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Table of Contents
Country Reports
Norway, Landmine Monitor Report 2003

Norway

Key developments since May 2002: In 2002, Norway provided US$25.5 million in funding for mine action, a significant increase from 2001. Norway’s five-year commitment of US$120 million to mine action activities came to an end, but officials have stated that Norway intends to maintain the same level of funding in the coming years. Norway continued to play a key leadership role in promoting full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty and in the intersessional work program. At Norway’s initiative, a contact group on resource mobilization was established at the Fourth Meeting of States Parties. Norway reported that US antipersonnel mines stockpiled in Norway were removed in November 2002. In 2002, the Norwegian Petroleum Fund terminated its investments in Singapore Technologies due to that company’s production of antipersonnel mines. In September 2002, a conference was held in Oslo, “The Future of Humanitarian Mine Action,” marking the fifth anniversary of the negotiation in Oslo of the Mine Ban Treaty. In 2002, Norwegian Defense Forces participated in mine clearance operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Mine Ban Policy

Norway signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 9 July 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 March 1999. Implementing legislation was passed on 16 June 1998.

Norway was a very minor producer of antipersonnel mines and never exported them. Norway’s stockpile of 160,000 antipersonnel mines was destroyed by October 1996.[1] Its Claymore-type directional fragmentation mines (FFV-013, M19, and M100) were modified by December 1999 to ensure command-detonation only.[2] Norway has retained no antipersonnel mines for training or development purposes, as permitted by Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty.[3]

Norway has continued to play a key leadership role in promoting full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, in the intersessional work program and the annual Meeting of States Parties. This included chairing the Resource Mobilization Contact Group and active participation in the Universalization and Article 7 Contact Groups, as well as in the January and May 2003 President’s Consultations on preparations for the first Review Conference to be held in 2004. Norway was one of five countries that offered to host the 2004 Review Conference. Norway also participated in the Bangkok Regional Action Group (BRAG).

It served as co-chair of the Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention from September 2001 to September 2002. It is slated to become the co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration in September 2003.

At the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2002, Norwegian Ambassador Steffen Kongstad said, “The Mine Ban Convention is undoubtedly the single most important instrument of International Humanitarian Law created in recent years. Not only has it established a new international norm against anti-personnel mines, it has also set significant new standards that may be a model for solving other humanitarian problems.”[4]

Ambassador Kongstad, who served as President of the Second Meeting of States Parties, also expressed concern about current funding of mine action: “While we have succeeded in making a change for the better on the ground, we now see for the first time that the funding for mine action is stagnating. This comes as no surprise, but demands that in the time to come, we have to give more attention to fundraising and the most effective use of means. We should start addressing resource mobilization and, more systematically, how human and financial resources are spent.”[5]

Norway presented a non-paper on the need to examine all avenues for mobilizing resources to achieve the treaty’s humanitarian aims, including traditional donors, mine-affected States Parties, multilateral agencies and development banks, other mine-affected nations and non-traditional State donors, and the private sector. The non-paper stressed that the needs of mine-affected countries must be linked more effectively with the donor community, to ensure that available resources are used in the best possible manner. It also stated that mine-affected countries should be encouraged to provide domestic resources in support of national programs, which would imply giving higher priority to humanitarian mine action in national strategies for development and poverty eradication.[6]

As proposed by Norway, a contact group on resource mobilization was established at the Fourth Meeting of States Parties. It met during the Standing Committee meetings in February and May 2003, with Norway chairing. In May, Norway presented a preliminary review of the resources allocated so far.[7]

Also at the May intersessional meetings, Norway noted the high number of mines retained by some States Parties and reiterated that it should be the “minimum number absolutely necessary.” It reminded delegates that Norway has chosen not to retain any mines for training, even though it does a lot of mine clearance. Norway urged States Parties, as a voluntary measure, to report on the intended purpose and actual use of mines retained.[8]

Norway submitted its annual Article 7 transparency report for calendar year 2002 on 30 April 2003. The report included voluntary Form J, giving brief details of mine action funding. Four previous Article 7 reports have been submitted.[9]

In November 2002, Norway voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74, which calls for universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. In the debate on the resolution, Norway noted that the Mine Ban Treaty is “becoming an international norm” and welcomed the “strong partnership between governments and the ICBL and ICRC.” It also stressed that to continue the progress made and ensure full implementation of the treaty, more political and financial commitment was needed.[10]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Norway promoted the Mine Ban Treaty on many occasions during 2002, including through the Human Security Network.[11] Norway also continued to seek clarifications on a bilateral level in instances where there have been allegations of non-compliance.

