Key developments
since March 1999: Belarus destroyed nearly 7,000 antipersonnel mines from
1997-1999. Belarus hosted an “International Workshop on Humanitarian
Demining and Mine Stockpile Elimination” in Minsk on 6-7 March 2000.
Belarus is actively seeking assistance for stockpile destruction. Mine
clearance by the military continues.
Mine Ban Policy
Belarus has not acceded to the 1997 Mine Ban
Treaty. It has, however, voted for the 1997, 1998 and December 1999 UN General
Assembly resolutions supporting the Mine Ban Treaty. Government officials have
stated that Belarus “fully supports” the ban
treaty.[1] In December 1999,
the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs said, “We completely share
its humane purposes, but taking our international obligations seriously, we
cannot become a party to the Convention today without having adequate resources
for its implementation. We shall constantly keep in mind the scope of
commitments under the Ottawa Convention though it is not legally bound by
them.”[2]
Belarus has stated that it hopes to become a party to the treaty in the
future, and toward that end, welcomes international financial and technical
assistance for clearance and the destruction of millions of antipersonnel mines
stockpiled in the
country.[3]
Belarus hosted an “International Workshop on Humanitarian Demining and
Mine Stockpile Elimination” in Minsk on 6-7 March
2000.[4] Discussions were aimed
at accurately defining the scope of the landmine problem in Belarus, developing
possible solutions and identifying international resources that could be made
available to assist the Republic of Belarus in its demining and stockpile
elimination activities. A regional approach to the problem was discussed, based
on possible cooperation between Belarus, Canada and Ukraine, as the most
effective and efficient strategy for Belarus to be able to join the Mine Ban
Treaty.
In March 2000, Belarus legislators reconfirmed their commitment to support
the total ban on landmines as soon as the assistance necessary to destroy
existing stockpiles is
provided.[5] The government is
wary of premature commitment, given its negative experience when it had to
destroy ten percent of its weapons under European arms reduction agreements
almost without international assistance. The military is also concerned that
Belarus' neighbors, Latvia and Russia, have not joined the Mine Ban
Treaty.[6]
Belarus has indicated that it was not able to participate in the First
Meeting of States Parties in Maputo, Mozambique because of lack of funding. The
representative of the Belarus Campaign to Ban Landmines (BCBL) did attend the
meeting and subsequently was able to brief Belarus authorities on the meeting,
which was viewed positively by the government. Belarus attended the ban treaty
intersessional Standing Committee of Experts on Stockpile Destruction meetings
in Geneva in December 1999 and May 2000.
The Belarus authorities welcomed the Landmine Monitor Report 1999 and
the need for further collaboration with the ICBL and BCBL was indicated. As
stated by Major General I. Misuragin, Chief of the Corps of Engineers, the
government is "trying to be as open as possible in mine-related issues. This is
proved by our close co-operation with various public organizations, in
particular, the SCAF Center [Support Center for Associations and Foundations],
which renders assistance to the Defense Ministry in dealing with mine-related
issues. For the past two years the Ministry of Defense has been answering
questions of the non-governmental organization International Campaign to Ban
Landmines (ICBL) for its research
activities."[7]
On 7 October 1996, the government ratified Amended Protocol II of the
Convention on Conventional Weapons. However, its instrument of ratification has
not been submitted to the depository “due to financial constraints on its
implementation.”[8] The
Armed Forces have studied the provisions of Amended Protocol II, and have
started their implementation.[9]
Material on the basic provisions of the Mine Protocol has been developed and
distributed to the Army. Special attention is given to studying the Protocol in
curricula for cadets and students at the Military Academy of the Republic of
Belarus. Belarus participated in the First Annual Conference of State Parties
to Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) in Geneva
in December 1999.
