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Table of Contents
Country Reports
Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic Of), Landmine Monitor Report 2004

Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic Of)

Key developments since May 2003: In July 2003, the Ministry of Defense took over coordination of mine action in FYR Macedonia and the UN Mine Action Office closed. During 2003, more than 1.6 million square meters of land were released to the community by clearance and survey operations. In 2003, FYR Macedonia received substantially less international funding for mine action than in 2002. The ICRC ended its mine risk education program in June 2003 and the Department of Civil Protection became responsible for MRE. In June 2004, the Unit for Humanitarian Demining said that no mine risk education was planned for 2004, in view of the limited funds available. In April 2004, the Ministry of Defense clarified that FYR Macedonia had never produced antipersonnel mines, indicating that trial production of PMR-2A mines in the late 1990s was unsuccessful, and the facilities were destroyed in 2000.

Key developments since 1999: FYR Macedonia became a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty on 1 March 1999. The government has stated that actions in violation of the treaty are covered by existing criminal law. Stockpile destruction was completed on 20 February 2003, just before the treaty deadline. A total of 38,921 antipersonnel mines were destroyed. FYR Macedonia has decided to retain 4,000 mines, instead of the 50 it originally declared. Ethnic Albanian insurgents used mines in the 2001 conflict in the region bordering Kosovo. Article 7 reports submitted by FYR Macedonia have provided no data on the location of mined areas or on mine clearance programs. The United Nations established a Mine Action Office in September 2001. The UN originally planned to complete mine/UXO clearance in all affected areas in 2002, but clearance operations continued in 2004. From September 2001 through December 2003, approximately 6.7 million square meters of suspected mine/UXO-affected land in northwest FYR Macedonia were cleared. From January 2001 to December 2002, 42 mine/UXO casualties were recorded in the UNMAO database, of whom 15 were killed. The majority of reported incidents are attributed to antivehicle mines.

Mine Ban Policy

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYR Macedonia) acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 9 September 1998, and became a State Party on 1 March 1999. FYR Macedonia participated in all preparatory meetings of the Ottawa Process. It did not sign in December 1997 when the treaty opened for signature, but stated its intention to accede.

No specific administrative or legislative measures have been introduced to implement the Mine Ban Treaty. FYR Macedonia has reported on several occasions that prohibited activities are covered by existing criminal law.[1] In January 2004, FYR Macedonia reported to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that “a law on production and trade of armament and equipment was brought in 2002.... Article 6...states that...it is prohibited to produce and trade such armament and military equipment that are prohibited by international conventions.”[2]

An annual Article 7 report was submitted by FYR Macedonia on 30 April 2004. Four previous transparency reports have been submitted, but for time-periods that do not conform with the Mine Ban Treaty requirements, and leave the period April 1999–May 2001 unreported. Two reports were submitted in 2003.[3]

FYR Macedonia attended the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September 2003, and the Standing Committee meetings in February and June 2004. FYR Macedonia did not attend the Second and Third Meetings of States Parties in 2000 and 2001, and started to participate in the intersessional process only in January 2002.

FYR Macedonia has not engaged in the extensive discussions that States Parties have had on matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2, and 3. Thus, it has not made known its views on issues related to joint military operations with non-States Parties, antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices, and the permissible number of mines retained for training.

On 8 December 2003, FYR Macedonia voted for UN General Assembly Resolution 58/53, which calls for universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. It has voted for similar General Assembly resolutions since 1996.

FYR Macedonia is a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons, but has not ratified Amended Protocol II. In February 2004, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that the ratification process was ongoing, with approval awaited from the Ministry of Defense.[4] Ratification has been reported as ongoing since 2000.[5] FYR Macedonia attended as an observer at the Fifth Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in November 2003. It has attended annual conferences in 1999, 2000 and 2002.

Production and Transfer

Some of the former Yugoslavia’s mine production facilities were located in FYR Macedonia, but production had ceased “even before it [FYR Macedonia] signed and ratified the Ottawa Treaty,” according to the Foreign Ministry.[6] All of FYR Macedonia’s Article 7 reports state “nothing to report” as regards the status of conversion or decommissioning of former production facilities. In April 2004, the Ministry of Defense explained that FYR Macedonia had never produced antipersonnel mines. Trial production of PMR-2A mines in the late 1990s was unsuccessful, and the facilities were destroyed in 2000. There had only been manufacturing capacity for antivehicle mines, which were destroyed in the 1980s.[7]

FYR Macedonia is not known to have exported antipersonnel mines.

Stockpiling and Destruction

In its first Article 7 report, FYR Macedonia noted a stockpile of 42,921 antipersonnel mines consisting of six types.[8] Since then, there have been two clarifications. At a meeting in Athens in October 2001, the Ministry of Defense representative stated the first Article 7 Report misreported PMA-2 mines as PMA-3.[9] In April 2004, the Ministry of Defense clarified that an additional 8,353 PMA-1 fuzes and 8,353 PMA-1 detonators reported at meetings in Thessaloniki in May 2000 and in Athens in October 2001 were in fact “integral parts of the 8,353 PMA-1 antipersonnel mines” noted in the Article 7 report.[10]

