 25 May 2009.

[9] See Landmine Monitor Report 2009, pp. 196–197.

[10] EC, “Service procurement notice, UA-Kiev: ENPI — destruction of PFM-1 series ammunition in Belarus 2010/S 124-188668,” 30 June 2010.

[11] Belarus, “Contract award notice, BY-Minsk: destruction of PFM-1 series ammunition in Belarus 2011/S 14-020376,” 21 January 2011, www.ted.europa.eu. Average exchange rate for 2010: €1=US$1.3261. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 6 January 2011.

[12] Statement of Belarus, Mine Ban Treaty Eleventh Meeting of States Parties, Phnom Penh, 1 December 2011.

[13] Statement of Belarus, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 21 May 2012.

[14] Email from Iouri Zagoumennov, SCAF Belarus, 26 September 2012.

[15] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 17 April 2012.

[16] Statement of Belarus, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on General Status of the Convention, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 25 May 2012, http://www.apminebanconvention.org/intersessional-work-programme/may-2012/general-status-and-operation-of-the-convention/statements/?eID=dam_frontend_push&docID=14479.

[17] This was first articulated in an interview with Maj.-Gen. Sergei Luchina, Ministry of Defense, and Valery Kolesnik, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geneva, 15 June 2005. Belarus restated this during the 25 June 2010 meeting of the Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention in Geneva, http://www.apminebanconvention.org/intersessional-work-programme/june-2011/general-status-and-operation-of-the-convention/statements/?eID=dam_frontend_push&docID=12935 [in Belarusian].

Last Updated: 18 July 2012

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

The Republic of Belarus has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Belarus has long held the view that “balance” is needed to address both military and humanitarian concerns relating to cluster munitions. It has stated that these concerns should be addressed through the framework of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Previously, in 2010, a government representative described the Convention on Cluster Munitions as “too strict” and not applicable for Belarus as it may threaten its security.[1] In 2008, Belarus said that it “shares the humanitarian concerns” caused by the use of cluster munitions but believes that new agreements should be “developed in the course of a step-by-step process and open discussion.”[2]

Belarus did not participate in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions and has not attended any meetings of the convention in the period since 2008, even as an observer.[3]

Belarus is a party to the Mine Ban Treaty, but missed its 1 March 2008 treaty-mandated deadline for the destruction of all stockpiled antipersonnel mines.[4] (See Belarus Country Profile on mine ban policy).

Convention on Conventional Weapons

Belarus is party to the CCW and participated in CCW deliberations on cluster munitions. At the CCW's Fourth Review Conference in November 2011, Belarus expressed support for the conclusion of a draft protocol on cluster munitions. During the negotiations, Belarus said the draft text does not reflect “all of our concerns,” but stated that it was willing to adopt it “to resolve the issue of cluster munitions.”[5] The Review Conference ended without reaching agreement on the draft protocol, thus concluding the CCW’s work on cluster munitions.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

In 2010, Belarus said, “Our country is not a producer of cluster munitions.”[6] It is not known to have used or exported cluster munitions.

Belarus inherited a stockpile of cluster munitions from the Soviet Union. In 2010, Belarus said that it doesn’t have a “major” stockpile of cluster munitions, but it has not provided any information on the types or quantities.[7]

According to Jane’s Information Group, RBK-500 cluster bombs are in service with the country’s air force.[8] Belarus also possesses Grad 122mm, Uragan 220mm, and Smerch 300mm surface-to-surface rockets, but it is not known if these include versions with submunition payloads.[9]

According to a CMC member in Belarus, cluster munitions with expired shelf-life are regularly destroyed by the Ministry of Defense.[10]

[1] Meeting with Ivan Grinevich, Counsellor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Geneva, 30 November 2010. Notes by the CMC.

[2] Statement of Belarus, UN General Assembly, First Committee, New York, 30 October 2008. Translation provided by email from Tatiana Fedorovich, Permanent Mission of Belarus to the UN in New York, 26 November 2008.

[3] For details on Belarus’s cluster munition policy and practice up to early 2009, see Human Rights Watch and Landmin Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 190–191.

