Key developments since May 2002: In 2002,
the European Commission allocated a total of €42 million ($40 million) to
mine action, an increase of almost 50 percent compared to 2001. On 3 December
2002, the Commission adopted its “Mine Action Strategy 2002-2004.”
Mine Ban Policy
All members of the European
Union[1] (EU) are States Parties
to the Mine Ban Treaty, with the exceptions of Finland, which aims to join in
2006, and Greece, a signatory that has completed domestic procedures for
ratification. Additional countries which may be full EU members by the First
Review Conference of the treaty in 2004 include six States Parties (Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Slovenia), one current
signatory (Poland) and two States currently not party (Estonia and Latvia). Two
other States Parties, Bulgaria and Romania, are also EU-applicants. Turkey,
which has completed domestic procedures for accession to the Mine Ban Treaty, is
seeking to start the negotiation process to join the EU.
Accession to the Mine Ban Treaty is not a condition for joining the EU.
However, the Commissioner for External Relations declared that: “This is
not Community acquis in the strict legal sense of that term, but we will
obviously encourage them to do away with mines in their defence, to stop
manufacturing mines or trading in them, and to sign and ratify the Mine Ban
Treaty.”[2]
At the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2002, the EU was
represented by Denmark, which held the EU Presidency from July to December 2002.
Ambassador Henrik Rée Iversen stated: “The European Union remains
strongly committed to promote a global eradication of antipersonnel mines.
Therefore the European Union will continue to campaign for a universal and swift
application of the Convention.... To that end, the European Union has carried
out more than 50 démarches.” Regarding implementation of the
treaty commitments, the EU “will work for a strengthening of international
coordination and cooperation within humanitarian mine action as a whole [and] do
its utmost to ensure that disarmament undertakings and humanitarian efforts are
intertwined and successfully coordinated.” Ambassador Iversen called on
all States Parties to respect the treaty’s obligations, and, in
particular, to submit the annual transparency reports required by Article
7.[3]
Representatives of the European Commission (EC) continued to participate in
the intersessional Standing Committee meetings, including those in February and
May 2003.[4]
In September 2002, at the First Committee of the UN General Assembly, the
representative of Denmark, on behalf of the EU, noted the large number of States
Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty and said there can be “no doubt that an
international norm has been established that can no longer be ignored. The
European Union...will continue to campaign for a universal and swift application
of the Convention [and] calls upon non-state actors as well to abide by the
principles of the
Convention.”[5]
On 3 December 2002, on the fifth anniversary of the opening for signature of
the Mine Ban Treaty, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament
organized a meeting on the mine issue, including implementation of the EU mine
action strategy, universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty, responses to
governments using antipersonnel mines, joint military operations with
non-signatories, landmine incidents in Greece, victim assistance, mine action in
areas not under government control, cluster munitions, and mine-related research
and development. Participants included members of the EU Parliament, the EC,
the Joint Research Center, ICBL, and Geneva Call.
In 2002, the EU continued to participate in meetings of the Convention on
Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II. At the Meeting of
States Parties to the CCW in December 2002, Denmark reiterated the EU’s
support for strong mandates for the Group of Governmental Experts work on
explosive remnants of war and antivehicle
mines.[6]
On 12 February 2003, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the
harmful effects of landmines, cluster submunitions and depleted uranium
ammunition.[7]
Mine Action Funding
At the Fourth Meeting of States Parties to the
Mine Ban Treaty, Denmark, on behalf of the EU, stated that the EU had pledged
€240 million (US$228 million based on the 2002 exchange
rate)[8] of financial aid to
mine action for the period
2002-2004.[9] Denmark added
that the EU gives priority to States which put the treaty’s principles and
objectives into practice.
In 2002, the EC allocated a total of €42,081,000 ($40 million) to mine
action, an increase of 48 percent compared with 2001 (€28,390,498). This
does not include additional mine action funding by individual EU Member States.
Major recipient countries included Afghanistan, Angola, Sri Lanka and countries
of South East Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia).
Funding was allocated as follows, from several different budget
lines:[10]
Afghanistan - €10.4 million ($9.9 million) for capacity building,
equipment, and mine clearance
Angola - €7 million ($6.7 million) for institutional support and
multi-task mine action
Bosnia and Herzegovina - €2.3 million ($2.2 million), comprising
€1.5 million for mine clearance and €800,000 for Landmine Impact
Survey
Cambodia - €860,000 ($817,000) for mine clearance
Croatia - €2 million ($1.9 million) for mine clearance
Eritrea - €300,000 ($285,000) for mine risk education
Ethiopia - €1 million ($950,000) for Landmine Impact Survey
Eritrea / Ethiopia - €1 million ($950,000) for mine clearance
FYR Macedonia - €1.9 million ($1.8 million) for mine clearance
Laos - €1.1 million ($1 million) for mine/UXO clearance and MRE
Mozambique - €1 million ($950,000) for capacity building and area
reduction
Nicaragua - €1.3 million ($1.2 million) for mine clearance and
stockpile destruction
Northern Caucasus - €150,000 ($142,500) for MRE
South East Europe - €2,850,000 ($2.7 million) for mine clearance on
the border between Croatia and Serbia
Sri Lanka - €3,850,000 ($3.7 million), comprised of €800,000 for
Landmine Impact Survey and mine clearance, and €3,050,000 for surveys,
mine clearance and MRE
Somalia - €1.5 million ($1.4 million) for mine clearance, capacity
building and Landmine Impact Survey
Sudan - €1,245,000 ($1.2 million) for mine clearance and MRE
Research & Development - €1,390,000 ($1.3 million), comprised of
€1,190,000 for the development of biosensor applications and
€200,000 for testing and evaluation
ICBL - €900,000 ($855,000) for campaigning and Landmine Monitor over
two-years
Intersessional meetings - €360,000 ($342,000) for interpretation at
the Standing Committee meetings in January/February and May
2002
Decisions on the allocation of 2002 mine action funding were taken at the end
of 2002, following approval of a new funding strategy for 2002-2004.