Belarus supports negotiation of a ban on mine transfers at the Conference on
Disarmament, of which it is a
member.[10]
Production and Transfer
According to officials in the Ministry of Defense,
Belarus has never produced and will not produce or modernize antipersonnel
landmines, or their components, including Claymore-type mines or any other
mines, in the future.[11] They
also stated that Belarus is not producing or conducting research on any
munitions which might function like antipersonnel mines and pose dangers to
civilians (such as antitank mines with anti-handling devices, submunitions,
cluster bombs), and that Belarus is not engaging in research on alternatives to
antipersonnel landmines.[12]
Government officials say that Belarus is not exporting AP mines nor has it
exported them in the past.[13]
In 1995 President Alexandr Lukashenka announced a moratorium on the export of
all types of landmines from 1 September 1995 until the end of
1997.[14] In late 1997 the
president extended the export moratorium to the end of
1999.[15] On February 4, 2000
the moratorium was extended again until the end of
2002.[16] A decree at the
beginning of 1998 banned the transit of AP mines and certain other goods through
the territory of the Republic of
Belarus.[17]
Stockpiling
Belarus has very significant stockpiles of
antipersonnel mines. It estimates that it would need U.S.$10-50 million,
depending on the method of destruction used, to develop technologies necessary
for and to carry out the destruction of its stocks. Belarus does not have either
the scientific capabilities or the facilities to destroy
landmines.[18]
Government officials have declined to divulge the total number of mines in
stockpile, and have spoken only of “millions” of stockpiled
mines.[19] The Armed Forces of
the Republic of Belarus have in stock MON-50, -90, and -100 fixed directional
mines, PMN and PMN-2 blast mines, OZM-72 circular area fragmentation mines, PFM
and POM-2 cluster mines, and MS-3
booby-trap.[20] Most of the
landmines at the Armed Forces storage facilities are believed to be the cluster
types that cannot be brought in compliance with the requirements of Protocol II.
Although the CCW Protocol II does not require destruction or dismantling of
mines that do not meet the requirements of the Protocol’s Technical Annex,
in 1997 the Armed Forces began a step-by-step process of destroying these
landmines.[21] About 7,000
mines of different types have been destroyed by explosion since that time. The
first types to be destroyed were mines with an expired shelf life. Belarus has
completely destroyed the most treacherous explosive devices – MB-2
booby-traps made to look like pens and used by the Special
Forces.[22]
Number and type of AP mines and booby-traps destroyed in
1997-99[23]
Type
Model
Number
Circular area
POMZ-2m
3908
OZM-4
210
Blast
PMN
551
Directional
MON-50
66
MON-90
1088
Booby-trap
MC-3
965
Booby-trap
MB-2
151
Total
6939
viewed as environmentally unsound. Some 3.5 million landmines could be
destroyed by explosion or incineration. However two-thirds of the KSF clusters
with PFM mines have liquid explosive content and cannot be destroyed this way,
as it would generate hydrocyanic acid and lead, creating danger for the
environment.[24]
In 1999 the shelf life of 1.5 million PFM-1 antipersonnel cluster mines
expired. This type of mine has a liquid explosive, and their continued storage
may cause an irreversible chemical reaction and result in an explosion. The
number of mines with expired shelf life increases by 5-10%
annually.[25] The Belarus
Ministry of Defense has identified the destruction of PFM-1 landmine stockpiles
as a priority.[26] There is no
plant specialized in destruction of landmines.
When assessing environmental consequences of landmines destruction, Belarus
used the methodology of ecological threat assessment, worked out by experts of
the Russian Federation in the course of destruction of permanently packed KSF-1
clusters with PFM-1 mines by incineration in the open
air.[27] The preliminary
assessment of this method has determined that: (1) Aluminium oxide, lead
compounds, liquid explosive (unburned remains), hydrogen cyanide (hydrocyanic
acid) are the main pollutants of the environment; (2) The scale of general
pollution with harmful substances will come to: with incineration of one box
with clusters – 0.29-6.8 km, and ten boxes – 0.92-21.6 km. (3)
Incineration of cluster boxes on the one-by-one basis in the center of the
working zone with the radius of 50m exceeds the admissible pollution level on
most types of harmful substances by 1800 to 2000 times. (4) The radius of a
long-time pollution zone (due to fallout of lead compounds to the surface) will
come to: with incineration of 1 box – 46m, and one dispatching automobile
lot (252 boxes) – 730 m.
