Key developments
since March 1999: In December 1999, Chile began demining its border with
Bolivia.
Mine Ban Policy
Bolivia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December
1997 and was the first country of South America to deposit its instrument of
ratification with the UN on 9 June 1998. Bolivia has not enacted national
implementation
legislation.[1]
Bolivia participated in the First Meeting of State Parties (FMSP) in Maputo
in May 1999. In her statement to the plenary, Barbara Canedo Patiño,
Director General of Multilateral Issues of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
called on the countries which had not signed or ratified the treaty to do so as
soon as possible, protested against new deployments of AP mines, encouraged
states parties to correctly implement the treaty and described her
government’s support for the contribution of the ICBL and the ICRC. She
went on to note, “Bolivia gives priority to the Ottawa Convention and
confirms its commitment to fulfilling the terms of the
Convention.”[2]
Bolivia has participated in some of the intersessional meetings of the Mine
Ban Treaty in Geneva, including the March 2000 meetings on mine clearance and
victim assistance, and the January 2000 meeting on the General Status of the
Convention.
Bolivia submitted its Article 7 transparency report on 8 November 1999. While
the report was due by 27 August 1999, an official described the delay as due to
a simple administrative hold-up and to the change in the
cabinet.[3] The report covers
the period 1 January 1999 - 1 November 1999, was prepared by the Ministry of
Defense, and was submitted in Spanish.
Bolivia voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 54/54B in support of
the Mine Ban Treaty in December 1999, as it had for similar resolutions in 1997
and 1998. It has also voted in favor of the pro-ban resolutions of the
Organization of American States (OAS). In a May 2000 response to Landmine
Monitor, Bolivia described its “total support and commitment” to the
ban on antipersonnel
mines.[4]
Bolivia is not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). It
participated as an observer in the December 1999 First Annual Conference of
States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II on landmines, but did not make a
statement. Bolivia is not a member of the Conference on Disarmament.
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling and Use
Bolivia is not believed to have ever produced or
transferred antipersonnel mines. In its Article 7 report, Bolivia states that
it has no AP mine production facilities, and that it has no stockpiled
antipersonnel mines whatsoever, including any for training. Bolivia is not
known to have ever used AP mines.
Mine Clearance
While Bolivia stated in its Article 7 report that
it has “no mined areas or areas that are suspected of containing AP
mines,” its border with Chile was mined by Chile during the 1970s, and in
1978 in particular, during a territorial dispute. In July 1998, Bolivia’s
President Hugo Bánzer asked Chile to demine the area as soon as possible,
noting that the mines planted 20 years ago have harmed both the Bolivian and
Chilean people. He offered Bolivia’s assistance to Chile in the removal
of landmines along the
border.[5]
In November 1999 Chile's Head of the Armed Forces, General Ricardo Izurieta,
announced in La Paz, Bolivia, that his country would demine the borders with
Bolivia, Peru and Argentina “as soon as
possible.”[6] On 1
December 1999, the Chilean Army announced in Santiago the launch of the program
to clear mined areas and specified that it would begin immediately along the
border with Bolivia: around Tambo Quemado, between Chile's First Region (Primera
Región de Chile) and the Bolivian zone of Charana, at an altitude of some
4,000 meters in the Andes.[7]
On 9 December 1999, a media report said deminers had destroyed 250 antipersonnel
mines and 27 antitank mines, discovered in Portezuelo de Tambo Quemado near the
Bolivian border.[8]
At the time, the Chilean Army estimated that it would take approximately
three months to demine this
area,[9] but the mine clearance
was still underway as of May 2000. An official told Landmine Monitor that
although Bolivia considers the demining process to be very slow, Bolivia is
pleased demining has started and considers it as a sign of Chilean goodwill.
The official also noted that Bolivia would like Chile to ratify the treaty as
soon as possible because it means a commitment to demine in a scheduled
time.[10]
A Bolivian newspaper reported the deaths of three Bolivian peasants due to
mines between 1985 and 1997, but Landmine Monitor is unaware of any mine victims
since then.[11]
[1] In its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7
report, submitted 8 November 1999, Bolivia states in Form A, “No se
dispone de medidas de aplicación alguna.” (Translation:
“There are not national implementation
measures.”) [2] Statement by
Barbara Canedo Patiño, Director General of Multilateral Issues of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the First Meeting of States Parties to the Mine
Ban Treaty, Maputo, 3-7 May 1999. In Spanish, translation by Landmine Monitor
researcher. [3] Telephone interview with
Barbara Canedo Patiño, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 10 May
2000. [4] Response to Landmine Monitor
questionnaire, provided by Barbara Canedo Patiño, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, 8 May 2000. [5] “Bolivia
offers Chile assistance to accelerate the demining along the border,”
Agence France Presse (La Paz), 4 July
1998. [6] “Chile announces the
demining of its borders,” Agence France Presse (La Paz), 18 November
1999. [7] “Chile begins the
demining in the border with Bolivia,” Agence France Presse (Santiago), 1
December 1999; “Army Begins To Dismantle Mine Fields,” El Mercurio,
(Chilean national newspaper), 1 December
99. [8] “277 Landmines
Destroyed,” MISNA, Tambo Quemado, Chile, 9 December
1999. [9] “Chile begins the
demining in the border with Bolivia,” Agence France Presse (Santiago), 1
December 1999. [10] Telephone interview
with Barbara Canedo Patiño, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 10 May
2000. [11] El Diario, 21 September
1997.
About Us
Our Research Products