Disbursement of 2002 funds, therefore, took place during the course of 2003. As
of May 2003, five contracts remained to be signed by the
counterparts.[11]
On 3 December 2002, the European Commission adopted its Mine Action Strategy
2002-2004.[12] From its main
budget line for mine action (B7-661), this allocates €45 million for
2002-2004 (€12 million in 2002, €33 million for 2003-2004) and
provides the strategic framework for implementation of regulations introduced in
2001.[13] The Strategy
identifies thematic funding priorities for 2002-2004 as countering the threat of
antipersonnel mines (mine clearance, mine risk education, stockpile destruction)
and increasing the efficiency of mine action and local capacity (through, for
example, Landmine Impact Survey, Information Management System for Mine Action,
and EC Headquarter Information
System).[14]
Criteria for deciding which countries receive EU mine action funding include:
the humanitarian, social and economic impact of landmines; accession to the Mine
Ban Treaty; prioritization of the mine problem within the national framework;
and strategic importance for the EU. Other priorities influencing funding
decisions include the need for rapid deployment of mine action teams, supporting
the ICBL in campaigning and monitoring implementation of the treaty, support for
promising research, and support for international standards for mine clearance
and mine detection.[15]
In 2003, a new financial regulation was introduced to increase competition
and transparency. A call for proposals for 2003 mine action funding will be
issued in September 2003. Applicants will have two or three months to reply and
contracts are expected to be signed at the start of 2004. This will result in
2003 funds being disbursed in
2004.[16]
Research and Development
The EC funds mine-related research and development
(R&D) through multi-annual framework programs. The EC budget for the
6th Framework Programme (2002-2006) is €17.5 million ($16.6
million).[17]
None of this budget was spent in 2002. Through a different budget line
(B7-661), the EC supported two R&D projects in 2002: the development of a
new biosensor and evaluation of demining tools to promote the most
cost-efficient tools. Total financial support for mine action R&D in 2002
was €1.39 million ($1.32 million).
Co-funding of R&D is also provided by the Framework Program for Research
and Technological Development (RTD) of new technologies for demining. EC
support for these projects is aimed at taking new technology from fundamental
research to a working prototype. In 2002, no new RTD projects were funded, but
several projects started in earlier years continued with no additional funding
in 2002.[18]
Achievements of the RTD program include the development of two improved metal
detectors which are now widely used, the development of a novel
“radar-on-a-chip” electronic system for mine detection, a vehicle
mounted real-time data fusion multisensor mine detection system (first
demonstrated in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2002), and the EUDEM2 service for
demining technology
researchers.[19]
In 2003, there will also be a second call for R&D proposals under the
6th Framework. The humanitarian demining work program will focus on
generic technologies for area reduction and on improved coordination of existing
nationally and EU-funded R&D programs in demining
technologies.[20]
[1] The European Union is a supra-national
body. For its structure and membership, see Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp.
809-810. [2] Speech by Chris Patten,
Commissioner for External Relations, European Parliament, 25 October
2000. [3] Statement by Ambassador Henrik
Rée Iversen, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 16-20 September
2002. [4] Within the EU, the European
Commission (EC) is responsible for external economic relations, development
cooperation, and humanitarian aid, including mine action
funding. [5] Statement by Ambassador
Erling Harild Nielsen, General Debate, First Committee, UN General Assembly, New
York, 30 September 2002. [6]
Intervention by Ambassador Henrik Rée Iversen, Meeting of States Parties
to the CCW, Geneva, 12-13 December
2002. [7] Email from Ernst Guelcher,
Green/EFA Group, European Parliament, 12 February
2003. [8] Exchange rate €1 =
US$0.95, used throughout this report. Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange
Rates (Annual),” 6 January
2003. [9] Statement by Ambassador
Iversen, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, 16-20 September
2002. [10] Email to Sylvie Brigot, ICBL,
from Catherine Horeftari, EC, 23 May
2003. [11] Interview with Ingerborg
Thijn, EuropeAid Cooperation Office, EC, Brussels, 5 May
2003. [12] “EC Mine Action
2002-2004, Strategy & Multi-annual Indicative Programming,” accessible
at eu-mine-actions.jrc.cec.eu.int. [13]
See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
813. [14] “EC Mine Action
2002-2004.” [15]
Ibid. [16] Interview with Ingerborg
Thijn, EC, 5 May 2003. [17] “EC
Mine Action 2002-2004.” [18] RTD
projects are co-funded by the EC and industrial partners. Industrial partners
usually bring 50 percent of the funding which they aim to recover from future
sales of the products developed. For details on the projects see Landmine
Monitor Report 2002, p. 819. [19] Email
from Russell Gasser, Project Officer – Humanitarian Demining RTD, EC, 23
May 2003. [20] Ibid.