Possible ways to solve the problem were discussed at the First International
Workshop on Humanitarian De-mining and Mines Stockpile Elimination in Minsk on
6-7 March 2000. A regional approach was proposed by SCAF. The most effective
and efficient way to eliminate PFM-1 mines could be their destruction at the
specialized plant constructed by western donors in one of the countries that has
similar type of mines to be destroyed (Russian, Ukraine, Bulgaria). However
only part of the PFM-1 stockpiles could be safely transported to another country
while at least some 1.5 million of these mines need to be destroyed on the spot.
It is expected that technical, financial and legal assessments of
Belarus’ exact needs in humanitarian demining and stockpile elimination
will be completed by October 2000.
Use
The Belarus Ministry of Defense states that AP
mines are not used on its territory, for border defense or
otherwise.[28] Officials state
that antipersonnel mine use is not part of the military’s doctrine or
training, and that the stocks of mines are an “unwanted heritage from the
former Soviet Union.”[29]
The Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also said, “Belarus does not
use any other munitions which might function like an antipersonnel mine and pose
dangers to civilians such as antitank mines with anti-handling devices,
improvised explosive devices, certain submunitions/cluster
bombs."[30]
Landmine Problem
There is an unknown number of World War II vintage
German and Soviet mines scattered about old battlefields, in particular in the
Vitebsk, Gomel and Minsk regions where the major battles of WWII were
fought.[31] Most of this mined
land is agricultural fields and forests. The requests for mine clearance of
these territories come from the local authorities and it is the local population
that benefits from the humanitarian mine
action.[32]
Few records or maps exist of the mined areas and no research has been
conducted yet in this
respect.[33] Most of the mined
land is not marked. The most dangerous parts of the mined areas are those where
trench battles took place.[34]
Mined areas are marked as soon as they are located. Recently most of the UXO
have been found in the Brest, Gomel, Mogilev, Minsk and Vitebsk regions. The
Vitebsk region is the most affected, where the area of 191 square kilometers
should be checked, and is of special
concern.[35]
Mine Clearance
The Ministry of Defense has cleared some 26
million explosive devices from Belarus’ territory since the end of World
War II. Over the past 10 years, from 5-80,000 explosive items were detected and
defused annually.[36] Of that
number, about 1,500 were AP mines. The clearance of the mined area is carried
out by specially trained detachments of the Belarus Military Forces.
Belarus lacks funding needed for mine action. It has never received any
international assistance in this
respect.[37]Belarus has asked the UN Mine Action Service
to provide assistance in assessing the extent of the mine and UXO problem in the
country. The government will host a UN experts' mission in July-September 2000
to examine the situation and to estimate the costs of
demining.[38] Belarus
actively participates and fully supports the activities of the special group to
support Global Humanitarian Mine Action within the Euro-Atlantic Partnership
Council.
No national program on humanitarian mine action currently exists in Belarus.
The organization and coordination of mine clearance is carried out by the
Department of Engineer Forces in the Main Headquarters of the Belarus Military
Forces and by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. There are 200 deminers in
fourty-four mobile military groups that belong to Army engineer detachments that
undertake mine clearance and training operations in Belarus. For example, five
districts in the Brest region and two districts in the Grodno region are served
by two mobile military groups of six deminers. Manual, dogs and mechanical
modes of operations are used. Recently no deminers have been killed. One
officer was severely injured in a demining operation in 1998.
Almost everyday the groups are called to clear UXO. Two specially equipped
automobiles are used to transport the teams to the location of detected UXO. In
November 1999 the team cleared over 3,439 UXO, including AP mines in the
industrial area of the city of
Grodno.[39] The operation was
videotaped and shown on national TV. UXO were destroyed by explosion.
