Key developments since May 2002: Mine
action funding in 2002 totaled DKK 83.5 million (US$10.6 million), which is a
significant decrease from DKK 119.5 million in 2001.
Mine Ban Policy
Denmark signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December
1997 and ratified it on 8 June 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 March 1999. No
additional legal or administrative measures were deemed necessary for national
implementation. Denmark has not produced antipersonnel mines since the 1950s
and has never exported antipersonnel mines. Destruction of the stockpile of
266,517 antipersonnel mines was completed in December 1999.
Denmark participated in the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September
2002. As Denmark held the presidency of the European Union (EU) for the second
half of 2002, Ambassador Henrik Ree Iversen delivered a statement on behalf of
the EU and associated states. Also in September 2002, Denmark delivered a
statement to the General Assembly on behalf of the EU, remarking that the large
number of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty leaves “no doubt that an
international norm has been established that can no longer be
ignored.”[1]
In November 2002, Denmark voted for UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74,
which calls for universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Denmark attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in February and
May 2003.
Denmark’s annual Article 7 report for calendar year 2002 was submitted
on 30 April 2003. It included voluntary Form J, reporting for the first time on
the purposes for which mines were being retained under Article 3 of the treaty.
Four previous Article 7 reports have been
submitted.[2]
Regarding the issue of joint military operations with non-States Parties, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed its commitment that Denmark would not
involve itself in the planning or implementation of activities related to the
laying of antipersonnel
mines.[3]
In April 2003, Denmark confirmed its view, first expressed at the Standing
Committee meetings in May 2002, that the Mine Ban Treaty does not cover
antivehicle mines that may function as antipersonnel mines. Denmark is
concerned that other interpretations will inhibit universalization of the
treaty, and considers the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) to be the
proper forum for discussion of antivehicle
mines.[4]
Denmark is a State Party to the CCW and its Amended Protocol II, and
submitted an annual report as required by Article 13 of the Protocol on 14
October 2002. This notes new forms of international assistance and mine action
funding in 2002.
Denmark attended the Fourth Annual Conference of States Parties to the
Protocol in December 2002. On behalf of the EU, Denmark described the Mine Ban
Treaty and Amended Protocol II as complementary, and reminded the conference of
EU proposals to improve compliance mechanisms in the CCW and its
protocols.[5]
Mines Retained Under Article 3
Denmark initially retained 4,991 antipersonnel mines as permitted under
Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty. A decision was made in August 2000 to reduce
this number, and in April 2002, Denmark reported that 2,091 mines were being
retained.[6]
More recently, Denmark has reported that at the end of 2002, it retained
2,058 mines (60 M56 and 1,998 M58). Denmark indicated that 33 M58 mines had
been consumed for “demonstration and training purposes.” Denmark
further explained that its retained mine stock is used in these ways: a
demonstration is given to all conscripts during training; mine awareness
instructors are trained in handling mines before international missions; and the
mines are used for training Ammunition Clearing Units in dismantling mines.
None of the M56 mines, which are kept for trials by the Danish Defense Research
Establishment, have been consumed since
1999.[7]
Landmine Problem
The Skallingen peninsula in Denmark was heavily
mine-contaminated in World War II. It is now a protected natural reserve,
largely owned by the government. Mined areas are marked and there are no
reports of mine incidents in the
area.[8] Denmark states in its
Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report and its Article 7 Report that there are no
mine clearance programs at present. The deadline set by Mine Ban Treaty Article
5 for Denmark to clear all mined areas is 1 March 2009.
Mine Action Funding
Danish policy for assistance in humanitarian mine
action was described in the Landmine Monitor Report 2002. Mine action
funding in 2002 totaled DKK83,512,807 (US$10.6
million).[9] This represents a
decrease of more than 30 percent from DKK119,354,000 in 2001. The countries and
organizations receiving Danish funding in 2002 were:
Countries
Afghanistan – DKK20 million ($2.53 million) comprising DKK15 million
to the Danish Demining Group (DDG) and DKK5 million to the UN Mine Action
Service (UNMAS)
Caucasus – DKK792,807 ($100,483) to DanChurchAid (DCA) and DDG for
mine risk education
Eritrea – DKK9 million ($1.14 million) to DCA (final installment of
DKK20 million grant)
Laos – DKK8.3 million ($1.05 million) to UNSO and the Mines Advisory
Group (MAG) (second installment) for mine action, including rehabilitation of
mine survivors
Mozambique – DKK15 million ($1.9 million) to the UN Development
Program (UNDP), Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), Accelerated Demining
Program, and National Demining Institute (third installment of DKK72
million)
Nicaragua – DKK14 million ($1.77 million) to the Nicaraguan government
(second installment of DKK53.3 million)
Somalia – DKK5.8 million ($735,000) to DDG (final grant)
Sri Lanka – DKK3 million ($380,000) to DDG
Sudan – DKK4 million ($507,000) to DCA
Organizations
Mine Ban Treaty Sponsorship Program – DKK200,000 ($25,350) to support
participation of developing countries
UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action – DKK3 million
($380,000) for mine action coordination
International Campaign to Ban Landmines – DKK400,000 ($51,000) for
advocacy and the Landmine Monitor
Danmark Mod Landminer (Denmark Against Landmines) – DKK20,000 ($2,500)
for
advocacy.[10]
Funding
in 2003 is expected to be at about the same level as in 2002. A comprehensive
evaluation of all Danish assistance in humanitarian mine action was carried out
by an independent consultant, with the results to be presented in
2003.[11]
In 2002, Danish Defense was involved in mine clearance in Afghanistan, with
two Hydrema machines and 45 personnel (including 17 support personnel); this
involvement did not continue in
2003.[12]
Denmark chairs the Inter-Nordic Working Group for Mine Clearance Equipment,
and participates in the NATO Engineer Working
Party.[13]
NGO mine action and funding
The NGOs DanChurchAid (DCA) and the Danish Demining Group (DDG) are involved
in mine clearance, survey, and mine risk education.
