Belarus

Ten-Year Summary

The Republic of Belarus became a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty 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. Belarus failed to meet its 1 March 2008 stockpile destruction deadline and is therefore in violation of the Mine Ban Treaty. It finished destroying its 294,775 non-PFM type antipersonnel mines in 2006, but still possesses 3.37 million PFM-type mines. It is in the process of finalizing a new project with the European Commission to complete stockpile destruction. Belarus reports retaining 6,030 antipersonnel mines for research and training purposes, but no mines have been consumed in such activities.

Belarus has continued major clearance operations of World War II ordnance, particularly UXO. It has a significant residual mine threat, but no known mined areas. Since 1999, Landmine Monitor has reported 52 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties in Belarus. In the same period, the Ministry of Defense reported 62 ERW casualties (19 killed and 43 injured); it was not possible to determine where these two cumulative totals overlap. No mine casualties have been reported in Belarus since 2004, and ERW casualties have been decreasing.

Risk education has been implemented by the Ministry of Defense’s explosive ordnance disposal teams, and awareness messages have also been disseminated through the media. Belarus has never had a national victim assistance program. Survivors receive free basic healthcare, but services are inadequate. In general, benefits, services, and legal protection for persons with disabilities are minimal.

Mine Ban Policy

Belarus acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 September 2003, becoming a State Party on 1 March 2004. Belarus has cited various articles of its criminal code as national implementation measures, as well as decrees specific to antipersonnel mines.

Belarus submitted its sixth Article 7 report on 30 April 2009, covering calendar year 2008.^[1]

Belarus attended the Ninth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November 2008 and the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2009. At each of the meetings, Belarus provided updates on stockpile destruction (see Stockpiling and destruction section below).

Belarus has not engaged in the discussions that States Parties have had on matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2, and 3 (joint military operations with states not party, foreign stockpiling and transit of antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices, and mines retained for training).

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.^[2]

Belarus is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines.^[3] It submitted the annual report required by Article 13 in August 2008. Belarus ratified Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War on 29 September 2008.^[4]

Belarus has not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions.^[5]

Stockpiling and destruction

Belarus failed to meet its deadline of 1 March 2008 to destroy all stockpiles of antipersonnel mines it owns or possesses, or are under its jurisdiction or control.^[6] It is therefore in violation of the Mine Ban Treaty and will remain so until destruction of the stockpile is completed.

Belarus still possesses 3,371,984 PFM-type mines.^[7] This number is unchanged since the end of 2006, when Belarus completed destruction of its non-PFM antipersonnel mines.^[8] The stockpile includes: 1,790,064 PFM-1 blast mines in KSF-1 cassettes; 707,072 PFM-1S blast mines in KSF-1S cassettes; 413,712 PFM-1S blast mines in PFM-1S canisters; and 461,136 PFM-1S blast mines in Uragan (Hurricane) 220mm rocket warheads.^[9]

Destruction of PFM mines

As of mid-2009, Belarus could not state when it would complete the destruction of its remaining stockpile and be compliant with its treaty obligation. In May 2009, Belarus told States Parties that it hoped to conclude the preparatory phase of the project in the first half of 2010.^[10]

Belarus has stated that it requires international assistance in order to destroy its remaining PFM-type antipersonnel mines.^[11] A project funded by the European Commission (EC) to provide technical and financial resources to Belarus for destruction underwent competitive tendering in 2006, but the project was subsequently cancelled after an evaluation committee, with the participation of a representative from the government of Belarus, unanimously concluded that a technically compliant bidder could not be identified.^[12] The funds were therefore “decommitted,” and the process to secure new EC funds and initiate a new project had to begin all over again.

Belarus concluded a €4 million (US$5,890,400) agreement with the EC for a new project to destroy PFM stockpiles on 22 January 2008.^[13] Belarus reported to States Parties in June 2008 that “given that the process within the new EC project remains sophisticated there is no warranty that the project will be implemented successfully in reasonable time. In this connection we are not in a position to indicate any timelines for the project being started and finalized.”^[14]

Following the recommendation of the Ninth Meeting of States Parties in November 2008, Belarus has provided reports on its progress toward meeting its stockpile destruction obligations.^[15] In May 2009, Belarus informed the treaty’s Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction that Belarus and the EC had been able to agree to a Terms of Reference document, as well as technical specifications and a timetable for the preparatory phase of the project.^[16] It said that after a location for destruction was agreed upon, Belarus and the EC would approve a final version of the project agreement, and the EC would begin a competitive tendering process to select a company to carry out destruction.^[17] Belarus told States Parties that it “is ready to exert maximum efforts for the successful completion of the joint project,” and that it has taken steps to avoid repetition of mistakes that led to cancellation of the previous project in 2006.^[18]

An EC assessment mission took place in Belarus from 8–11 June 2009 to determine a location for destruction.^[19] The EC published the tender notice, with a budget of €4 million ($5,890,400), on 18 July 2009. It states that the project is aimed at destruction of the mines “within 24 months from signature of the contract.”^[20]

Mines retained for research and training

In May 2009, Belarus reported retaining 6,030 antipersonnel mines for research and training purposes.^[21] This number has remained constant since Belarus first declared it in June 2004, indicating no mines have been consumed (destroyed) in training activities.^[22] 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.^[23] Belarus has not used the reporting format for retained mines agreed by States Parties in 2005, and has not reported in detail on the intended purposes and actual uses of its retained mines as agreed by States Parties in 2004.

