LM Report 2001

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BOLIVIA

Key developments since May 2000: For the first time, Bolivia provided detailed information to Landmine Monitor on Chilean minefields near its border. In January 2001 parliamentarians from Bolivia and Chile met and issued a joint declaration on demining their common border. Bolivia has not submitted its required Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 transparency report annual updates in 2000 and 2001.

Mine Ban Policy

Bolivia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997. The National Congress approved it through Law 1831 on 20 March 1998, and the instrument of ratification was deposited on 9 June 1998. The treaty entered into force for Bolivia on 1 March 1999. Bolivia has not enacted national implementation legislation and it did not report on national measures in its Article 7 report.

Bolivia submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report on 8 November 1999 covering the period 1 January to 8 November 1999. It has not yet submitted its required annual updated Article 7 reports due 30 April 2000 and 30 April 2001.

Bolivia attended the Second Meeting of States Parties in September 2000,with a delegation led by its Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva. It did not participate in intersessional Standing Committee meetings in December 2000, but a representative from its Geneva Mission attended the meetings in May 2001. Bolivia participated in the Regional Seminar on Stockpile Destruction in the Americas, in Buenos Aires in November 2000. It voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 55/33V supporting the Mine Ban Treaty in November 2000.

Bolivia is not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that it is in the process of joining and the matter is currently under consideration in the National Congress.^[1] It participated as an observer at the Second Annual Conference of States Parties to the CCW’s Amended Protocol II (Landmines) in December 2000.

Production, Transfer, Stockpiling, Use

According to its Article 7 report, Bolivia has never produced, exported, or used antipersonnel mines and it has no stockpiles, including any mines retained for training.^[2] According to the Ministry of Defense, “Bolivia is not using and does not reserve the right to use Claymore mines. It is not using and does not reserve the right to use other munitions which might function like AP mines and pose danger to civilians, such as anti-tank mines with anti-handling devices, improvised explosive devices, or certain munitions and cluster bombs.”^[3]

Mine Problem

While Bolivian territory is not mine-affected, its border with Chile was mined by Chile in the 1970s, particularly in 1978 during a territorial dispute. For the first time, the Bolivian Ministry of Defense has provided Landmine Monitor with detailed information on the Chilean minefields near the border.^[4] According to the Ministry of Defense, there are fifteen mined areas covering 3,158,100 square meters. The affected area may be greater as Bolivian authorities have been unable to determine the size of two of these mined areas. In seven of the fifteen minefields, the total of antipersonnel (AP) and antivehicle (AV) mines laid is reported at 196,767.^[5]

The mined areas are located near lakes and mountain passes, especially in Khasiri, Chungara, Tambo Quemado, Pisiga, and Khasiri, in areas that are not near populated centers.^[6] Bolivia reports that the local population knows of the existence of minefields and avoids entering them.^[7]

A list of mine-affected areas on the border between Bolivia and Chile follows.^[8] All of the areas listed are in Chilean territory.

Border marker XIII. Along the Caquena river (foothills of Jiska Cobiri), in Choyota ravine, 400 metres from the border, to the south-west of Cosapa Grande. The minefield covers 200,000 square meters (500 meters wide and 400 meters long). Barbed wire and signposts mark the minefield. The number of mines laid is not specified.

Border marker XV. In Portesuelo de Achuta, on the road to Achuta, in the foothills of Carbiri hill, in the ravine Jaka Khollo, 100 metres from the border, to the west of Estancia Achuta. The minefield covers 60,000 square meters (1,200 meters wide and 50 meters long). In the middle of the minefield there is a minor road that links the ranches of Achuta in Bolivia with Caquena in Chile. Barbed wire and signposts mark the minefield. The number of mines laid is not specified.

Border marker XVI. Opposite Paso de Casiri. The minefield covers 80,000 square meters (400 meters wide and 200 meters long). Barbed wire and signposts mark the minefield. It contains 2,670 mines (1,780 AP mines and 890 AV mines).

