Key developments since May 2002:Slovenia completed the destruction of its antipersonnel mine stockpile
on 25 March 2003. Slovenia clarified its position on antivehicle mines with
sensitive fuzes. In December 2002, Slovenia ratified Amended Protocol II of the
CCW. The Slovenian-based International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims
Assistance raised nearly $30 million in 2002, a significant increase from 2001.
In 2002, the ITF funded projects that cleared 11.4 million square meters of land
in South East Europe. In July 2002, the ITF co-organized a workshop on landmine
victim assistance in Southeastern Europe.
Mine Ban Policy
The Republic of Slovenia signed the Mine Ban
Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 27 October 1998, becoming a State
Party on 1 April 1999. Implementation legislation, including penal sanctions,
was being considered in 2002. However, in March 2003, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs indicated that Article 310 of the existing penal code was deemed
sufficient.[1]
Slovenia attended the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2002, and
the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in February and May 2003.
Slovenia submitted its fifth Article 7 transparency report on 30 April
2003.[2]
Slovenia is a member of the Human Security Network, which has a primary aim
of universalizing the Mine Ban Treaty. Slovenia and other members of the Human
Security Network issued a declaration on 12 September 2002 calling on all
non-States Parties to accede to the treaty without delay. The declaration
described the Treaty as setting “an international norm that is working
beyond its membership.”[3]
In November 2002, Slovenia voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution
57/74, which calls for universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban
Treaty.
Slovenia is a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).
It ratified Amended Protocol II on 3 December 2002, and attended the Fourth
Annual Conference of States Parties to the Protocol in December
2002.[4]
Slovenia has stated previously that it has never produced antipersonnel
mines, has no production facilities, and has never imported or exported
antipersonnel mines. Its stockpile of antipersonnel mines derived from when it
was a republic of the former
Yugoslavia.[5]
Stockpile Destruction
Slovenia completed destruction of its stockpile of
168,898 antipersonnel mines on 25 March 2003, thereby meeting its four-year
deadline of 1 April 2003.[6]
Destruction began in 1999, and by the end of 2002, all but 200 of the original
stockpile had been destroyed. The remaining 200 type PROM-1 mines were
destroyed at the Poček training range on 25 March 2003. Minister of
Defense Anton Grizold, diplomats, defense attachés, NGOs and media
representatives attended the
ceremony.[7]
Colonel Dusan Gorse presented details of the destruction program to the
Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction on 6 February 2003. He noted that
the cost of destruction was US$225,000, or about $2 per mine, including salaries
of personnel involved.[9] At
the final destruction ceremony, Brigadier Marjan Grabnar gave the overall costs,
including investments in technology, construction and training, as
$338,000.[10]
Slovenia is retaining 3,000 antipersonnel mines for permitted purposes under
Article 3. These are stored at one location, separate from other
munitions.[11] The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs stated in March 2002 that the mines would be used for training
of personnel assigned to peace operations, foreign armed forces, and others,
including the International Trust
Fund.[12]As of early
2003, none of the mines has been consumed in training
activities.[13]
Slovenia has a total of 220 Claymore-type mines, 38 of which are inert
dummies. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs regards this type of mine as
permissible under the Mine Ban Treaty because it “enables controlled use
of the device for a precisely defined military
objective.”[14]
The Ministry reported in June 2002 that Slovenia possesses 59,500 antivehicle
mines, but none with antihandling devices and all compliant with Amended
Protocol II of CCW.[15] It gave
a revised number of TMRP-6 antivehicle mines as
8,228.[16] Human Rights Watch
has identified the TMRP-6 as a mine of concern because it can be fitted with a
tilt rod and a tripwire. A Ministry of Defense official responded that the
claim of activation by tilt rod is valid, but “no manual nor practical