In September 2002, a conference was held in Oslo titled, “The Future of Humanitarian Mine Action,” to mark the fifth anniversary of the diplomatic negotiations in Oslo of the Mine Ban Treaty. The conference was organized by Norwegian People’s Aid, Norwegian Red Cross, and the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO), with funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The conference addressed the current state of humanitarian mine action, lessons learned from the past, and, especially, future needs. PRIO is preparing a special issue of the Third World Quarterly based on the conference presentations.[12]

In December 2002, Ambassador Kongstad participated in the conference marking the 5th anniversary of the signing of the Mine Ban Treaty in Ottawa. Norway also sent a representative to the Landmine Monitor Global Researchers Meeting in Rome in April 2003.

In 2002, the Norwegian Petroleum Fund terminated its investments in Singapore Technologies, due to the company’s production of antipersonnel mines; an advisory board had reported that such investments might violate Norwegian law.[13] A public advisory committee was established to develop ethical guidelines for the Petroleum Fund. Its recommendations, issued in June 2003, included barring investments in companies that manufacture antipersonnel mines, cluster bombs, or incendiary weapons, as well as chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.[14]

Foreign stockpiling of antipersonnel mines

Under a bilateral arrangement, the US stockpiled antipersonnel mines (123,084 ADAM mines) in Norway, which were under the jurisdiction and control of Norway. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided that these should be removed by 1 March 2003, the Mine Ban Treaty’s four-year deadline for destruction of stockpiled antipersonnel mines under Norway’s jurisdiction or control.

In its April 2003 Article 7 report, Norway stated, “The United States has had a limited number of landmines, unlawful under the Convention, pre-positioned in Norway. These mines were transported out of Norwegian territory in 2002.”[15] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Landmine Monitor that the US antipersonnel mines were removed in November 2002, and stressed that, as American property, their transportation out of Norwegian territory was not a violation of the Mine Ban Treaty.[16]

Joint military operations and “assist”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in May 2003 that Norwegian forces will under no circumstances use antipersonnel mines, or contribute to such use, in joint operations with States not party to the Mine Ban Treaty.[17] The Ministry of Defense in March 2003 said that the issue of joint operations with non-members of the Mine Ban Treaty is not problematic for Norwegian forces, as under no circumstances will Norway use antipersonnel mines. The prohibition in Norwegian law against use also applies to soldiers operating outside Norway’s borders.[18]

Antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes and antihandling devices

At the Standing Committee meetings in May 2003, Norway reiterated its conviction that the treaty text negotiated in Oslo in 1997 established an effect-oriented definition of antipersonnel mines which includes any mine that functions as an antipersonnel mine. The delegation supported continued discussion of antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes and antihandling devices within the context of the Mine Ban Treaty.[19]

Norway is a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and its Amended Protocol II, and submitted a report as required by Article 13 of the Protocol on 22 October 2002. Norway attended the Fourth Annual Conference of States Parties to the Protocol in December 2002.

