Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Policy

The Republic of Chile signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified on 16 December 2010. The convention entered into force for Chile on 1 June 2011.

Chile’s ratification process included legislative approval of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but as yet Chile has not undertaken national legislation to implement the convention.[1]

As of 15 July 2012, Chile had not provided its initial Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report, originally due by 28 November 2011. In April 2012, Ministry of Defense officials stated that the delay was due to the process of getting all the necessary information required for the report.[2]

Chile participated in the Oslo Process that produced the Convention on Cluster Munitions and was a strong advocate for the most comprehensive convention possible.[3] Chile has continued to engage actively in the work of the convention, hosting an international conference on the convention in Santiago in June 2010 and a regional conference in September 2009.

At the convention’s Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut, Lebanon in September 2011, Chile expressed its desire for a Latin America and a Caribbean free of cluster munitions.[4] Chile also attended intersessional meetings of the convention in Geneva in April 2012, where it made several statements, including on victim assistance, stockpile destruction, and clearance.

Chile has not yet declared its views on certain important issues related to the interpretation and implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, including the prohibition on transit, the prohibition on foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions, the prohibition on investment in production of cluster munitions, and the need for retention of cluster munitions and submunitions for training and development purposes.

During the Oslo Process, Chile was not in favor of including language on “interoperability” (joint military operations with states not party that may use cluster munitions) in the convention.[5] In April 2012, a Ministry of Defense official informed the Monitor that the convention’s Article 21 language does not prevent Chile from conducting military training exercises with states not party, but emphasized that Chile would require, via a written order sent to officials involved, that states participating in exercises not use cluster munitions in the exercises.[6]

Chile is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty.

Convention on Conventional Weapons

Chile is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and participated in CCW work on cluster munitions in 2011.

At the outset of the CCW’s Fourth Review Conference in November 2011, Chile expressed concern that a CCW protocol on cluster munitions could weaken international humanitarian law and undermine the Convention on Cluster Munitions by permitting continued use of cluster munitions.[7]

On the final day of the negotiations, Chile endorsed a joint statement by a group of 50 countries declaring that the chair’s draft text does not fully address the fundamental concerns and is unacceptable from a humanitarian standpoint, and therefore does not command consensus.[8]

The Review Conference ended without reaching agreement on the draft protocol, thus concluding the CCW’s work on cluster munitions.

Use, production, and transfer

Chile is not known to have used cluster munitions in a conflict situation. In February 2011, the Ministry of Defense informed the Monitor that Chile stopped using cluster munitions in training exercises in 2008.[9]

During the Oslo Process in September 2007, Chile stated that it no longer produced cluster munitions and did not intend to produce the weapon in the future.[10] In the past, Industrias Cardeon SA and Los Conquistadores 1700 were reported to have produced at least eight types of air-dropped cluster bombs (CB-130 bomb, CB-250K bomb, CB-500 bomb, CB-500K bomb, CB-500K2 bomb, CB-770 bomb, WB-250F bomb, and WB-500F bomb).[11]

In 2012, Chile’s Ministry of Defense responded to a Monitor request for an accounting of transfers of cluster munitions by Chile. One document shown to the Monitor details Chilean exports of cluster munitions in the period from 1991 to 2001 to the following five countries:[12]

·         Brazil in 1999 and 2001 (various types),

·         Colombia in 1994 (55 250kg cluster bombs, four air-dropped 250kg cluster bombs, and one fin stabilizer for a CB-250kg cluster bomb), and in 1997 (132 250kg cluster bombs),

·         Turkey in 1996 (four CB-250 cluster bombs),

·         United Arab Emirates in 1998 (four “empty” [vacías] CB-500kg cluster bombs, two CB-500 cluster bombs, full of lead shot),

·         United States in 1991 (one 250kg cluster bomb and one 500kg cluster bomb).