experience records that the mines were emplaced to be activated by a
tripwire.” The TMRP-6 manual states that it is primarily activated by
pressure and thus cannot be activated by a person. In exceptional cases it is
emplaced to be activated by a tilt rod, which is attached when arrival of tanks
is expected, thus increasing the mine’s efficiency. The Ministry added
that banning of the mine fitted with a tilt rod, leaving only the pressure
option, could be discussed in the
future.[17]
Landmine/UXO Problem
All of Slovenia’s Article 7 reports claim
that there are no areas suspected to contain antipersonnel mines. A report by
the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe in October 2001 stated,
“Slovenia no longer has a mine problem, however there still remains a
problem associated with the disposal of UXO [unexploded ordnance] from previous
conflicts.”[18]
Mine Action Funding
At the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in
September 2002, the Slovenian representative told delegates that the
Slovenian-based International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims
Assistance (ITF) is an efficient funding mechanism for mine clearance and other
mine action.[19] In 2002, the
government donated $362,534 to the ITF. In 2001, Slovenia contributed $418,373
to the ITF.[20]
International Trust Fund
The ITF is a non-profit organization established in March 1998 by the
government of Slovenia.[21] In
2002, the ITF continued funding mine action in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and Kosovo. It started
funding mine action in Serbia and Montenegro (formerly the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia), the Caucasus and
Afghanistan.[22]
Donations:In 2002, a total of $30,564,334 was raised from 15
countries, the European Commission, European Agency for Reconstruction and 10
other donors. This was a substantial increase from $20.5 million in 2001. In
2000, $29.4 million was raised. Much of the increase was accounted for by
increased matching donations by the United States--$14 million in 2002--compared
to $5.6 million in 2001.[23]
Donations received by the ITF in 2002 were not necessarily used during the
year.
Major contributions to the ITF in 2002 included: the US ($14 million inmatching funds and $1,603,398 unilaterally); Norway ($3,578,691); Croatia
($3,155,519); the European Commission ($1,767,953); Bosnia and Herzegovina
($1,117,980); the European Commission delegation in Croatia ($1,171,069); Canada
($814,477); European Agency for Reconstruction ($687,319); Germany ($500,000);
Switzerland ($439,407); “Adopt-A-Minefield” ($421,338); Sweden
($372,449); Slovenia ($362,534); Sarajevo Community Center, BiH ($168,012),
Luxembourg ($102,210); Croatia Without Mines ($83,306), and the Czech Republic
($50,000).[24]
Smaller contributions in 2002 came from Austria, Bank Austria, Coordinamenti
Donne, Community Hadzici, Dijana Plestina, France, Global Care Unlimited,
Liechtenstein, Nova Ljubljanska Banka, Roots of Peace, Slovakia, and the
“Night of a Thousand Dinners.”
Expenditures: In 2002, $25,418,121 was allocated by the ITF to the
following activities: demining $19,255,686 (76 percent); victim assistance
$1,118,539 (4 percent); structural support of regional mine action centers
$1,864,690 (7 percent); training support $517,120 (2 percent); regional
activities $2,104,032 (8 percent); Landmine Impact Survey (Bosnia and
Herzegovina): $558,054 (2
percent).[25] In 2002, ITF
administration costs were approximately
$900,000.[26]
In 2002, no figure is identified for ITF funds spent on mine risk education,
but part of the 2002 funding allocated to Serbia and Montenegro was used for
mine risk education in Kosovo.
The funding was distributed by country and region in 2002 as follows:
Albania $883,913 (3 percent); Bosnia and Herzegovina $9,917,739 (39 percent);
Croatia $10,293,794 (41 percent); FYROM $1,264,276 (5 percent); Serbia and
Montenegro (including Kosovo) $721,720 (3 percent); Regional activities
$1,960,661 (8 percent); outside region (Afghanistan, Armenia) $376,018 (2
percent).[27]
In 2003, the ITF planned to continue operations in all these countries except
Afghanistan, and to start funding operations on a small scale in Azerbaijan and
Georgia. Also, it intended to explore the possibility of funding mine action
in Cyprus.[28]
Mine Clearance and Training Activities
In 2002, the ITF contributed financially to
projects that cleared 11.4 million square meters of land in South East Europe.