[4] See ICBL, “Country Profile: Belarus,” www.the-monitor.org.

[5] Statement of Belarus, CCW Fourth Review Conference, 24 November 2011. Notes by HRW.

[6] Statement of Belarus, CCW GGE on Cluster Munitions, Geneva, 1 September 2010. Notes by AOAV.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Robert Hewson, ed., Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons, Issue 44 (Surrey, UK: Jane’s Information Group Limited, 2004), p. 836.

[9] International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2011 (London: Routledge, 2011), p. 89; and Colin King, ed., Jane’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal 2007–2008, CD-edition, 15 January 2008, (Surrey, UK: Jane’s Information Group Limited, 2008).

[10] Interview with Dr. Iouri Zagoumennov, SCAF, Minsk, 1 April 2010.

Last Updated: 17 December 2012

Mine Action

Contamination and Impact

Mines

Belarus has a residual mine problem from World War II, although in its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 reports, Belarus has declared no known or suspected areas containing antipersonnel mines under its jurisdiction or control.[1] In 2009, for example, only three out of more than 45,000 items of explosive ordnance cleared were antipersonnel mines.

Cluster munition remnants

It is not known if there are any cluster munition remnants in Belarus.[2]

Other explosive remnants of war

Belarus is primarily contaminated by large quantities of explosive remnants of war (ERW), mainly unexploded ordnance from World War II, World War I, and even from the Napoleonic Wars. According to the Ministry of Defense, more than 350km² are affected by ERW.[3] Heavy contamination has been reported in Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk, Mogilev, and Vitebsk regions.[4] Most of the contaminated areas are said to be agricultural land or forest. None of the areas containing ERW are marked or fenced and little information is available to indicate the potential density of contamination.[5]

There is also a residual problem from abandoned explosive ordnance. For example, in December 2009, an arsenal of artillery shells, mortar shells, and more than 100 different types of grenade left from World War II was found in a forest near Pekalichi village in Jlobin region by clearance personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.[6]

Contamination also includes explosive ordnance from military testing, as opposed to armed conflict.

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

Body	Situation on 1 January 2012
National Mine Action Authority	None
Mine action center	None
International demining operators	None
National demining operators	Ministry of Defense engineers Ministry of Internal Affairs clearance personnel

Belarus has neither a national mine action authority nor a national mine action center. Demining and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) is conducted by both Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Internal Affairs’ personnel. The Ministry of Defense conducts planned clearance operations while the Ministry of Internal Affairs responds to emergency requests for EOD in cities, towns, and villages, and is also responsible for the detection and clearance of unexploded air-dropped bombs.

The Ministry of Defense engineers have 30 five-person clearance teams across 22 military districts with a total of 150 personnel. Their equipment, which includes mechanical demining assets, was most recently upgraded in 2008.[7] The Ministry of Internal Affairs has 10 EOD units with a total of 100 personnel and 20 mine detection dogs (MDDs): two MDD units with 10 dogs in each.[8]

In 2009, in accordance with Article 7 of Protocol V to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), Belarus officially applied for international assistance for clearance of ERW on its territory.[9]

Land Release

Belarus does not report on the size of area cleared, nor does it distinguish antivehicle mines from ERW destroyed during clearance operations.[10]

Since 1944, more than 27 million ERW are reported to have been cleared in Belarus.[11]

Quality management

There is no external quality assurance or quality control capacity in Belarus.[12]

^{^[1]} See, for example, Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form C, submitted in 2012.

^{^[2]} Interview with Col. Alexander Tihonov, Head of Engineering Technical Department, Ministry of Defense, Minsk, 19 February 2010.

^{^[3]} CCW Protocol V Article 10 Report, Form A, 4 September 2009.

^{^[4]} Letter from Dmitry Trenashkin, Ministry of Defense, 3 April 2007.

^{^[5]} Belarus, “ERW Database,” Discussion Paper 2/REV.1, 2008 Meeting of Experts of the States Parties to CCW Protocol V, May 2009, p. 6.

^{^[6]} “Cache of Black diggers,” Respublica, 4 December 2009, www.respublika.info .

