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.