Scope of the Problem

Contamination

Belarus is primarily contaminated by large quantities of ERW, mainly UXO from World War II, World War I, and even from the Napoleonic Wars. There is also a significant residual mine problem from World War II, although there are no known or suspected mined areas.^[24] Government officials have claimed that 353km² of the country is contaminated with explosive ordnance.^[25] Heavy contamination has been reported in Brest, Minsk, Mogilev, and Vitebsk regions.^[26] The majority of the contaminated areas are said to be agricultural land or forest. None of the areas are marked or fenced, and little information is available to indicate the potential density of contamination.^[27]

Casualties

No mine casualties have been reported in Belarus since 2004. In December 2008, one man was killed while tampering with UXO in Minsk region.^[28] This was a decrease from 2007 when three casualties occurred in two ERW incidents. In 2009, no new mine or ERW casualties were reported as of 30 May.

From 1999 to 2008, Landmine Monitor reported 52 mine/ERW casualties in Belarus (19 killed and 33 injured), and at least 14 casualties were children. In the same period, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) reported 62 ERW casualties (19 killed and 43 injured); it was not possible to determine where these two cumulative totals overlap.^[29] Forty-five casualties were caused by ERW, five by mines, and two by an improvised explosive device (IED).^[30] Between 1944 and 31 March 2009, the MoD recorded 6,177 mine/ERW casualties: 2,667 people killed and 3,510 injured.^[31] Most mine/ERW survivors in Belarus were injured by World War II ordnance or during military service in Afghanistan in the 1980s. It has not been reported how many survivors are still alive, and the total number of mine/ERW survivors in Belarus is still not known. The Belarus Prosthetic Rehabilitation Center (BPRC) has officially registered 97,410 persons with disabilities with rehabilitation needs.^[32]

Program Management and Coordination

Belarus does not have a national mine action authority or mine action center. Mine action is managed by the MoD, which nominally holds clearance data. It does not use the Information Management System for Mine Action,^[33] but it does maintain and regularly update a mine/ERW casualty database.^[34] The Belarus Campaign to Ban Landmines (BCBL) also collects data through media monitoring and field visits.

Demining

Demining and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) is conducted by both MoD and Ministry of Interior personnel. Since the end of World War II, Belarus’s Engineer Forces have reportedly found and destroyed more than 27 million items, mostly UXO but also some landmines.^[35] In 2008, the MoD received 613 call-outs and destroyed 7,153 ERW, including 59 landmines.^[36] The Ministry of Interior received 3,500 call-outs^[37] and destroyed 16,419 ERW, including 74 landmines.^[38] No data exists on the size of area cleared or otherwise released.

Risk Education

Limited mine/ERW risk education (RE) has been conducted over the past few years, and there are no national standards for RE.^[39]

In 2008, the ministries of defense, interior, and education informed the population about the ERW threat.^[40] The MoD continued its RE activities in areas where clearance operations were planned, using its EOD teams. The entire population was targeted for RE, as mines/UXO are said to be found throughout the country.^[41] In 2008, 1,058 RE meetings were conducted, approximately the same number as in 2007. Around 64,000 people were reached, including some 31,000 children. RE messages were also given through television, radio, and print media.^[42]

The MoD has been delivering RE through its EOD teams alongside clearance operations since the mid-1990s. It launched a formal RE program in 2004, consisting of the dissemination of messages through the media—including the broadcast of documentary films—and presentations. This continued through to 2009. RE was reportedly provided to youth in grades 11–12 undergoing pre-conscription military training in 2005.

Plans to include RE in the school curriculum have been in place since 1999. Although material was developed,^[43] this has not been implemented, and in 2007 the Ministry of Education stated that the issue was not relevant.^[44] In the same year, however, a one paragraph section on the threat of mines and ERW was included in secondary school textbooks dealing with safety issues.

Belarus did not include information on RE in its latest Article 7 or CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 reports.^[45]

Victim Assistance

The number of survivors in Belarus is unknown but there are at least 60.^[46] There have never been specific victim assistance (VA) programs in Belarus, but survivors have access to state-operated healthcare. Basic medical care is free of charge, although hospitals are reportedly “undersupplied.”^[47] Most amputees receive prosthetic devices free of charge, purchased from the BPRC by local authorities. In 2008, the BPRC assisted 53,767 people, but disaggregated data on mine/ERW survivors was not recorded. The BPRC also continued vocational training programs for persons with disabilities in 2008.^[48]

An assessment in 2008 revealed that the needs of most persons with disabilities in Belarus remain unmet.^[49] The Ministry of Labor and Social Security is the main government agency responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, but government benefits for persons with disabilities were reportedly “minimal” and “ineffectual.”^[50]

Belarus has national disability laws. Legislation mandates that transport and government buildings be accessible for persons with disabilities, but these provisions have rarely been enforced.^[51] On 2 February 2009, the Council of Ministers agreed on funding for vocational opportunities and workplace accessibility for persons with disabilities.^[52]

As of 30 May 2009, Belarus had not signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. As in the past, Belarus did not include information on mine/ERW casualties or VA in its latest Article 7 report.^[53]

Support for Mine Action

No national funding for mine action was reported by Belarus in 2008, as in 2007. Landmine Monitor is not aware of comprehensive long-term cost estimates for meeting mine action or RE needs in Belarus. Belarus has reported that no funding support for VA is necessary, as the national healthcare infrastructure meets the country’s VA needs.^[54] A tender for allocating EC funding of €4 million ($5,890,400) for destruction of Belarus’ stockpile of PFM-type mines was released in July 2009 (See Stockpiling and destruction section above.)