Border marker XVII. On the pass to Ajata, close to Quisi Quisini hill. The minefield covers 1,265,000 square meters (2,300 meters wide and 550 meters long). It is marked by barbed wire and signposts and the number of mines is not specified.

Border marker XVIII, “Tambo Quemado.” On Paso de Chungara. The minefield covers 1,200,000 square meters (3,000 meters wide and 400 meters long). Barbed wire and signposts mark the minefield but they are partially destroyed. It contains 20,004 mines (13,336 AP mines and 6,668 AV mines).

Border marker XIX. Opposite Juchaloma hill and the Paso de Uncaliri and Guallatiri. The area covers 12,000 square meters (400 meters wide and 300 meters long). Barbed wire and signposts mark the minefield, which contains 2, 400 mines (1,600 AP mines and 800 AV mines).

Border marker XXIII. Lacataya Loma hill, close to Salar de Surire. The minefield covers 1,500 square meters (400 meters wide and 15 meters long). Barbed wire and signposts mark the minefield and the number of mines is not specified. This minefield may not be genuine.

Border marker XXIV, “Abra Capitán.” Between Luzcaya and Capitán hills, approximately 50 meters west of the marker. The minefield covers 300,000 square meters (1,000 meters wide and 300 meters long). It is marked by barbed wire and signposts and contains 16,221 mines (9,330 blast mines, 4,164 bounding mines and 2,727 AV mines).

Border marker XXXII. Opposite Pisiga, approximately 4,000 meters from the border. The minefield covers 2,500 square meters (50 meters wide and 50 meters long). It is marked by barbed wire and signposts and contains 34,476 mines, (23,838 blast mines and 10,638 bounding mines.

Border marker XXXIV. Opposite Salitral marker. The minefield covers 22,500 square meters (150 meters wide and 150 meters long). It is marked by barbed wire and signposts and contains1,806 mines laid in three rows (1,038 blast mines, 465 bounding mines and 303 AV mines).

Border marker XXXVIII, “Apacheta Tilujaya.” Opposite Apacheta Oje, approximately 4,000 meters from the border. The minefield covers 3,600 square meters (120 meters wide and 30 meters long). It is marked by barbed wire and signposts and contains an unspecified number of AV mines.

Border marker XLI, “Camino de Gancosa.” In Quebraba Gancosa, approximately 500 meters from the border. The minefield covers 3,500 square meters (70 meters wide and 50 meters long). It is marked with barbed wire and signposts and contains approximately 119,190 blast mines.

Border marker XLII, near Santalle hill. Barbed wire and signposts mark the minefield. The size is of the minefield not specified and it may not be genuine.

In Lincancaur Sector, in the only pass between lake Verde and San Pedro de Atacama. The size of the minefield is not specified and it may not be genuine.

Border marker LXXXII, “Portesuelo del Cajón,” near Guayaques hill. The minefield covers 7,500 square meters (150 meters wide and 50 meters long). Barbed wire and signposts mark the minefield. The number of mines contained is not specified.

Mine Clearance

Bolivia continues to call on Chile to ratify the Mine Ban Treaty and clear the border regions as soon as possible.^[9] On 1 December 1999, the Chilean Army announced the launch of a program to clear the mined border areas and stated that it would begin immediately along the border with Bolivia at Tambo Quemado, between Chile’s Region I and the Bolivian zone of Charana. According to Bolivia’s Ministry of Defense, the Chilean demining was observed on 3 December 1999, on the side of the international highway that links Tambo Quemado and Chugara, 400 meters from the border, but clearance of the minefields was only partly completed.^[10] On the basis of army reconnaissance patrols, Bolivia reports that as of March 2001 no further demining activities have been carried out on the Chilean side of the border.^[11]