Mine Action Funding

During the Standing Committee meetings in May 2003, Norway said that it is necessary to “mainstream mine action into the general reconstruction and development programs of mine-affected countries.” Norway said donor countries should be more active in the World Bank and other lending institutions on behalf of mine action.[20]

In 2002, Norway’s five-year commitment of US$120 million to mine action activities came to an end. In September 2002, the Minister for International Development gave assurances that Norway intends “to maintain the same level of support in the coming years.”[21]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed Landmine Monitor that at the end of 2002, about $110.5 million of the pledge had been spent, and the outstanding $9.5 million would be spent early in 2003.[22] Over the five years, $24 million was donated in 1998; $21.5 million in 1999; $19.5 million in 2000; $20 million in 2001; and, $25.5 million in 2002.[23]

The total funding for 2002 of NOK202,894,760 included allocations from both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD). It also included expenditure on research and development (NOK2,827,720, or $353,465). More than 20 percent of the total Norwegian contribution was allocated directly to victim assistance projects.[24]

A total of NOK159,725,717 ($20 million) in mine action assistance was provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NORAD to country programs in 2002 and is summarized below:[25]

  • Afghanistan – NOK17,967,000 ($2,245,875) comprising NOK2 million to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for children at risk; NOK12,367,000 to Mines Advisory Group (MAG) for mechanical mine clearance equipment; and NOK3.6 million to UN Trust Fund/UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) for mine clearance.
  • Angola – NOK20 million ($2.5 million) to Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) for mine clearance and mine action.
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina – NOK15,650,000 ($1,956,250) comprising NOK15,150,000 to NPA for mine action; and NOK500,000 to UNDP for mine action coordination.
  • Burma – NOK829,000 ($103,625) to Trauma Care Foundation (Tromsø Mineskadesenter) for mine injury management.
  • Central America (OAS) – NOK8,500,000 ($1,062,500) to the Organization of American States (OAS) for mine action and mine clearance.
  • Colombia – NOK2 million ($250,000) comprising NOK1 million to UNICEF for mine risk education and NOK1 million to Centro Integral de Rehabilitacion de Colombia for victim assistance.
  • Croatia – NOK 16,131,010 ($2,016,376) comprising NOK15,150,000 to NPA for mine clearance; NOK381,010 to UNDP and Croatian Mine Action Center (CROMAC) for capacity building; and NOK600,000 to CROMAC for mine clearance.
  • Eritrea – NOK19,385,640 ($2,423,206) comprising, to UNDP, NOK6,100,000 for mine action capacity building and NOK6 million for mine action; NOK4 million to UNICEF for mine risk education and rule of law training; NOK1,485,640 to HALO for mechanical mine clearance; and NOK1,800,000 to Danish Demining Group (DDG) for mine clearance.
  • Ethiopia – NOK800,000 ($100,000) to the World Bank for emergency mine action response.
  • Iraqi Kurdistan – NOK4 million ($500,000) comprising NOK2,500,000 to NPA for mine action and NOK1,500,000 to Trauma Care Foundation for mine injury management.
  • Jordan – NOK600,000 ($75,000) to Norwegian Demining Consortium (NoDeCo) for mechanical mine clearance equipment.
  • Laos – NOK2 million ($250,000) to the UNDP for support of the national mine action authority, UXO Lao.
  • Lebanon – NOK12,664,100 ($1,583,013) comprising NOK6,048,000 to NoDeCo for mechanical mine clearance and equipment; NOK3,998,100 to MAG for equipment; NOK2,500,000 to NPA for victim assistance; and NOK118,000 to the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Damascus, for a tree-for-a mine program.
  • Mozambique – NOK18 million ($2,250,000) comprising NOK15 million to NPA and NOK3 million to Handicap International (HI) France for mine clearance programs.
  • Palestine – NOK437,000 ($54,625) to Trauma Care Foundation for victim assistance.
  • Sri Lanka – NOK5,889,247 ($736,156) to NPA for mine action and capacity building, including NOK5,300,000 for the 2003 mine program.
  • Sudan – NOK3 million ($375,000) to DanChurchAid for mine action in the Nuba Mountains.
  • Africa – NOK5,520,000 ($690,000) comprising NOK5 million to NPA for mine action, and NOK520,000 to the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) for sponsorship of Mine Ban Treaty meetings.
  • Asia – NOK2,970,000 ($371,250) comprised of NOK1,800,000 to UNDP for supporting a Cambodia mine action center; NOK1 million to Trauma Care Foundation for victim assistance; and NOK170,000 to HI France for a mine victim seminar in Thailand.
  • Middle East – NOK555,000 ($69,375) to Landmine Survivors Network for victim assistance.
  • Also, NOK2,680,000 ($335,000) went to GICHD for the study of mine detection dogs and mechanical mine clearance; and NOK147,720 ($18,465) went to the Norwegian Defense Research Insititute for Nordic Demining Research Forum activities.