In a May 2012 document provided to the Monitor, the director-general of National Mobilization, Brigadier General Roberto Ziegele Kerber, stated that there were “no other applications or new exports authorizations for these devices” after the year 2001.[13] This data accounts for cluster munitions exported from Chile in the period after 1980, but it does not provide any information on exports in period from 1980-1991.[14]

The PM-1 combined-effect submunitions delivered by bombs produced in Chile have been found in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, and Sudan.[15] Colombia reported the destruction of its stockpile of 41 Chilean CB-250K bombs in March 2009.[16] A number of CB-250 bombs were found in the arsenal of Iraq by UN weapons inspectors. The bombs had been modified by the Iraqis to deliver chemical weapons in submunitions.[17]

Stockpiling

As of 15 July 2012, the precise status and composition of the current stockpile of cluster munitions was not known because Chile had not submitted its initial Article 7 report.

According to a Chilean Air Force document dated 23 June 2009, “The Air Force doesn´t have any more cluster munitions in stock.”[18] The document states that the air force originally had 48 cluster munitions in stockpile in 2003 of which 42 cluster munitions were consumed for training purposes at sites in the north of Chile in 2007, two more cluster munitions were consumed in 2008, and the remaining four cluster munitions were consumed in 2009.

According to an Army document dated 6 September 2011, the army stockpiles 249 LARS-160 rockets equipped with cluster munition warheads (MK 11 HE).[19] Previously, in 2010, General Antonio Cordero stated that the Chilean Army intends to demilitarize 249 LARS rockets equipped with cluster munition warheads.[20]

In September 2011, Chile told States Parties that it was developing a destruction program for its stockpile of “very few” cluster munitions, and would begin the destruction process during 2012.[21] According to a government official, the army intended to demilitarize the stockpile during 2011, but did not obtain the required budget of US $300,000 (127,240 CLP) necessary to complete the destruction process.[22] In April 2012, Chile reiterated that it is developing a plan for its stockpile destruction.[23]

Under Article 3 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Chile is required to declare and destroy all stockpiled cluster munitions under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 June 2019.

Chile has not yet indicated if it will retain cluster munitions for training and research purposes.

Contamination and Impact

Chile is affected by antipersonnel and antivehicle mines and, to a very limited extent, by explosive remnants of war (ERW), which may include cluster munition remnants.[1]

Mines

The mines were all laid on Chile’s borders with Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru during the Pinochet regime in the 1970s. The mined areas are generally difficult to access and mostly in unpopulated regions. Some minefields in the north are located as high as 5,000m above sea level,[2] although the vast majority of the mines are located in two of the six mine-affected regions. Of the 198 original mined areas, three-quarters were located in Arica and Parinacota (on the border with Peru), and Antofagasta (desert), which together contained 92% of the mines laid.[3] As of 2012, mined areas remained in Antofagasta, Arica, Magallanes y Antártica Chilena, and Tarapacá regions.[4]

On 19 February 2012, Chile closed Route 5, the main highway in the north of the country, for two days after torrential rains and flooding caused an unknown number of antipersonnel and antivehicle landmines to move and appear between Arica and the Peruvian city of Tacna. No mine incident was reported. In February 2011, heavy rains over a 48-hour period caused flooding and landslides.

On 26 May 2012, a taxi going to Peru drove through a marked minefield in Quebrada de Escritos in Arica region near the border with Peru and hit an antivehicle mine that detonated, killing the driver. No other casualty was reported.[5] According to Chile’s Article 5 deadline extension request in 2011, Quebrada de Escritos, a desert area with no inhabitants, originally contained 23 mined areas covering a total of approximately 490,000m² with 16,824 antipersonnel mines and 13,298 antivehicle mines. Chile’s National Humanitarian Demining Commission (CNAD) reported in 2010 and 2011 that heavy rains had delayed clearance operations in the area and only one of the 22 mined areas had been cleared.[6] Although Quebrada de Escritos is a major transit area to and from Peru and one of the few remaining mined areas near populated areas, and despite the increased risk of displacement of mines from flooding, clearance of all the remaining 22 mined areas is not scheduled to be completed until 2017.[7] In early 2012, heavy rains washed mines down a ravine onto a beach in Peruvian territory. It is possible that this has may have also occurred in earlier years.[8]

