Key developments
since March 1999: From April to October 1999, Bulgaria completed demining
of its territory, including the borders with Turkey, Greece, and Macedonia,
destroying 17,197 mines from 76 minefields. In 1999 Bulgaria revealed the size
of its AP mine stockpile for the first time (885,872), and began the destruction
program, eliminating 107,417 mines between September 1999 and April 2000. It
intends to complete destruction in 2000.
Mine Ban Policy
The Republic of Bulgaria signed the Mine Ban
Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 4 September 1998. On 10 August
1999, the Council of Ministers created an Interdepartmental Working Group to
coordinate implementation measures, and on 16 September 1999, the Council of
Ministers adopted a protocol that mandated a national program for implementation
of the Mine Ban Treaty.[1] In
May 2000, a Bulgarian representative stated that implementation legislation was
pending.[2]
In May 1999 Bulgaria participated in the First Meeting of States Parties
(FMSP) in Mozambique. There its delegation stated that it "consistently
supports all efforts, including those within the framework of the UN and the
Conference on Disarmament, aimed at achieving a total ban of anti-personnel
landmines, as well as the initiatives in this field of the EU, EAPC
[Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council], and other international fora and
organizations."[3]
Bulgaria’s representatives attended nearly all of the intersessional
meetings of the ban treaty’s Standing Committees of Experts (SCE).
Bulgaria submitted its initial report as required under Mine Ban Treaty Article
7 on 27 August 1999 (covering 1 March-27 August 1999), and its second on 5 April
2000 (covering 27 August 1999-5 April
2000).[4]
Government representatives participated in regional landmine conferences in
Zagreb, Croatia, in June 1999 and Ljubljana, Slovenia, in June 2000. Bulgaria
also participates in Working Table III (Security Issues) of the Stability Pact
of South Eastern Europe, where it proposed a "[J]oint declaration by the
countries of SEE on Anti-personnel Mines," in hopes of establishing a regional
agreement on the elimination of
landmines.[5]
On 15 March 2000, the parliament ratified an agreement between Turkey and
Bulgaria on mutual non-use and clearance of landmines along their common border.
The vote was 146 in favor of ratification with only one abstention. When an
opposition party leader noted that Turkey had not yet signed the Mine Ban
Treaty, the chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Foreign and Integration
Policy, Asen Agov, responded that this agreement is "paving the way for such a
move" on Turkey's part.[6] The
agreement was also approved by the Turkish National Assembly and it was
concluded on 22 March 1999.
Bulgaria voted for the December 1999 UN General Assembly resolution in
support of the Mine Ban Treaty, as it had for similar resolutions in 1997 and
1998. During the 1999 debate on the resolution in the UN First Committee,
Bulgaria "emphasized the importance of a full and speedy implementation of the
Ottawa Convention."[7]
Bulgaria is a party to Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional
Weapons (CCW). It submitted its National Annual Report on landmines, as
required under Article 13 of the Amended Protocol, on 15 October
1999[8] and attended the First
Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in Geneva in December
1999.
Bulgaria is a member of the UN Conference on Disarmament (CD). In December
1999, it stated that it “strongly supports all efforts in the Conference
on Disarmament aimed at achieving global ban on APLM and universalization of the
Ottawa Treaty.”[9] During
the first phase of the 2000 session of the CD, the Bulgarian representative
supported a statement made by a coalition of countries, led by Germany, that
included a motion for the "reappointment of a Special Coordinator to seek the
views of Conference members on the most appropriate way to deal with questions
related to anti-personnel
landmines."[10]
Production, Transfer and Stockpile
Bulgaria previously produced and exported
antipersonnel mines.[11]
Restrictions were placed on exports in 1995, which became a full moratorium on
export in 1996, and were superceded by the total ban under the Mine Ban
Treaty.[12] In its Article 7
reports, Bulgaria noted that the decommissioning of its AP mine facilities was
“in
process.”[13]
In June 1999 at the Zagreb Regional Conference on Landmines, the Bulgarian
delegation had acknowledged it held a stockpile of "around one million" AP
mines, and would need financial assistance in order to carry out stockpile
destruction.[14] In its Article
7 report of 27 August 1999 this stockpile figure was revised to 885,872, as
shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Stocks of AP Mines as at 27 August
1999[15]
When the working group was formed, it was estimated that the cost of
eliminating the stockpile would be Leva 2,884,960
(US$1,398,100).[17]
From March 1999 through March 2000, Bulgaria destroyed 107,417 AP mines, from
the stockpiles of the Army, National Border Police and National Gendarmery. The
destruction was carried out at three sites: Terem Co. in Kostentz, Dunarit Co.
