+   *    +     +     
About Us 
The Issues 
Our Research Products 
Order Publications 
Multimedia 
Press Room 
Resources for Monitor Researchers 
ARCHIVES HOME PAGE 
    >
 
Table of Contents
Country Reports
The Netherlands, Landmine Monitor Report 2003

The Netherlands

Key developments since May 2002: Mine action funding in 2002 totaled more than $16 million, a significant increase over 2001. Stockpile destruction was completed in December 2002, with the destruction of 5,984 Gator antipersonnel mines. The Netherlands also destroyed 10,000 DM31 antivehicle mines. The Netherlands has served as co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention since September 2002, and will become co-chair of the committee in September 2003.

Mine Ban Policy

The Netherlands signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 12 April 1999, becoming a State Party on 1 October 1999. The Netherlands stated in November 2002, “After careful consideration by all relevant law making bodies in the Netherlands, it has been concluded that the consisting [sic] legislation is deemed sufficient for implementation of the Ottawa Convention.”[1] In April 2003, the Netherlands again reported that existing legislation will be amended to establish powers allowing for international verification in accordance with Article 8.[2]

The Netherlands continued to play a leadership role in the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional work program, and in promoting universalization and full implementation of the treaty. It has served as co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention since September 2002, and will become co-chair of the committee in September 2003. The Netherlands participated actively in the Universalization, Article 7, and Resource Mobilization Contact Groups.

The Netherlands undertook bilateral and joint contacts with several countries regarding universalization and, in some instances, to seek clarification on compliance concerns. To promote universalization, the Netherlands has co-organized workshops involving countries not party to the Mine Ban Treaty. In 2003, the Netherlands planned to focus its efforts on Indonesia, Lebanon, and Uzbekistan, with possible seminars in each in 2003 or 2004, done in cooperation with the government of Canada.[3] In November 2002, the Netherlands voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74, which calls for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty.

The Netherlands submitted its annual Article 7 transparency report in April 2003. This includes the voluntary Form J, which gives details of Dutch funding of mine action in 2002. Three previous Article 7 reports have been submitted.[4]

The Netherlands is a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and its Amended Protocol II and submitted its annual report under Article 13 of the Protocol on 1 October 2002. This presents updated information on stockpile destruction, antivehicle mines and mine action funding. The Netherlands attended the Fourth Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in December 2002. In 2002 and 2003, Ambassador Chris Sanders of the Netherlands has served as Coordinator of the work of the CCW Group of Governmental Experts on the issue of Explosive Remnants of War.

Production, Trade, Stockpile Destruction

Production of antipersonnel mines in the Netherlands ceased more than 20 years ago. A partial export moratorium became a complete ban on transfer with entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty in October 1999.

On 6 February 2003, at the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, the Netherlands announced that it had completed its stockpile destruction program in December 2002, well in advance of the treaty-mandated deadline of 1 October 2003. The Netherlands had destroyed 254,526 antipersonnel mines, nearly its entire stockpile, by the end of 1998. Remaining were 272 CBU-89 Gator cluster bombs, described by the Netherlands as “non-Ottawa convention compliant,” which contained 5,984 BLU-92B antipersonnel mines and 19,584 BLU-91B antivehicle mines. In 2002, the Gator cluster bombs were transferred to a civilian facility in Germany, and destroyed by December 2002.[5]

The Netherlands has stated that directional fragmentation (Claymore-type) mines purchased in 1997 and 2003 will be used only in command-detonated mode, which is not prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty. No tripwires, for operation of the mines in victim-activated mode, remain in stock.[6]

Mines retained under Article 3

The Netherlands decided to retain “a maximum of 5,000” antipersonnel mines for training and research purposes.[7] The April 2003 Article 7 report states that 3,866 antipersonnel mines were retained at the end of 2002 (3,014 type NR 22 and 852 type DM31). This represents a decrease of 314 antipersonnel mines (302 type NR 22 and 12 type DM31) from the data in the previous Article 7 report.[8]

Antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes and antihandling devices

The Netherlands has previously expressed the view that mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices which may be activated by the unintentional act of a person are to be considered as antipersonnel mines and are banned by the treaty. Dutch future procurement plans follow this policy.[9]