In June 2012, Norway, Chile, and Peru jointly announced that Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) would conduct clearance operations in the Quebrada de Escritos area and that the government of Chile would pay the full cost of the clearance.[9] In August 2012, an NPA team arrived in Chile to determine the exact scope, time, cost, and methods required to clear the Linea de Concordia minefield on the coast of southern Peru.[10] The plan is for NPA to conduct clearance in the last quarter of 2012.[11]

On 14 August 2012, Chilean media reported a deminer was injured while clearing mines between road markers number four and five near the city of Arica, close to the border with Peru.[12] This is nearby the area where the taxi driver was killed in May when his taxi hit an antivehicle mine. According to Chile’s Article 5 deadline extension request the area between the city of Arica and the border with Peru, a distance of approximately 55km, has 68 mined areas containing 66,035 antipersonnel mines and 37,400 antivehicle mines covering approximately 9km².[13]

Cluster munition remnants

It is not known to what precise extent Chile is contaminated by cluster munition remnants. Chile informed States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in April 2012 that it has military testing/training areas that are contaminated by cluster munition remnants, but provided no further details.[14] Unexploded submunitions have been seen by geographers over the past 10 years while conducting research on training sites of the Chilean army and air force.[15]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

CNAD is responsible for mine action in Chile. Its main functions are to advise the president, mobilize resources, coordinate humanitarian demining with state agencies, and develop plans for complying with the Mine Ban Treaty. CNAD is chaired by the minister of national defense and includes the undersecretaries of foreign affairs, health, and treasury, plus the armed forces’ chief of staff and the heads of the general staff of the armed forces, as well as CNAD’s executive secretary.[16] The Chilean mine action program is executed under the auspices of the Ministry of National Defense.

Inclement weather, difficult terrain, and the long distances to access the mined areas with personnel and equipment are the main challenges that Chile has cited that it faces in fulfilling its Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance obligations.[17]

Land Release

Since 2002, Chile has reportedly released 13.48km² from an original 23.2km² of contaminated area, leaving 9.72km² to release.[18] Chile also reports it has destroyed 27% of the 181,814 mines known to have been placed.[19]

Summary of land release in 2002–2011

Mine clearance in 2011

In 2011, Chile cleared or otherwise released 4.15km², destroying in the process 5,549 antipersonnel mines and 5,125 antivehicle mines. This compares to 1.51km² and 2,351 antipersonnel mines and 1,073 antivehicle mines in 2010.[20] Both years, however, represent considerably higher productivity and progress than in any previous year.

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the eight-year extension request granted in 2011), Chile is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2020.

In March 2011, in its extension request, Chile cited weather, distant mined areas in high altitudes, the difficult terrain, and the different types and conditions of the mines as the main reasons for needing the additional time.[21]

In reply to a question from the Analysing Group of States Parties on the possibility of applying new land release methodologies as recommended by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining to shorten the time needed to clear all mined areas, Chile said it would be irresponsible to try to reduce the additional eight years it had requested to meet its Mine Ban Treaty obligations considering the difficult terrain, weather, and logistics involved in demining operations in the country.[22] In commenting on Chile’s presentation of its extension request at the June 2011 Standing Committees, Norway encouraged Chile to use all applicable land release methodologies to increase productivity and possibly shorten the time needed.[23]

In December 2011, at the Eleventh Meeting of States Parties, Chile was encouraged by the other States Parties to improve its land release methodology so it could meet its Article 5 obligations before 2020. The decision also noted that Chile intended to pay the full cost of meeting its Article 5 obligations.[24] Progress in clearance in 2010–2011 offers optimism that Chile may be able to release the remaining 9.72km² of contaminated area before 2020.

Compliance with Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Chile is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 June 2021.

The extent of the clearance challenge is not yet known. As of 14 August 2012, Chile had not submitted its initial Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report, which was due on 28 November 2011.

