LM Report 2003

Mongolia

Mine Ban Policy

Mongolia has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. In 2002, the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense held a number of closed meetings on the Mine Ban Treaty and the landmine/UXO issue.^[1] Both agreed to pursue more open discussions internationally and to improve their understanding of the Mine Ban Treaty.

On 10 July 2002, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed to the Ministry of Defense that Mongolia first ratify Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), then followed with accession to the Mine Ban Treaty in 2003. The Ministry of Defense had not replied to the proposal as of June 2003.^[2] In November 2002, the Ministry of Defense invited officials from the Canadian Department of National Defence to discuss the military aspects of the landmine issue and the Mine Ban Treaty.^[3] Also in November 2002, the former commander of the Mongolian Armed Forces, General Tserenbaljir Dashzeveg, was nominated as a military policy advisor to the President on issues including landmines.^[4]

According to an official working for President Natsgiin Bagabandi, research into Mongolia’s accession to the Mine Ban Treaty has been initiated at the presidential level. Two major factors have been identified inhibiting Mongolia’s accession: first, Russia and China have not joined the treaty; and, second, accession requires preparatory measures, including stockpile destruction and the alignment of existing domestic legislation with the international treaty. According to the official, both of these problems will take time and greater financial resources than the limited state budget can provide.^[5] The official also said that Mongolian government agencies are in need of direct advocacy on the landmine issue.

On 22 November 2002, Mongolia voted in support of UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74, calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty, as it had done on similar resolutions in previous years.^[6]

Mongolia attended the Fourth Meeting of State Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in September 2002 as an observer, and also participated in the February 2003 meetings of the treaty’s intersessional Standing Committees.

Mongolia is a State Party to the original Protocol II on landmines of the CCW, but has not yet ratified Amended Protocol II. Mongolia attended the Fourth Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II as an observer.^[7]

Production, Transfer, and Stockpiling

Mongolia states that it has not and does not produce or transfer antipersonnel mines.^[8] There is no specific domestic regulation prohibiting production, import, export, or transportation of antipersonnel mines through Mongolian territory.^[9] In a July 2002 meeting, the former Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lloyd Axworthy, and Mongolian Minister of Foreign Affairs Luvsangiin Erdenechuluun discussed the possibility of adopting resolutions prohibiting transfer and/or manufacture of antipersonnel mines.^[10] A Ministry of Defense official confirmed to Landmine Monitor that such resolutions are under consideration.^[11]

Mongolian defense officials have made it clear that Mongolia has a large operational stockpile of antipersonnel mines, although the number is confidential.^[12] The stockpile is comprised of eleven types of antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, all acquired from the former Soviet Union between 1960 and 1985; 73 percent of the total number are antipersonnel. The mines include models PMN, OZM-3, and POMZ.^[13]

Department of Defense officials have reiterated that Mongolia has never deployed landmines on its territory,^[14] and that in the event of armed conflict, landmines would be used only to protect borders and strategic state assets.^[15] The officials note that mines are available from the Mongolian arsenals and anyone that has received minimal training could plant them in a reasonable time span.^[16]

Landmine/UXO Problem and Clearance

A 1998 survey by the United States Department of Defense and the Mongolian Ministry of Defense concluded that Mongolia is not mine-affected, but there is a problem with unexploded ordnance (UXO).^[17] According to the Mongolian Ministry of Defense, eighteen areas around the country contain UXO dating from World War II and the 1960-1992 presence of the Soviet Army.^[18] There were no plans for additional surveys in 2003.^[19]

According to military officials, some limited clearance was carried out after World War II and later at some former Soviet Army bases, but the operations were not complete as detailed data on the bases has not been provided to Mongolian authorities.^[20] No signs or fences demarcating contaminated areas have been placed to protect local residents and animals. Clearance operations have been delayed due to financial and technical limitations. According to a Ministry of Environment official, new laws aimed at establishing local units for environmental assessments throughout the country will improve the government’s knowledge of landmine/UXO conditions, especially in the provinces containing former Soviet Army bases.^[21]

Landmine/UXO Casualties

In 2002, according to the Ministry of Defense and General Staff of the Armed Forces, there were no casualties due to landmines or UXO.