The total area cleared in Belarus from 1991 until 1999 is 350 hectares, most
of which could not be used for agricultural or production purposes before
clearance. The location of areas recently cleared includes Krupsky district in
the Minsk region, Dubrovensky district in the Vitebsk region, and Baranovichi
district in the Brest region. The records of areas cleared are maintained and
these records are publicly
accessible.[40] The cost of
mine clearance is approximately $12,000 per square kilometer depending upon
complexity of engineer works. The funding is spent primarily on calling-out of
reserves and resources for demining efforts. To this end, 1,000 combat engineers
were called out from reserve in 1992-99. The major obstacle to a more effective
mine clearance program is lack of funding.
Mine Awareness Education
The demining teams use mine clearance operations
for education aimed at victim prevention. However there is no systematic mine
awareness program being carried out.
The NGO SCAF collaborates with the Ministries of Education and Defense to
develop mine awareness programs for Belarus’ schools. The Ministry of
Education has recently incorporated mine awareness issues in the national
secondary education curriculum.
Mine Casualties and Survivor Assistance
For the period from 1944-99, there were 5,997 mine
and UXO casualties, including 3,375 maimed and 2,622
killed.[41] In the past ten
years, sixty-two children were injured, including thirty-seven wounded and
twenty-five killed. All of these people were civilians and the accidents
happened in uncultivated fields. (See also Landmine MonitorReport
1999, pp. 774-775.)
Medical, surgical, rehabilitation and reintegration services are available
for landmine survivors in facilities coordinated by the Ministry of Health.
Most prosthetic and rehabilitation facilities are available in Belarus. The
Belarus Prosthetic-Rehabilitation Center (BPRC) is the main producer and
supplier of prosthetics. This network has the capacity to produce 259
wheelchairs and 1,220 prosthetic devices monthly.
A national disability law exists in Belarus: "Law on Social Protection of
People With Disabilities in the Republic of
Belarus.”[42] The
National Council on the Problems of Disabled and Handicapped, which is chaired
by the First Deputy of the Prime Minister, coordinates the implementation of the
law.[43] A Law on Psychiatric
Counseling has recently been adopted by the parliament and hopefully will result
in better services to be provided to AP mines victims/survivors. (See
Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 776-777.)
[1] Presentation, Republic of Belarus,
Colonel S. Luchina, Deputy Chief of Staff, Corps of Engineers of the Armed
Forces of the Republic of Belarus, on the occasion of the International Seminar
on Humanitarian Demining and Mine Stockpile Elimination, Minsk, 6-7 March
2000. [2] Statement by H.E. Mr. Sergei
Martynov, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus to
the First Annual Conference of State Parties to Amended Protocol II of the 1980
Convention on Conventional Weapons, Geneva, 17 December
1999. [3] Statement of Mr. Ivan
Grinevic, Third Secretary of the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Belarus at
the Regional Conference on Landmines, Budapest, 26-28 March
1998. [4] Participants included
representatives from Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Great Britain,
Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Russian Federation,
Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, U.S, ICRC, Geneva Humanitarian Demining Center and
the Secretariat of the United Nations, among
others. [5] Presentation by Piotr
Zhushma, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs and Relations
with CIS, House of Representatives, National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus
at the International Workshop on Humanitarian Demining and Mine Stockpile
Elimination, Minsk, 6 March 2000. [6]
Statement by Major General I. Misuragin, Chief of the Corps of Engineers, at the
International Workshop in Humanitarian Demining and Mine Stockpile Elimination,
Minsk, 6 March 2000. [7] Statement by