This included 2.2 million square meters of battle area clearance, during which
11 mines and 591 items of UXO were found. On approximately one-third of the
total area cleared, post-clearance visits were conducted to determine that the
land was being re-used as intended. But the ITF reports insufficient funding to
allow adequate pre-clearance inspection to prioritize sites according to
socio-economic impact.[29]
The ITF-funded Sava regional project to clear mine-affected areas near the
border between Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Croatia started in 2001. During
2002, in BiH, 412,233 square meters were surveyed and cleared by four
organizations, uncovering more than 369 mines and 62 items of UXO. In Croatia,
99,180 square meters were surveyed and checked by two demining organizations,
uncovering no mines or
UXO.[30]
Bosnia and Herzegovina: In 2002, the ITF provided $6.8 million for 118
projects which demined a total area of 2.8 million square meters of land. A
total of 1,047 mines and 574 UXO were
found.[31] Funding went to
thirteen companies and seven NGOs (Akcija Protiv Mina, BH Demining, Norwegian
People’s Aid (NPA), Promak, Provita, Stop Mines, and UG ZOM).
Additionally, the ITF channeled $1.1 million into support for the demining
structure in BiH.[32]
Croatia:In 2002, ITF provided funding of $10.2 million for 83
projects which demined 6.35 million square meters of land, with 2,200 mines and
880 UXO found and destroyed. Local commercial companies were used, as was
NPA.[33]
Albania:In 2002, ITF provided $809,029, which partially funded
two demining projects implemented by the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action and
DanChurchAid. These projects cleared 128,712 square meters in 2002, finding a
destroying 2,079 mines and 480 UXO. The ITF also provided financial support to
the Albanian Mine Action Executive, which carried out monitoring and quality
control of the projects.[34]
FYROM:In 2002, ITF provided funding of $1.2 million for
demining, battle area clearance, and training of local deminers. The BiH NGOs
BH Demining, Stop Mines, and Provita checked and cleared 1.8 million square
meters of land, destroying nine mines and 56 items of UXO. Training of the
Macedonian Civil Protection teams was conducted from April to July 2002, with 40
personnel trained. These teams checked and cleared 361,772 square meters in
2002, finding five mines and 41
UXO.[35]
Serbia and Montenegro: ITF funding of mine action in the former
Yugoslavia, excluding Kosovo, started in 2001. In 2002, ITF provided funding of
$721,720 to Serbia and Montenegro, which includes funds for Kosovo ($422,676).
In Serbia, ITF funded location and disposal of aerial bombs by Slovenian and US
teams; general and technical survey by Serbian and Croatian teams; training of
28 personnel in battle area clearance and demining; and purchase of equipment
for clearance teams and for the new mine action center in
Belgrade.[36]
In Kosovo, with the completion of international mine clearance efforts at the
end of 2001, ITF reduced its funding of mine action in 2002. Projects funded
were a mine risk education program by Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation
(VVAF), and supervision by Handicap International (HI) of the Kosovo Protection
Corps now responsible for mine/UXO
clearance.[37]
In Montenegro, ITF funded renovation and equipping of the Regional Center for
Underwater Demining, and a training course there for 10 personnel from BiH,
Croatia, and Serbia and Montenegro. It funded survey of the mine-contaminated
border between Montenegro and Croatia, which was completed in December
2002.[38]
Outside South East Europe: In 2002, ITF funded a six-week course in
Pakistan for 29 Afghan deminers, and donated a demining machine to Armenia.
