Key developments since May 2002: Cyprus
ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on 17 January 2003 and became a State Party on 1
July 2003. Cyprus has reported a stockpile of 48,615 antipersonnel mines. Mine
clearance operations are ongoing in a number of areas close to the buffer zone
and plans for demining inside the zone have been announced.
Mine Ban Policy
The Republic of Cyprus signed the Mine Ban Treaty
on 4 December 1997, ratified on 17 January 2003, and became a State Party on 1
July 2003.[1] The government is
considering whether the implementation measures required by Article 9 of the
treaty, including penal sanctions for violations, are covered by existing
criminal law or if new legislation is
required.[2]
Cyprus attended the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2002 as an
observer, but associated itself with a statement delivered by Denmark on behalf
of the European Union urging all non-member States to ratify or accede to the
treaty without delay.[3] On 22
November 2002, Cyprus voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74,
which calls for universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Cyprus participated in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in
February and May 2003, where its representative reported on the ratification
process and preparations for implementation of the treaty.
Cyprus is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), and ratified
Amended Protocol II on landmines on 22 July 2003. The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs said it prioritized ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty over Protocol
II.[4] Cyprus attended the
Fourth Annual Conference of States Parties to the Protocol, as an observer, in
December 2002.
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling and Destruction
Cyprus previously declared that it has never
produced or exported antipersonnel mines. During intersessional meetings in May
2003, the Cyprus delegation added that import of antipersonnel mines has also
ceased.[5]
At the same meeting, Cyprus revealed that it has a stockpile of 48,615
antipersonnel mines, consisting of types M2A3, M16, VS50, and
GLD112.[6] In addition, Cyprus
has M2A1, M2A4, M16A1, M16A2, and M16E3minesin its landmine
stockpile.[7]
Cyprus has said that environmental agreements will prevent it from using
explosive methods for stockpile destruction, so inquiries are being made to
destroy the mines
elsewhere.[8]
The government has decided that in accordance with Article 3 of the Mine Ban
Treaty, a number of mines will be retained “for training in mine
detection, mine clearance and mine destruction
techniques.”[9]
Landmine Problem
Minefields in and around the buffer zone dividing
the island date from the 1974 occupation of the north by Turkish forces.
According to Major Theodoros Efthymiou, the Ministry of Defense’s Special
Advisor on Demining, there are eleven minefields laid by the Greek-Cypriot
National Guard in the buffer zone, containing a total of 1,024 antipersonnel
mines and 1,284 antivehicle
mines.[10] There are also 26
minefields laid by Turkish forces. The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in
Cyprus (UNFICYP) supervises the buffer
zone.[11]
In addition, there are 23 minefields containing approximately 5,000
antipersonnel mines in areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus. Maps and
other documentation have been deposited with UNFICYP. All minefields under the
control of the National Guard and UNFICYP are reported to be fenced and
marked.[12]
Mine Action Planning and Clearance
In 1987, the National Guard established a special
engineering unit to survey and “refurbish” minefields, and to carry
out rescue operations. This consists of a fifteen-person demining platoon,
using metal detectors and working to a clearance depth of 50
centimeters.[13]
In October 2002, Cyprus reported that the National Guard has cleared ten
minefields adjacent to the buffer zone and destroyed over 11,000 mines since
1983.[14] In 2002, the National
Guard completed clearance of two minefields (totaling 36,000 square meters) in
the mixed Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot village of Pyla, removing 182 M2A3
antipersonnel mines and 564 M15 antivehicle
mines.[15] UNFICYP confirmed
that clearance of two minefields (numbered by UNFICYP as 4621 and 4636) was
completed by 27 November
2002.[16]
UNFICYP was informed on 29 November 2002 that National Guard deminers would
next clear two minefields south of Lefka (numbered 1845 and 1853), and this
clearance was ongoing as of April 2003. UNFICYP also reported that National
Guard deminers were clearing another minefield southwest of Lymbia (number
4397).[17]
In early 2002, the Republic proposed that all the minefields be cleared,
jointly with the Turkish-Cypriot forces, or unilaterally if
necessary.[18] Major Efthymiou
stated that clearance could be achieved within the timeframe of the Mine Ban
Treaty, but outside assistance would be needed. The Republic confirmed in April
2003 that it was working “in close cooperation” with the Geneva
International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) and the UN Mine Action
Service (UNMAS) on the proposed
demining.[19]
On 7 May 2003, a Republic of Cyprus spokesperson announced that clearance of
Republic-controlled minefields and National Guard minefields in the buffer zone
would go ahead, and “all necessary representations” would be made to
the UN.[20] On 10 May, Justice
Minister Doros Theodorou announced that demining of the buffer zone around the
Ayia Dhometios suburb of Nicosia was going ahead, near a new control point
between the north and south.