DCA worked in six countries in 2002 and early 2003, including Albania (survey
and clearance), Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (needs assessment), Eritrea
(assistance to Eritrean Demining Agency), Iraq (emergency clearance), and Sudan
(training and mine risk
education).[14] The DDG was
active in Afghanistan (mine risk education and mine clearance), Eritrea (mine
clearance), Ingushetia/Chechnya (mine risk education), Somaliland (survey and
clearance), and Sri Lanka (surveys and needs
assessment)[15] For more
information on these activities, see the country reports in this edition of
Landmine Monitor Report.
Danmark Mod Landminer participated in the Roskilde music festival in June
2002, raising DKK100,000 ($12,675) for DCA’s mine clearance activities in
Lebanon, and DKK40,000 ($5,070) for the DDG. Danmark Mod Landminer’s
landmine education campaign at the music festival reached an estimated 70,000
people and resulted in 200 new
members.[16]
The Danish Red Cross in 2002 raised DKK400,000 ($50,700) for the
rehabilitation of mine survivors in
Cambodia.[17]
Landmine/UXO Casualties
On 19 November 2002, the Danish Defense Command
made public the results of their investigation into the incident that killed
three Danish soldiers and three others in Afghanistan on 6 March 2002. The
report concluded that the “accident was caused by an unauthorized FFE
(Free From Explosives) in combination with improper handling of the warhead and
use of inappropriate tools. The factor most likely to have initiated the
ignition was the fact that the work was being carried out directly on the
explosive material in the
warhead.”[18]
[1] Statement by Ambassador Erling Harild
Nielsen on behalf of the European Union, UN General Assembly, New York, 30
September 2002. [2] Article 7 Report, 29
April 2003 (for calendar year 2002); Article 7 Report, 29 April 2002 (for the
period 1 May 2001–30 April 2002); Article 7 Report, 30 April 2001 (for
calendar year 2000); Article 7 Report, 7 August 2000 (for the period 27 August
1999–7 August 2000); Article 7 Report, 27 August 1999 (for the period to
27 August 1999). [3] Email from Ulrik
Enemark Petersen, Head of Section, Foreign and Security Policy Department,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 28 March 2003.
[4] Telephone interview with Major
Jørn Rasmussen, Section for Weapon Control, Danish Defense Command, 29
April 2003; see also, Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp. 226-227. Denmark did
not speak on this issue in the February and May 2003 Standing Committee
discussions. It did, however, repeat this position in a side meeting organized
by the ICRC on 15 May 2003, when Denmark opposed the ICRC proposal to do expert
work on antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes within the Mine Ban Treaty
context. [5] Statement by Ambassador
Henrik Ree Iversen on behalf of the European Union, Fourth Annual Conference of
States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II, Geneva, 11 December
2002. [6] Article 7 Report, Form D, 29
April 2002. [7] Article 7 Report, Forms
D and J, 29 April 2003. [8] Email from
Ulrik Enemark Petersen, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 28 March 2003.
[9] Ibid. Exchange rate: US$1 = DKK
7.89, used throughout. Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates
(Annual),” 6 January 2003. [10]
Email from Ulrik Enemark Petersen, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 28 March
2003. [11] Email from Ulrik Enemark
Petersen, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 30 April
2003. [12] Email from Major Jørn
E. Rasmussen, Section for Weapon Control, Danish Defense Command, 26 May 2002;
telephone interview with Major Jørn E. Rasmussen, 29 April
2003. [13] Amended Protocol II Article
13 Report, Form E, 14 October 2002. [14]
Email from Lennart Skov-Hansen, Relief Coordinator/DCA Operative Unit,
DanChurchAid, Copenhagen, 21 May
2003. [15] Email from Michaela Brock
Pedersen, Danish Demining Group, 23 April
2003. [16] Email from Thomas Emil
Jensen, Danmark Mod Landminer, 18 March
2003. [17] Email from Flemming S.
Nielsen, Head of Disaster Management Unit, Danish Red Cross, 26 March
2003. [18] Danish Defense Command
Report, released 19 November 2002, available at
www.fko.dk/tema_kabul-rapporten.htm.