In 2002, ITF organized two training courses in information technology, the
Geographic Information System and image processing, at the Training Center for
Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, in Ig. Twenty-nine people from
mine-affected countries took part. ITF also continued its involvement in the
South-Eastern Europe Mine Action
Council.[39]
Survivor Assistance
The ITF allocated $1,118,539 to victim assistance
programs in 2002. This continues the trend of reductions in both absolute
amounts ($1,325,053 in 2001, and $1,419,814 in 2000) and in proportions of ITF
funding (4.4 percent in 2002, 5 percent in 2001, 6.4 percent in 2000, and 8.8
percent in 1999). ITF describes mine victim assistance programs as being
“still grossly
underfunded.”[40]
The ITF implements its mine victim assistance program on several levels
including: rehabilitation of mine survivors at the Slovenian Institute for
Rehabilitation; training of rehabilitation specialists; support of programs by
various NGOs in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo; and regional victim
assistance activities.
During 2002, 111 mine survivors from Albania (21), Bosnia and Herzegovina
(83) and FYROM (7) were treated at the Institute for Rehabilitation. As part of
the rehabilitation training program, three specialists from Bosnia and
Herzegovina completed training in prosthetics and orthotics in Ljubljana. The
ITF is also funding six students studying prosthetics and orthotics technology
at the University of
Ljubljana.[41]
In 2002, the ITF funded the Landmine Survivors Network, the International
Children’s Institute, the BiH Red Cross, and the EdaS study on the
development of low-cost, high-quality prostheses in BiH. In Croatia, funding
was provided to the Croatian Mine Victims Association. In Kosovo, the
“Sports for Life” program of the VVAF received
funding.[42]
On 1-2 July 2002, the ITF, in collaboration with James Madison University,
organized a workshop, “Assistance to Landmine Survivors and Victims in
South-Eastern Europe: Defining Strategies for Success,” on landmine victim
assistance in Southeastern Europe. The aims of the workshop were to discuss the
regional needs and capacities in mine victim assistance, and identify gaps in
current provision. More than 45 representatives from the donor community,
government institutions, NGOs, and health facilities attended. The need for a
proper assessment of the assistance available to mine survivors on a local and
regional level was
identified.[43]
In December 2002, Handicap International Belgium, in cooperation with the
Landmine Monitor research network, began a study on landmine victim assistance
in the Balkans, funded through the ITF by Canada and the US Department of State.
Mine Casualties
On 18 October 2002, a Croatian attending a course
at the Training Center for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, in Ig, was
killed when a “Gorazdanka”
detonated.[44] Another Croatian
and several others attending the course received minor
injuries.[45] The explosive
ordnance was in use at the Center for the third consecutive year, and the
training was reported to have followed normal practice. The Minister of Defense
suspended further training at the Center until investigations revealed the cause
of the accident.[46] As of
April 2003, training at the Center remained
suspended.[47]
[1] Email from Irina Gorsic, Department of
Political Multilateral Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 13 March 2003.