On average, the Engineering Department receives three calls a year related to suspected UXO/landmine issues. In June 2002, a team was sent to detect antivehicle training mines laid along railway lines at the “12^th Cross” train station. In another incident, workers at an ironworks factory in Darkhan found an unexploded missile head in some scrap metal received from various parts of the country.^[22]

Emergency and continuing medical care, physical rehabilitation, and assistance to people injured by UXO is provided in accordance with current legislation. About fifty non-governmental and six state organizations work with and provide services for people with disabilities.^[23]

[1] Interview with Col. Yadmaa Choijamts, Director of Strategic Management and Planning Directorate, Ministry of Defense, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 7 February 2002; interview with Natsgiin Nurzed, Director of International Cooperation, Ministry of Defense, Ulaanbaatar, 14 January 2003.
[2] Telephone interview with Natsgiin Nurzed, Head of International Cooperation, Ministry of Defense, 25 June 2003; interview with Galyn Nemuun, Attaché, Department of Multilateral Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ulaanbaatar, 25 November 2002.
[3] Interview with Natsgiin Nurzed, Ministry of Defense, 14 January 2003.
[4] Interview with Dalantai Haliun, Press Secretary to the President, Director, Press and Information Department, Government House, Ulaanbaatar, 21 January 2003.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Telephone interview with Galyn Nemuun, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ulaanbaatar, 24 February 2003.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Interview with Sukh-Ochir Bold, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ulaanbaatar, 7 February 2001; interview with Navaan-Yunden Ouyndar, Head of Department of Foreign Relations, Ministry of Environment, Ulaanbaatar, 6 February 2001; meeting with Col. Yadmaa Choijamts, Director of Strategic Management and Planning Directorate, Ministry of Defense, 7 February 2002.
[9] Ibid; interview with Natsgiin Nurzed, Ministry of Defense, 14 January 2003.
[10] Remarks by Lloyd Axworthy during a dinner in his honor, Ulaanbaatar, 9 July 2002. (Landmine Monitor notes)
[11] Interview with Natsgiin Nurzed, Ministry of Defense, 14 January 2003.
[12] Interview with Col. Yadmaa Choijamts, Ministry of Defense, Ulaanbaatar, 7 February 2002.
[13] Handout provided by Col. Lhagva Gantumur, Head of Engineering Department, Ministry of Defense, at meeting between Mongolian delegation, Canada’s DFAIT Mine Action Team, and Mines Action Canada, Ottawa, 17 May 2001. The mines were described as two types: fougasse (blast) and fragmentation mines.
[14] Interview with Natsgiin Nurzed, Ministry of Defense, 14 January 2003; interview with Dalantai Haliun, Press-Secretary of the President, 21 January 2003.
[15] Interview with Natsgiin Nurzed, Ministry of Defense, 14 January 2003.
[16] Interview with Col. Lhagva Gantumur, Ministry of Defense, Ulaanbaatar, 26 January 2001.
[17] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 560 – 561.
[18] Interview with Col. Lhagva Gantumur, Ministry of Defense, 26 January 2001.
[19] Interview with Galyn Nemuun, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ulaanbaatar, 29 March 2002; interview with Natsgiin Nurzed, Ministry of Defense, Ulaanbaatar, 14 January 2003; interview with Navaan-Yunden Ouyndar, Ministry of Environment, Ulaanbaatar, 14 January 2003.
[20] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 516.
[21] Interview with Navaan-Yunden Ouyndar, Ministry of Environment, Ulaanbaatar, 14 January 2003.
[22] Interview with Lieutenant-Colonel Gantulga and Colonel Gantumur, Engineering Department, Ministry of Defense, Ulaanbaatar, 8 February 2003.
[23] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 715.