^{^[7]} Col. Igor Lisovsky, Ministry of Defense, “Engineer Forces: History and Current State,” Vo slavu rodini, 21 January 2009, www.vsr.mil.by; and Belarus, “ERW Database,” Discussion Paper 2/REV.1, 2008 Meeting of Experts of the States Parties to CCW Protocol V, May 2009, p. 6.

^{^[8]} Belarus, “ERW Database,” Discussion Paper 2/REV.1, 2008 Meeting of Experts of the States Parties to CCW Protocol V, May 2009, p. 3.

^{^[9]} Article 10 Report, Form E, 4 September 2009.

[10] See, for example, Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, submitted in 2012.

^{^[11]} Article 10 Report, Form A, 15 March 2010.

^{^[12]} Interview with Col. Alexander Tihonov, Ministry of Defense, Minsk, 19 February 2010.

Last Updated: 21 August 2012

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Casualties

Casualty Overview

All known casualties by end 2011	6,185 mine/ERW casualties (2,672 killed; 3,513 injured)
Casualties in 2011	4 (2010: 4)
2011 Casualties by outcome	1 killed; 3 injured (2010: 4 killed)
2011 Casualties by device type	4 ERW

In 2011, four new explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties were identified in Belarus. In April, one boy was killed and three other children (two boys and one girl) were injured in an incident caused by an unexploded mortar shell.[1] The same number of casualties occurred in 2010, when four men were killed by ERW.[2] No mine casualties have been reported in Belarus since 2004.

There have been at least 6,185 mine/ERW casualties (2,672 killed; 3,513 injured) in Belarus from 1945 to the end of 2011.[3]

Victim Assistance

Most mine/ERW survivors in Belarus were injured by ERW left over from World War II or during military service in Afghanistan in the 1980s. The total number of mine/ERW survivors in Belarus is unknown and it has not been reported how many of the 3,513 registered survivors are still alive.

There is no specific victim assistance coordination or planning in Belarus. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection is the main government agency responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.[4] The Ministry of Health and several other agencies also had a “State Programme on Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons” for the period 2011 to 2015.[5]

As of 1 April 2012, Belarus had not signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[6]

[1] “Four children explode on a shell in Liozneskom” (В Лиознеском районе на мине подорвались четверо детей), Vitebsk People’s News, 22 April 2011, news.vitebsk.cc, accessed 11 April 2012.

^{^[2]} CCW Protocol V Article 10 Report, Form E, 24 March 2011.

^{^[3]} 6,181 reported in 10 Report, Form E, 24 March 2011, and 4 new casualties in 2011.

^{^[4]} “Resolution of the Council of Ministers, Republic of Belarus,” N 1589, 31 October 2001, www.mintrud.gov.by.

[5] Ibid.,N 1126, 29 June 2010, pravo.by.

[6] UN, “UN Treaty Collection: parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: List of parties,” treaties.un.org.

Last Updated: 19 September 2012

Support for Mine Action

Belarus failed to meet its deadline of 1 March 2008 to destroy its stockpiles of antipersonnel mines. After a tender process on 21 December 2010, the European Commission (EC) awarded the Spanish company, Explosivos Alaveses (EXPAL), a 28-month contract valued at €3,900,000 (US$5,171,790).[1] Licensing and problems in importing equipment from Germany and Spain have delayed the start of the project. As of 21 May 2012, EXPAL had not destroyed any stockpiles.[2]

[1] EC, “Service procurement notice, UA-Kiev: ENPI — destruction of PFM-1 series ammunition in Belarus 2010/S 124-188668,” 30 June 2010; See ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Belarus: Mine Ban Policy,” 3 November 2011; Belarus, “Contract award notice, BY-Minsk: destruction of PFM-1 series ammunition in Belarus 2011/S 14-020376,” 21 January 2011; Information from Maria Cruz Cristobal, Mine Action Desk, Security Policy Unit, Directorate-General for External Relations, EC, through David Spence, Minister Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to the UN in Geneva, 20 June 2011; Average exchange rate for 2010: €1=US$1.3261. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 6 January 2011.

[2] Statement of Belarus, Standing Committee Meeting on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 21 May 2012.