On 28 January 2001, it was reported that deputies from Bolivia and Chile met for two days in Cochabamba (Bolivia) to discuss demining of the border areas and issued a joint declaration on the matter.^[12] The declaration reportedly stated, “It is resolved that the respective governments be informed of our willingness to find and count on the necessary resources in order to clear, as soon as possible, the landmines laid on the border.”^[13] The leader of the Bolivian delegation, Deputy Carlos Quiroga Blanco, called the meeting “historical.” The deputies also agreed to hold regular inter-institutional meetings to discuss this issue and other matters of interest. A second meeting on demining of the border was planned in Valparaíso but the date has not been announced yet.^[14]

On 6 March 2001, Bolivia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Javier Murillo, was quoted by media as criticizing Chile for not accelerating demining of the border area.^[15] Minister Murillo said that Bolivia was not satisfied with Chile’s proposed schedule to remove landmines, and that as a gesture of being good neighbors Chile should proceed faster than the ten years allowed by the treaty.” He also said that Bolivia doubted that the real reasons for the clearance delays were related to economic or technical issues.^[16]

Landmine Casualties, Survivor Assistance and Disability Policy and Practice

The first recorded Bolivian landmine casualty since 1997 occurred on 26 May 2000, when a peasant farmer from Jankomarca, in Villarroel province, La Paz department, lost part of his left foot while attempting to cross the border. The farmer reportedly dragged himself for ten hours before being found by other peasants who put him on a bus bound for El Alto, near La Paz.^[17]

Bolivia does not have a registry of landmine victims and it is difficult to obtain information on incidents. In one case, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attempted to investigate a reported landmine accident in a remote area close to the border, it was not even possible to obtain medical records listing the alleged victim in the local health center.^[18]

Basic health services exist in the border area while more specialized health services, including surgery, are found in the capitals of departments such as La Paz, Oruro and Potosí.^[19] Bolivia has policies in place for people with disabilities, including Law 1678 of 15 December 1995.^[20]

^[1] Ministry of Defense Response to Landmine Monitor, faxed by Ambassador Jorge Soruco Villanueva, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, 22 March 2001.
^[2] Article 7 report, 8 November 1999; Ministry of Defense Response to Landmine Monitor, faxed by Ambassador Jorge Soruco Villanueva, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, 22 March 2001.
^[3] Ministry of Defense Response to Landmine Monitor, faxed by Ambassador Jorge Soruco Villanueva, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, 22 March 2001.
^[4] Ibid.
^[5] Ibid. This includes 16,716 antipersonnel mines, 153,396 blast mines (“explosives”), 15,267 bounding mines (“saltadoras”) and 11,388 antivehicle mines.
^[6] Ministry of Defense Response to Landmine Monitor, faxed by Ambassador Jorge Soruco Villanueva, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, 22 March 2001.
^[7] Ibid.
^[8] Ibid.
^[9] At the Regional Seminar on Stockpile Destruction in the Americas, Buenos Aires, 6-8 November 2000, Barbara Canedo Patiño, Director General of Multilateral Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Landmine Monitor, Bolivia was “attending all possible meetings on landmines in order to insist that Chile demine its border with Bolivia as soon as possible.”
^[10] Ministry of Defense Response to Landmine Monitor, faxed by Ambassador Jorge Soruco Villanueva, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, 22 March 2001.
^[11] Ibid.
^[12] “Chile y Bolivia levantarán de su frontera minas antipersonales,” El Tribuno, Salta, Argentina, 28 January 2001.
^[13] Ibid.
^[14] Ibid.
^[15] “Govierno Boliviano: Chile no acelera retiro de minas,” Associated Press (La Paz), 6 March 2001.
^[16] Ibid.
^[17] “Bolivian national injured by an antipersonnel mine on border with Chile,” Agence France Presse (La Paz), 27 May 2000.
^[18] Interview with Barbara Canedo Patiño, Director General of Multilateral Affairs at the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Buenos Aires, 7 November 2000.
^[19] Ministry of Defense Response to Landmine Monitor, faxed by Ambassador Jorge Soruco Villanueva, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, 22 March 2001.
^[20] Ibid.

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