Major General Misuragin, Minsk, 6 March
2000. [8] Statement by Colonel Luchina,
Minsk, 6 March 2000. [9] Nikolai Kuts,
"Mines with delayed action," Vo slavu Rodini (newspaper), 27 July
1999. [10] Statement of Sergei Martynov,
First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus at the
Conference on Disarmament (CD), Geneva, 11 February
1999. [11] Statement by Sergei Martynov,
Geneva, 17 December 1999. [12]
Interviews with Colonel Ignaty Misuragin, Head of Department of Engineer Forces,
Belarus Ministry of Defense and Colonel Sergei Luchina, Deputy Head of
Department of Engineer Forces, Belarus Ministry of Defense, Minsk, 21 January
1999. Also Letter # 17/1043 from the Belarus Ministry of Defense to the Support
Center for Associations and Foundations (SCAF), "About Information on Landmine
Issues," 24 November 1998. [13]
Statement of Ivan Grinevic, Third Secretary of the Foreign Ministry of the
Republic of Belarus at the Regional Conference on Landmines, Budapest, 26-28
March 1998. [14] Decree # 335 of the
President of the Republic of Belarus, "Introduction in the Republic of Belarus
Moratorium on Export of Landmines," 22 August
1995. [15] Decree # 628 of the President
of the Republic of Belarus, "About the Prolongation of the Moratorium on Export
of Landmines Till the End of 1999," 4 December
1997. [16] Decree # 42 of the President
of the Republic of Belarus, "About the Prolongation of the Moratorium on Export
of Landmines Till the End of 2002," 4 February
2000. [17] Decree #27 of the Council of
Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, “About State Control Over Transit
Through the Territory of the Republic of Belarus of Specific Goods,” 10
January 1998. [18] Statement by Colonel
Luchina, Minsk, 6 March 2000. [19]
Statement by H.E.Mikhail Khvstov, Ottawa, 3 December
1997. [20] Statement by Major General
Misuragin, Minsk, 6 March 2000. [21]
Statement by Major General Misuragin, Minsk, 6 March
2000. [22] Letter #17/1096 , Belarus
Ministry of Defense, 29 November
1999. [23] Statement by Major General
Misuragin, Minsk, 6 March 2000. [24]
Nikolai Kuts, “Mines with delayed action,” 27 July
1999. [25] Statement by Major General
Misuragin, Minsk, 6 March 2000. [26]
Letter #1274/18, Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1 February 1999 and Letter
#17/70, Belarus Ministry of Defense, 26 January
1999. [27] Statement by Major General
Misuragin, Minsk, 6 March 2000. [28]
Letter #17/1043, Belarus Ministry of Defense, 24 November
1998. [29] Statement by Mr. Sergei
Martynov, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geneva, 17 December 1999. Also, ICBL
meeting with Mr. Martynov, Geneva, 17 December
1999. [30] Letter #17/1096, Belarus
Ministry of Defense, 29 November
1999. [31] U.S. Department of State,
Hidden Killers: The Global Problem with Uncleared Landmines, (Washington, D.C.,
1993). [32] Letter #17/1096, Belarus
Ministry of Defense, 29 November
1999. [33] Mr. Rudi Wildheim, a member
of Hildenbrandt-Electronic Company’s Board of Directors and who fought in
World War II, made available for Belarus experts Bundeswehr’s maps of
minefields the German Army had laid in Belarus during World War II. These
materials were very helpful in demining the territory of the Dubrovensky
district in the Vitebsk region. [34]
Letter #17/1096, Belarus Ministry of Defense, 29 November
1999. [35] Nikolai Zhuchko,
“Deminers Make Mistakes,” Respublica, (newspaper), 13 March
1997. [36] Presentation by the
representative of the Belarus Ministry of Defense, Minsk, 6-7 March
2000. [37] Letter #17/1096, Belarus
Ministry of Defense, 29 November
1999. [38] Nikolai Zhuchko,
“Deminers Make
Mistakes.” [39] Zhuchko,
“Deminers Make
Mistakes.” [40] Letter #17/1043,
Belarus Ministry of Defense, 24 November
1998. [41] Presentation by the
representative of the Belarus Ministry of Defense, Minsk, 6-7 March
2000. [42] Law on Social Protection of
People With Disabilities in the Republic of Belarus, 25 November
1991. [43] Law on Social Protection of
People With Disabilities in the Republic of Belarus, Article 6, p.
36.
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