Croatia
Mine Ban Policy
Policy
The Republic of Croatia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified it on 20 May 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 March 1999. It enacted national implementation legislation, including penal sanctions, in October 2004.[1] The law created a National Commission for the Coordination of Monitoring the Implementation of the Law.[2]
Croatia submitted its 15th Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report on 10 April 2011.
Croatia attended the Tenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in November–December 2010, as well as the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2011. In 2011, Croatia served as co-rapporteur for the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration.
Croatia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines, submitting an annual report as required by Article 13 on 31 March 2011. Croatia is also party to CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war.
Production, transfer, stockpiling, and retention
Croatia has regularly stated that it has never produced antipersonnel mines.[3] It inherited stocks from the former Yugoslavia. There have been no reports of Croatia ever importing or exporting antipersonnel mines.
Croatia completed the destruction of its stockpile of 199,003 antipersonnel mines on 23 October 2002, in advance of its treaty deadline of 1 March 2003. Six types of mines were destroyed in three phases.[4] An additional 45,579 mine fuzes were destroyed during the stockpile destruction program.[5]
Croatia also possesses 19,076 MRUD Claymore-type directional fragmentation mines, which it does not classify as antipersonnel mines. It has repeatedly said these mines cannot be activated by accidental contact, but has not reported on what steps it has taken to ensure that these mines can only be used in command-detonated mode.[6]
Initially, Croatia announced that it would retain 17,500 antipersonnel mines for training and development purposes, but in December 2000 decided to reduce this to 7,000.[7] Croatia reported that it retained 5,848 antipersonnel mines at the end of 2010.[8] The mines are stored at the Croatian Armed Forces storage site, Jamadol, near Karlovac, and “are used or going to be used by the Croatian Mine Action Centre.”[9] In 2010, a total of 106 mines were destroyed during testing of demining machines by the Croatian Centre for Testing, Development and Training.[10]
Use
Antipersonnel mines were occasionally used in criminal activities in Croatia up to 2003.
[1] The Law on Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction was approved by parliament on 1 October 2004 and by the president on 6 October 2004. Article 9, Section IV of the law provides penal sanctions. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, 8 June 2005.
[2] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, 8 June 2005. It consists of representatives from the ministries of defense, foreign affairs, interior, and justice, as well as CROMAC.
[3] See, for example, Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form E, 10 April 2009.
[4] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form F, 28 April 2006. The mines destroyed included: PMA-1 (14,280); PMA-2 (44,876); PMA-3 (59,701); PMR-2A/2AS (74,040); PMR-3 (4); and PROM-1 (6,102).
[5] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form F, 28 April 2006.
[6] Email from Capt. Vlado Funaric, Ministry of Defense, 22 February 2006; and statement of Croatia, “Claymore-Type Mines,” Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 16 May 2003. Claymore-type mines used in command-detonated mode are permissible under the Mine Ban Treaty, but are prohibited if used with tripwires.
[7] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 30 May 2001.
[8] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 10 April 2011. The mines included: 705 PMA-1; 1,188 PMA-2; 1,207 PMA-3; 877 PMR-2A; 70 PMR-3; and 1,801 PROM-1.
[9] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 10 April 2011.
[10] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 10 April 2011. The mines destroyed included: 26 PMA-1A; 23 PMA-2; 28 PMA-3; 9 PMR-2A; and 10 PROM-1. Croatia provided details on how many of which types of mines were used for each of the four demining machines tested (MINOLOVAC MASTER OR-07-flail, MINOLOVAC MASTER OR-07-mill, PT-400, RM 03) and for training exercises for international peace keeping operations.