in Russe and Deserted Mine Galleries and Quarries (no location given). At the
first two sites the mines were eliminated by “discharge,” whereas in
the third, explosion was the method used. Dunarit Co. is also a
former production site that is being
decommissioned.[18] Bulgaria
announced that it is planned to destroy all remaining antipersonnel mines by the
end of 2000 at the May 2000 SCE on stockpile
destruction.[19]
In its Article 7 report, Bulgaria stated its intention to retain 10,446 AP
mines for development and training purposes, noting at the same time that
“the figures shown in this section will be subject to further reduction by
01.01.2000 as a result of an ongoing reassessment of the needs of the Bulgarian
Army.”[20] With its
second report, the number of mines to be retained had been reduced to 4,010,
including the following: PMN (175), OZM (70), PM-79 (345), SHR-II (66), PSM-1
(2,730), and MON-50 (624).[21]
Again, Bulgaria noted the figures would be subject to further reduction by 1
June 2000 as a result of ongoing reassessment of needs.
Bulgaria has also submitted a proposal to the Stability Pact of South Eastern
Europe for the "establishment of a regional facility for the destruction of
landmines stocked in Bulgaria and later in the region." Some $1.9 million has
been requested for this
project.[22] In a fact sheet
distributed during the First Meeting of States Parties in May 1999, Bulgaria
described a process in which stockpiles could be destroyed by disassembly at
costs ranging from $2.50-$4.00 per mine. Among the benefits attributed to this
method were safety, environmental soundness, and economic
efficiency.[23]
Landmine Problem and Mine Clearance
Bulgaria began clearing its border with Turkey
during April 1999 in compliance with the bilateral agreement signed in March
1999. The duty was given to the National Border Police, who were responsible
for roughly 1,000 hectares of land along the
border.[24] Bulgaria also
engaged in clearance of its borders with Greece and Macedonia. Bulgaria
reported clearing a total of 56 minefields and destroying 11,898 PSM-1 mines by
the end of August 1999. It then cleared another 5,299 PSM-1 landmines from
twenty minefields in Momtchilgrad and
Smolian.[25] Demining of the
borders with Greece and Macedonia was apparently completed by October
1999.[26] Bulgaria announced
that it had “completed the demining process on its territory on the autumn
of 1999.”[27]
In its Article 13 report submitted for the First Conference of States Parties
to Amended Protocol II of the CCW, Bulgaria noted that during demining and
stockpile destruction operations "special attention is given to safety and
environmental protection measures" and that "a special form for the
environmental impact assessment has been elaborated for projects, which are not
subject to compulsory
assessment."[28]
Mine Action Funding and Assistance
According to Bulgaria's CCW Article 13 report, it
has participated in the NATO/EAPC Ad-hoc working group on global humanitarian
mine action, and has taken part in mine clearance in Bosnia-Herzegovina, though
it is not clear in what
capacity.[29]
[1] Decision No. 569/10.08.1999 and
Protocol No. 40/16.09.1999, reported in Bulgaria’s Mine Ban Treaty Article
7 Report, Form A, 5 April 2000, and its Article 13 report for Amended Protocol
II of the CCW, 15 October 1999. [2]
Verbal remarks by Bulgarian representative at the Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional
Standing Committee of Experts on Stockpile Destruction meeting, Geneva, 23 May
2000. [3] Statement by Mr. Yuri Sterk,
Head of NATO, WEU and Security Issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at
First Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, Maputo, Mozambique, 3-7
May 1999. [4] Bulgaria’s Mine Ban
Treaty Article 7 Reports, submitted 27 August 1999 and 5 April 2000, available
at:
http://www.domino.un.org/ottawa.nsf. [5]
"Humanitarian De-mining," Working Table III, Stability Pact of South Eastern
Europe, available at:
http://www.stabilitypact.org/WT-3. [6]
"Assembly Ratifies Bulgarian-Turkish Landmine Agreement," World News Connection,
15 March 2000. [7] Statement of the
European Union and the Associated Countries, General Debate, UN First Committee
on Disarmament, October 1999; available at:
http://www.acronym.org.uk/unfccomp.htm. [8]
National Annual Report on Amended Protocol II of the CCW, 15 October
1999. [9] Report of the Permanent
Mission of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), 13 December
1999. [10] "Conference on Disarmament
concludes first part of year 2000 session; Speakers decry continuing stalemate
on starting substantive work," M2 Presswire, 27 March
2000. [11] For details of previous
production and export see: Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp.
570-571. [12] "Law on the control of
foreign trade with arms and dual-use goods and technologies," November 1995.
This was enhanced to become a full moratorium on the trade of landmines by
Decree of the Council of Ministers No. 104/1996 and was extended to an unlimited
moratorium by Decree No. 271/1998; Report to the OSCE, 13 December 1999, pp.
2-3. [13] This was reported in both the
August 1999 and April 2000 Article 7 Reports, with the supplementary
information, “DUNARIT
Co.” [14] Notes taken by Mary
Wareham, ICBL, Zagreb Regional Conference on Landmines, 28 June
1999. [15] Article 7 Report, Form B, 27
August 1999. [16] Council of Ministers
Decree No. 569/10.08.1999; “Cabinet Approves Program for Land Mine
Removal," BTA in English from FBIS, 16 September 1999; National Annual Report on
Amended Protocol II of the CCW, 15 October 1999; Report to the OSCE, 13 December
1999, pp. 2-3; Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, 27 August
1999. [17] "Cabinet Approves Program for
Land Mine Removal," 16 September 1999. The Bulgarian representative at the Mine
Ban Treaty Intersessional Standing Committee of Experts on Stockpile Destruction
meeting in Geneva, 23 May 2000, said the approximate cost would be 3 million
German marks, roughly the same
amount. [18] Article 7 Report, 27 August
1999. [19] Untitled note presented by
the Bulgarian representatives attending the Standing Committee of Experts on
Stockpile Destruction meeting, Geneva, 22-23 May
2000. [20] Article 7 Report, 27 August
1999. [21] Article 7 Report, 5 April
2000. [22] "Humanitarian De-mining,"
Working Table III, Stability Pact of South Eastern
Europe. [23] “Technology for Safe
and Ecologically Clean Destruction of Stockpiled APLs Through
Disassembling,” Fact Sheet distributed by the Bulgarian Delegation to the
First Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, Maputo, Mozambique, May
1999. [24] "Bulgarian border police to
start mine clearance on southern border on 27 April," BBC Worldwide Monitoring,
BTA news service, 13 April 1999; Report to the OSCE, 13 December 1999, p.
3. [25] Article 7 Report, 27 August
1999. [26] "Border Wiring Removed," PARI
Daily from World Reporter, 14 October 1999. This article stated sixty-eight
minefields were cleared, destroying 13,926
mines. [27] Untitled note presented at
the SCE on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 22-23 May
2000. [28] National Annual Report on
Amended Protocol II of the CCW, 15 October
1999. [29] Ibid.
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