Quality management

As of 31 March 2011, CNAD’s quality assurance team had certified the clearance of 30 mined areas while 24 others were pending.[25] In its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for 2011, it reported one additional certification: on 13 July 2011, Isla Hornos was declared to have been cleared of mines.[26]

 Other Risk Reduction Measures

All mined areas are said to be marked with warning signs in at least three languages and fenced with two-meter-high barbed wire. CNAD’s website has detailed maps of the mined areas.[27]

Risk Education

Tourist information indicates the location of mined areas and personnel with the National Tourism Service (Servicio Nacional de Turismo, SERNATUR), the police, and the people living near the mined areas have received risk education (RE). CNAD also coordinates RE with the Ministry of Education through 38 schools and 17 communities affected by landmines. More than 5,000 children received free school supplies and educational materials with RE messages printed on them. Additionally, civil society organizations participated in CNAD seminars and lectures on RE in the Arica and Parinacota, Tarapaca, Antofagasta and Magallanes, and Chilean Antarctica regions.[28]

No new mine or explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties were identified in 2011. However, in 2012, there were media reports of two casualties. In March 2012, a male civilian was injured by ERW near the city of Calama, in Northern Chile.[1] The device that caused the incident was initially reported to be an antipersonnel mine, but an investigation conducted by the Police’s Special Operations Group (GOPE) indicated that the incident was caused by unexploded ordnance.[2] In May 2012, a Peruvian man was killed when his car hit an antivehicle mine in the Arica and Parinacota region, on the border with Peru.[3]

Prior to 2012, the last casualty reported in Chile was in 2007, when a man was killed by an antipersonnel mine while crossing the border with Peru.[4] The Monitor has identified 30 casualties (4 killed and 26 injured) between 1999 and December 2011. As of May 2012, 140 people were registered as victims of mines/ERW of which 56 were civilians and 84 were military.[5] However, in 2009, Chile had confirmed a total of 181 casualties (60% military and 40% civilian) since 1970. Sixty-eight were caused by antipersonnel mines, 57 by antivehicle mines, 20 by ERW, and 36 by unknown explosive devices.[6]

Victim Assistance

As of December 2011, there are at least 26 survivors in Chile, though probably there are many more given the total number of registered casualties. In April 2012, Chile reported on the development of a registry of mine/ERW victims that would be maintained and updated regularly by the National Humanitarian Demining Commission (Comisión Nacional de Desminado Humanitario, CNAD).[7]

Military survivors receive medical and social care from the army. Most civilians with disabilities, including civilian landmine survivors, qualify for free healthcare through the National Health Fund and social support through the Ministry of Planning. However, in 2009, the government recognized that “many civilian cases” have problems accessing services because of their poverty or remote location.[8] The Group of Mine and Munitions Victims (GMMV), a national survivors’ network, actively advocates for increased attention to the needs of mine and ERW survivors and their families.[9] In May 2012, with financial support from local authorities, a local chapter of the GMMV was founded in Caldera, in Northern Chile, expanding the geographic coverage of the network.[10]

On 29 February 2012, Chile announced the introduction of a draft law designed to address the needs of mine/ERW victims through support for their comprehensive rehabilitation and financial compensation.[11] If approved by the Chilean Congress, the draft law would provide reparations to mine/ERW victims as a means to comply with Chile’s international obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, as well as other international agreements.[12] A representative of the GMMV was consulted in the development and presentation of the draft law.[13]

On 29 July 2008, Chile ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Support for Mine Action

Chile is one of the few states that completely fund their own mine action program.[1] Chile has not received international support since 2007.

Since 2003, the government of Chile has provided more than US$21.8 million toward its own mine action program. In its Article 5 deadline extension request, Chile estimated it would provide approximately US$60 million through 2020 in order to complete the clearance of all known mined areas. In 2011, the government of Chile provided $5.2 million.

Summary of national contributions in 2003–2011[2]