In July 2003, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash announced that his
administration in the Turkish-occupied north was willing to clear
“thousands of land mines,” in order to improve security for Cypriots
crossing the buffer zone. Denktash was reported as saying, “We have given
notice in a letter sent today to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that Turkish
Cypriot military officials are prepared to meet to discuss the clearing of mines
in Nicosia and surrounding
regions.”[21]
Landmine Casualties
In 2002 and up to the end of April 2003, no
military or civilian casualties from mines were reported in the
Republic-controlled areas or in the buffer
zone.[22] According to a press
report, over the past 28 years three UN peacekeepers and several civilians have
been killed or injured by landmines in Cyprus. The most recent death of a Greek
Cypriot civilian was in
1997.[23]
[1] Law number 37(III)/2002, 20 December
2002. See also, “Cyprus Ratifies Antipersonnel Mine Convention,”
Cyprus News Agency, 6 December 2002. [2]
Email from Frances Galatia-Williams, Counselor, Permanent Mission to the UN in
Geneva, 30 April 2003. [3] Statement by
the Cyprus Delegation, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 18 September
2002. [4] Email from Frances
Galatia-Williams, Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, 30 April
2003. [5] Intervention by Major
Theodoros Efthymiou, Special Advisor on Demining, Ministry of Defense, to
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education, and Mine Action
Technologies, Geneva, 14 May 2003. [6]
Ibid. [7] Email from Frances
Galatia-Williams, Permanent Mission to the UN, 30 April
2003. [8] Intervention by Cyprus,
Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention,
Geneva, 3 February 2003. (Landmine Monitor
notes) [9] Email from Frances
Galatia-Williams, Permanent Mission to the UN, 30 April
2003. [10] Intervention by Major
Theodoros Efthymiou to Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 14 May
2003. [11] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 546. [12] Intervention by Major
Theodoros Efthymiou, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 14 May 2003;
intervention by Cyprus, Standing Committee on the General Status, 3 February
2003. [13] Intervention by Major
Theodoros Efthymiou, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 14 May
2003. [14] Statement by Yiorgos
Christofides, First Committee of the UN General Assembly, New York, 10 October
2002. [15] Intervention by Major
Theodoros Efthymiou, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 14 May 2003; email
from Frances Galatia-Williams, Permanent Mission to the UN, 30 April
2003. [16] Email from Sergeant Cranley
L. Hudson, Force Cartographer, UNFICYP HQ, 4 April
2003. [17]
Ibid. [18] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, pp. 545-547. [19] Email from
Frances Galatia-Williams, Permanent Mission to the UN, 30 April 2003; see also,
Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp.
545-547. [20] “Government to
Remove Landmines in Areas Controlled by the Republic of Cyprus,” Cyprus
New Agency, 7 May 2003; “De-mining Work to Begin,” Kathimerini
(Greek daily newspaper, English-language Internet edition), 8 May
2003. [21] “Denktash says wants to
clear mines littering Cyprus,” Reuters, 24 July
2003. [22] Email from Frances
Galatia-Williams, Permanent Mission to the UN, 30 April
2003. [23] “Cyprus Submits
Landmine-Clearing Plan to UN,” Xinhua News Agency, 23 January
2002.