An additional NOK43,169,035 ($5.4 million) was dedicated in 2002 to funding regional, thematic, and multilateral activities. The largest recipients were the ICRC for victim assistance through the Norwegian Red Cross (NOK30,591,000 - $3,823,875) and the ICBL (NOK5,575,000 - $696,875), including funding for Landmine Monitor. A donation of NOK530,000 ($66,250) for the Implementation Support Unit at the GICHD was also provided. Other recipients include PRIO, World Health Organization, Trauma Care Foundation, and the Norwegian Red Cross.

Mine Action

In 2002, Norwegian Defense Forces participated in mine clearance operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan. In Kosovo, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) personnel are an integrated part of the Norwegian battalion. In Afghanistan, some 20 Norwegian deminers participated in mine clearance work in Kabul from February to December 2002.[26] In March 2003, the Ministry of Defense reported that there were no plans for participating in mine clearance operations in other areas in 2003.[27]

Nongovernmental Mine Action

Norwegian People’s Aid is one of the biggest non-governmental humanitarian mine action agencies. It conducts manual, mechanical and canine mine clearance, surveys (including national Landmine Impact Surveys), and mine risk education. During 2002, NPA was active in eleven countries: Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Ethiopia, Iran, Laos, Lebanon, Mozambique, Northern Iraq/Kurdistan, and Sri Lanka.[28] Details on NPA’s operations can be found in the country reports in this edition of Landmine Monitor Report.

The Norwegian Red Cross (NRC) runs three orthopedic workshops in Somalia in cooperation with Somali Red Crescent Society, in Hargesia, Galkayo, and Mogadishu. The NRC also runs two projects in Iraq, in Erbil and Mosul, delegated from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The NRC supports the ICRC mine victim support program and Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD). The total budget for NRC in 2002 was approximately NOK41 million ($5,171,740). This also includes a NOK4 million budget for the workshops in Mogadishu and Hargesia in Somalia supported by NORAD, and additional support for the SFD’s work in Latin America, also supported by NORAD.[29]

The Tromsø Mine Victim Resource Center and Trauma Care Foundation continue their work in rural communities affected by epidemics and traumatic injuries. The Center focuses on emergency and continuing medical care; rehabilitation, prosthetics and assistive devices; employment and socio-economic reintegration; and legislation and national planning. Trauma Care Foundation currently works in Northern Iraq/Kurdistan, Iran, Burma, and Cambodia.[30]

Research and Development (R&D)

Norway and other Nordic countries are involved in ongoing cooperation to standardize “existing and future mine detection and clearance equipment. The Norwegian Army together with the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment are looking into possible development of sensor systems in order to improve the technological mine detection capacities.”[31]

The Norwegian Demining Consortium has produced a new demining machine, the Compact 140 Minemouse (a mini-flail). In 2003, there are two Compact 230 Minecats (a midi-flail) operating in Iran, two in Lebanon, and one each in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jordan and Afghanistan.[32]

In 2002, the Assistance to Mine Affected Communities (AMAC) project at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO) published, Assessing Landmine Impact at the Field Level: A Training Manual. This was developed in order to strengthen capacity building. It contains background material for 38 lectures on analytical and methodological aspects of community-level impact assessment. The training manual is also available in Portuguese.[33] The AMAC project participated at the Standing Committee meeting in May 2003 and gave a presentation on donor policies, opportunities for more active peace-building in mine action, and possible challenges.[34] In 2002, AMAC received funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Casualties and Survivor Assistance

A deminer was killed in a mine incident in April 2002 while working for the Norwegian Army in Afghanistan. No other member of the armed forces was involved in mine-related accidents in 2002.[35]