The Netherlands possessed a stock of 80,000 DM31 antivehicle mines in December 2000.[10] In 2002, it was reported that 10,000 of this stockpile had been destroyed as “surplus.” The Netherlands also reported that a study was being carried out on the feasibility of adapting the DM31 “to assure that the sensors of this type of AVM...will not explode when detected with regular devices. DM31 mines will not be used unless adapted.”[11]

Mine Action Assistance

At the Fourth Meeting of States Parties, the Netherlands outlined is funding policy for mine action. In principle, only countries that have signed the Mine Ban Treaty are eligible for Dutch assistance. Any assisted activities must be related to other essential aspects of mine action and in tune with existing plans for socioeconomic rehabilitation. The Netherlands closely follows the UN Mine Action Service guidelines, and requires that responsibility for mine clearance be transferred to the national authorities at the earliest opportunity. The Netherlands favors multi-year projects in order to make funding predictable and proper planning possible.[12]

For 2002, the Netherlands contribution to mine action totaled $16,028,630.[13] This is a significant increase over the approximately $13.3 million spent in 2001.[14] For 2003, the Netherlands has budgeted mine action expenditure totaling €13.6 million.[15]

In 2002, from the total funding of $16 million, approximately $13.4 million was contributed to mine action in 14 countries:[16]

  • Afghanistan - $2,090,000 consisting of $1 million to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Aid and Mine Action Program for Afghanistan for integrated mine action and $1,090,000 to the HALO Trust for mine clearance
  • Albania - $72,206 to the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) Trust Fund for stockpile destruction
  • Angola - $500,000 to HALO for mine clearance
  • Azerbaijan - $518,181 to HALO for mine awareness and mine clearance in Nagorno Karabakh
  • Cambodia - $2,912,810 consisting of $999,983 to HALO for mine clearance and $1,912,827 to Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) and the Cambodia Mine Action Center for mine awareness and clearance
  • Chile - $13,596 to the Institut de Ecologica Politica for a landmine conference
  • Eritrea - $3,500,000 consisting of $500,000 to the UN Development Programme to support the creation of a national mine action capacity, and $3 million to HALO for mine clearance
  • Georgia - $376,015 to HALO for mine clearance
  • Guinea-Bissau - $500,000 to UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) for support to the national mine action structure
  • Laos - $500,000 to UNDP for support the UXO LAO clearance program
  • Mozambique - $1,230,862 consisting of $730,862 to HALO for mine clearance and $500,000 to NPA for integrated mine action
  • Somalia - $535,000 to HALO for mine clearance
  • Ukraine - $135,960 to the NATO PfP Trust Fund for stockpile destruction
  • Yemen - $500,000 to UNMAS for support to the national mine action program

Also included in the Netherlands mine action funding in 2002 was $2,644,000 allocated as follows:

  • UNMAS - $1.5 million core funding for the Voluntary Trust Fund
  • HALO - $570,000 to non-country-specific mine clearance (dogs)
  • ICBL - $120,000 for advocacy and Landmine Monitor Report 2002
  • International Committee of the Red Cross: $454,000 for victim assistance

In 2002, the Netherlands also provided financial support (CHF88,787 – or $56,915)[17] to the Implementation Support Unit.

It contributed €166,000 ($157,700)[18] to a Partnership for Peace (PfP) Trust Fund project to destroy Moldova’s stockpile of about 12,000 antipersonnel mines and a large quantity of rocket fuel. This project was successfully completed in December 2002. For the PfP Trust Fund project to destroy PMN mines in Ukraine, the Netherlands will contribute €30,000 ($28,500) in 2003, upon approval of the final report. Thereafter, no new funding will be allocated to the PfP Trust Funds in 2003.[19]

The Dutch armed forces have a pool of some 30 deminers. In 2002, two technical mine clearance advisors were deployed in Eritrea in the context of the UN peacekeeping mission UNMEE. Two technical mine clearance advisors and a liaison officer were deployed in Ethiopia, and an advisor was deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the Federation Mine Action Center.[20]

As of March 2003, nine countries were included in the Netherlands mine action funding allocations for 2003, including Sri Lanka, which received Dutch funding for the first time. Two countries received funds in 2002, but will not in 2003: Guinea-Bissau and Laos.[21]