The email provided the text of Article 310. See also Landmine Monitor Report
2002, pp. 437-438. [2] Article 7 Report,
30 April 2003 (for the period 1 May 2002–30 April 2003); Article 7 Report,
16 April 2002 (for the period 1 May 2001–30 April 2002); Article 7 Report,
1 April 2001 (for the period 1 May 2000–30 April 2001); Article 7 Report,
30 January 2001 (for the period 1 October 1999–30 April 2000); Article 7
Report, 7 September 1999 (for the period 1 April-30 September
1999). [3] Human Security Network,
“Declaration on Promoting the Universalization of the Convention on the
Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel
Mines and on Their Destruction,” 12 September
2002. [4] Emails from Irina Gorsic,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 13 March and 8 May
2003. [5] See Landmine Monitor Report
2000, p. 716. [6] Statement by
Ambassador Aljaz Gosnar, Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, to the
Conference on Disarmament, 27 March
2003. [7] Brigadier Marjan Grabnar,
“Welcome Address, Information on Observation on Anti-personnel Mines
Stockpile Destruction,” Pocek, 25 March
2003. [8] Article 7 Reports and
telephone interview with Colonel Dusan Gorse, Head of Arms Control and
Disarmament Section, Verification Center, Ministry of Defense, 16 January
2003. [9] Colonel Dusan Gorse, Ministry
of Defense, “Implementation of the Ottawa Convention in the Republic of
Slovenia,” Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 6 February
2003. [10] Brigadier Marjan Grabnar,
“Welcome Address, Information on Observation on Anti-personnel Mines
Stockpile Destruction,” Pocek, 25 March
2003. [11] “Information on
Observation on Anti-personnel Mines Stockpile Destruction,” Pocek, 25
March 2003. Initially, Slovenia was going to keep 7,000 mines, but later
decided that 3,000 was sufficient. [12]
Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire from Irina Gorsic, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, 14 March 2002. [13]
Article 7 Report, Form D, 30 April 2003; telephone interview with Colonel Dusan
Gorse, Ministry of Defense, 16 January
2003. [14] Telephone interview with
Colonel Dusan Gorse, Ministry of Defense, 16 January 2003; Landmine Monitor
Report 2002, pp. 439-440. [15] Response
to Landmine Monitor questionnaire from Irina Gorsic, 14 March 2002; email from
Irina Gorsic, 12 June 2002. [16] Email
from Irina Gorsic, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 13 March
2003. [17] Telephone interview with
Colonel Dusan Gorse, Ministry of Defense, 31 January
2003. [18] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 440. [19] Statement by Ignac
Golob, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 16-20 September 2002.
[20] International Trust Fund for
Demining and Mine Victims Assistance, “Annual Report 2002,” p. 18;
Response to Landmine Monitor questionnaire from Irina Gorsic, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, 14 March 2002. Exchange rate at 11 February 2002: US$1=254.2
SIT, used throughout this report. [21]
For details of the ITF, see Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
441. [22] ITF, “Annual Report
2002,” p. 18. [23] Ibid., pp. 14,
18. [24] Ibid., p.
18. [25] Ibid., p. 19. Percentages have
been rounded. This compares to allocations of $26.3 million in
2001. [26] Email from Eva Veble, Head of
International Relations, ITF, 30 April 2003.
[27]
Ibid. [28] ITF, “Annual Report
2002,” p. 37; email from Eva Veble, ITF, 30 April
2003. [29] ITF, “Annual Report
2002,” p. 22 [30] Email from Eva
Veble, ITF, 8 May 2003; ITF, “Annual Report 2002,” p.
11. [31] ITF, “Annual Report
2002,” p. 33. [32] Ibid., p.
34. [33] Ibid.
[34] Ibid., p.
32. [35] Ibid., p.
35. [36] Ibid., p.
36. [37] Ibid., p.
37. [38] Ibid., p.
36. [39] Ibid., pp.
25-27. [40] Ibid., p. 19; see also,
Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
445. [41] ITF, “Annual Report
2002,” pp. 19, 32-34. [42] Email
from Sabina Beber, ITF, 18 June
2003. [43] ITF, “Annual Report
2002,” p. 23. [44]
“Gorazdanka” is an unofficial term. The Gorazde factory in BiH
previously produced detonators, cluster ammunition, and other explosives. This
incident was thought to involve an M-79 hand grenade produced at the Slavko
Rodic factory in Bugojno, BiH. Information supplied by Captain Slavko
Đurak and Milan Sucic, Ministry of Defense, Croatia, 13 January
2003. [45] Notification of Jernej
Cimpersek, Director, ITF, to Zeljko Vukosav, Chargé d’Affaires,
Embassy of Croatia in Ljubljana, 18 October
2002. [46] Report from Miran Bogataj,
Undersecretary of State for Defense, to Jernej Cimpersek, Director, ITF, 25
November 2002. [47] Email from Eva
Veble, ITF, 4 April 2003.
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