In 2002, as in previous years, Norway provided 20 percent of its total mine action funding to projects working with landmine survivors.[36]


[1] Email from May-Elin Stener, Advisor, Department for Human Rights, Humanitarian Affairs and Democracy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 26 February 2003. Included were 90,000 M14, 48,000 M2A1, and 22,000 M16 mines.
[2] Letter from Annette Bjørseth, Adviser, Ministry of Defense, 21 May 2002.
[3] Article 7 Report, Form B, 30 April 2003.
[4] Statement by Ambassador Steffen Kongstad, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 16-20 September 2002.
[5] Ibid.
[6] “Resources to achieve the Convention’s Humanitarian Aims,” non-paper by Norway, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 16-20 September 2002.
[7] “Resources to achieve the Convention’s Humanitarian Aims: A Preliminary Review,” Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 12 May 2003.
[8] Intervention by May-Elin Stener, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, 16 May 2003 (Landmine Monitor/ICBL notes).
[9] Article 7 Reports submitted on: 30 April 2003 (for calendar year 2002), 30 April 2002 (for calendar year 2001), 11 June 2001 (for calendar year 2000), 23 August 2000 (for the period 26 August 1999–22 August 2000) and 26 August 1999 (for the period 1 March-26 August 1999).
[10] Statement by Ambassador Leif A. Ulland, First Committee, UN General Assembly, New York, 2 October 2002.
[11] Letter from Merete Fjeld Brattestad, Head of Section, and May-Elin Stener, Advisor, Department for Human Rights, Humanitarian Affairs and Democracy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 6 May 2003.
[12] Email from Kristian Berg Harpviken, International Peace Research Institute, Oslo, 23 May 2002.
[13] Letter from Merete Fjeld Brattestad and May-Elin Stener, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 6 May 2003.
[14] “Norway needs guidelines for oil dollars,” Agence France Presse, 25 June 2003.
[15] Article 7 Report, Form B, 30 April 2003.
[16] Letter from Merete Fjeld Brattestad and May-Elin Stener, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 6 May 2003.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Letter from the Ministry of Defense, 21 March 2003.
[19] Intervention by Norway, Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 16 May 2003. Landmine Monitor notes.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Statement by Hilde F. Johansen, Minister for International Development, “The Future of Humanitarian Mine Action: On the Fifth Anniversary of the 1997 Oslo Text Negotiations,” Oslo, 12-14 September 2002. Similarly Amb. Kongstad told the Fourth Meeting of States Parties that, “last week, my government confirmed that Norway will continue to support the fight against the problems caused by anti-personnel mines, both politically and financially, at a similar level as in previous years.”
[22] Email from Gry Rabe Henriksen, Department for Human Rights, Humanitarian Affairs and Democracy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2003; Letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 6 May 2003. Dollar equivalents provided by Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
[23] Email from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2003. According to its Article 7 report for calendar year 2002, Norway contributed US$25,612,343 to mine action in 2002. The difference is due to different conversion rates.
[24] Article 7 Report, Form J, April 2003.
[25] Emails from Gry Rabe Henriksen, Department for Human Rights, Humanitarian Affairs and Democracy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4 and 5 March, and 11 June 2003. Exchange rate: NOK1 = US$0.125 (average for 2002), Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 6 January 2003, used throughout.
[26] Letter from the Ministry of Defense, 21 March 2003.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Emails from Norwegian People’s Aid, 7 April, 13 May, 16 June 2003.
[29] Email from Ole Trapnes, Norwegian Red Cross, 16 April 2003.
[30] Intervention by Norway, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 13 May 2003. Landmine Monitor notes.
[31] Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report, Form C, 22 October 2002.
[32] Email from Norwegian Demining Consortium, 14 April 2003. For more information see www.nodeco-me.com
[33] International Peace Research Institute Oslo, “Annual Report 2002.”
[34] AMAC, “Humanitarian Mine Action and Peace Building,” Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Awareness and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 14 May 2003.
[35] Letter from Ministry of Defense, 21 March 2003.
[36] Letter from Merete Fjeld Brattestad and May-Elin Stener, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 6 May 2003.