Nongovernmental mine action funding

In 2002, Stichting Vluchteling (the Netherlands Refugee Foundation) provided funding for three projects by the Mines Advisory Group: in Northern Iraq, €78,750 ($74,813) for mine action teams in Erbil; in Angola, €45,689 ($43,405) for community liaison and mine awareness in Cunene province; and, in Sri Lanka, €40,000 ($38,000) for mine risk education in Batticaloa district.[22]

KerkinActie (Action by Churches Together) provided €50,148 ($47,641) to the International Demining Group for the establishment of a community-based mine action project in El Salvador.[23]

NOVIB provided €1.6 million ($1.52 million) for mine action and €80,000 ($76,000) for a cluster bomb removal project in Afghanistan to OMAR (Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation) in 2002.[24]

Landmine Casualties

On 4 July 2003, three Dutch peacekeepers in the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan were injured when their vehicle hit a landmine near Kabul. One seriously injured soldier was flown to Europe for treatment. A media report said that the mine was probably left over from the conflict in the late 1990s between the Northern Alliance and the Taliban.[25]


[1] Response to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) questionnaire, 9 December 2002, p. 2.
[2] Article 7 Report, Form A, April 2003 (day not stated). This same statement appeared in the Article 7 reports submitted in 2001 and 2002.
[3] Interview with Alexander Verbeek, Security Policy Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague, 8 May 2003; email from Alexander Verbeek, 22 July 2003.
[4] Article 7 Report, April 2003 (for calendar year 2002); Article 7 Report, 19 April 2002 (for calendar year 2001); Article 7 Report, 20 April 2001 (for calendar year 2000); Article 7 Report, 7 January 2000 (for the period 1 March-31 December 1999).
[5] Statement by the Netherlands on the destruction of stockpiled APM, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 6 February 2003; CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report, Form C, 1 October 2002; Article 7 Report, Form G, April 2003.
[6] Letter from the State Secretary of Defense H.A.L. Van Hoof to Parliament on Anti-Tank Mines and Alternatives for AP Mines, The Hague, 19 December 2000.
[7] Response to OSCE questionnaire, 9 December 2002, p. 2.
[8] Article 7 Report, Form D, April 2003.
[9] For details of other mine purchases planned, see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 746.
[10] Letter from the State Secretary of Defense to Parliament, 19 December 2000.
[11] CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report, Form C, 1 October 2002.
[12] Statement by the Netherlands on assistance and cooperation, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 16-20 September 2002.
[13] Article 7 Report, Form J, April 2003. For 2002 the Netherlands reported funding in US$ only.
[14] Article 7 Report, Form J, 19 April 2002. This cites 2001 funding of €15.5 million with a US equivalent of $13.3 million. Last year Landmine Monitor used a different exchange rate and cited $13.9 mil. At the average exchange rate for 2002, €15.5 m. = $14.7 mil.
[15] Email and telephone interview with Alexander Verbeek, Security Policy Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 18 March 2003.
[16] Article 7 Report, Form J, April 2003; “Annual Donor Report for Netherlands: 2002,” UNMAS Mine Action Investments database, accessed on 7 May 2003. For 2002 the Netherlands reported funding in US$ only; the annual commitment is budgeted initially in €.
[17] Exchange rate US$1 = CHF1.56, used throughout this report. Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 6 January 2003.
[18] Exchange rate €1 = US$0.95, used throughout this report. Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 6 January 2003.
[19] Email from Kerry Brinkert, Manager, Implementation Support Unit, 17 June 2002; email and telephone interview with Alexander Verbeek, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 18 March 2003.
[20] Telephone interview with Folkert Joustra, Ministry of Defense, 28 March 2003; Article 7 report, Form J, April 2003.
[21] Email and telephone interview with Alexander Verbeek, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 18 March 2003; email from Alexander Verbeek, 23 July 2003.
[22] Stichting Vluchteling project administration, 12 March 2003.
[23] Email from Evert van Bodegom, Emergency Officer Europe, Asia and Pacific, ACT Netherlands, 3 April 2003.
[24] Email from Tilleke Kiewied, Emergency Operations Coordinator, NOVIB, 4 April 2003.
[25] “Dutch peacekeepers injured in Kabul landmine explosion,” Xinhua (press agency), 5 July 2003.