The 25 May 1999 Article 7 report also stated that the government is “preparing a comprehensive program on destruction of stockpiled mines.”[11] Stockpile destruction was completed on 20 February 2003, in the presence of invited observers, just ahead of the treaty-mandated deadline of 1 March 2003. A total of 38,921 mines were destroyed, in several phases.[12] The methods of destruction and stages of the destruction process were described by representatives of FYR Macedonia attending Standing Committee meetings in February 2002 and February 2003.[13]

In its Article 7 reports submitted in May 1999 and June 2002, FYR Macedonia reported that it would retain 50 mines for research and training purposes.[14] Also in June 2002, however, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed Landmine Monitor that the quantity retained had been increased to 4,000 mines. No explanation was given for the increased quantity, nor intended uses. FYR Macedonia’s April 2004 Article 7 report revealed that all 4,000 mines were still held, and none had been consumed for permitted training or development purposes.[15]

Use

Ethnic Albanian insurgents used landmines during a conflict in 2001 with government security forces in the northwestern region bordering the Kosovo province of Serbia and Montenegro.[16] More recently, there have been antivehicle mine incidents on roads regularly used (see below). A UN mission in August 2001 reported that the insurgent forces have stated that they have used and will continue to use mines.[17]

In early 2001, international forces in Kosovo seized large quantities of weapons, including antipersonnel mines, being smuggled into FYR Macedonia. NATO forces collected 1,045 mines and other weaponry in August 2001.[18] In October 2001, security forces discovered a cache of hidden weapons including “more than a dozen anti-tank mines.”[19] An amnesty in November and December 2003 resulted in the collection of 16 antipersonnel mines and 83 other mines, according to the UN.[20]

Landmine Problem

FYR Macedonia’s Article 7 reports have provided no data on the location of mined areas or on programs for the destruction of antipersonnel mines in mined areas. Prior to 2001, there was no mine problem in FYR Macedonia, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[21]

The 2001 conflict resulted in some mine contamination, but the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre in Kosovo assessed that “by far the greater [threat] is that of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Where mines have been used they are very specific and localized....” Mines available to both sides were the same as used by the Yugoslav Army and Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in Kosovo: PMA and PMR antipersonnel mines, and TMA antivehicle mines. The UXO contamination resulted from bombardment by security forces of about 80 villages occupied by insurgents.[22]

The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) reported in December 2002 that “about 80 villages were affected to varying degrees by UXOs, hampering the safe return of about 100,000 IDPs [internally displaced persons] and refugees.”[23] By May 2004, the number of displaced people had reduced to about 1,800.[24]

There is also UXO contamination in the southeast, dating from World Wars I and II, in the area of the Thessalonika line, a frontline trench which covered about 250 kilometers from Ohrid to Gevgelija. Records of munitions removed from this area start in 1965, showing 21,037 UXO found, and 14 deaths and 142 injuries resulting from UXO from 1965-2002.[25] Clearance was being planned in 2003, but had not been budgeted for by the government. The Ministry of Defense planned to request NATO and UN assistance in clearing this contamination.[26]

Previous reports of mined areas on the border with Kosovo may be explained by the lack of marking of the border and dispute over its exact location. An agreement to mark the border signed with Yugoslavia in February 2001 was disputed in March 2002 by the newly-elected Kosovar officials. A joint committee involving Skopje and Pristina was set up by UNMIK to deal with border issues.[27]

Mine Action Coordination and Planning

In July 2003, the Ministry of Defense took over coordination of mine action in FYR Macedonia and the UN Mine Action Office (UNMAO) closed. The Unit for Humanitarian Demining of the Department for Civilian Protection in the Ministry of Defense consists of 21 deminers assigned to three teams. All are Macedonian citizens, and have been trained and certified by the ITF.[28] The UNMAO donated its Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database to the Department. In 2003–2004, this was used only to collect operational demining information, and does not record mine incidents and casualties.[29] The Department does not have a national strategy for mine/UXO clearance due to lack of funding. Clearance priorities are decided on the basis of reports and requests received from local residents and European Union and OSCE monitors.[30] In February 2004, the Unit for Humanitarian Demining joined the South East European Mine Action Coordination Council.[31]

The UNMAO was set up by UNMAS in September 2001, due to lack of national capacity, to coordinate mine action responses and develop a strategy for the rapid implementation of mine clearance and mine risk education. However, it was reported in August 2001 that the Ministry of the Interior maintained four explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams and an anti-terrorist unit capable of dealing with the level of mine/UXO problem present at the time.[32] In February 2002, the government approved the mine action program prepared by the UNMAO.

UNMAS originally planned to complete mine/UXO clearance in all affected areas “before winter 2002.” However, clearance operations continued in 2003, concentrating as in previous years on houses and fields close to populated areas, in order to facilitate the safe return of displaced people.[33] For 2004, the Unit for Humanitarian Demining is giving priority to areas in the former crisis region that were previously inaccessible because of security concerns. Six areas have been identified: a forest near the village of Slupcane where the local population identified a possible minefield which was marked in 2002; the site of a new hospital near Slupcane; an area near the village of Tanusevci, which the local population and OSCE have requested; two roads near Kumanovo, which local residents fear remain mined despite some clearance by the Border Brigade (a resident was injured in 2003 on one of the roads); and the vicinity of the village of Matejce.[34]

All minefields that are known but not yet cleared, such as those areas designated as priority areas for operations in 2004 including Task 2 (vicinity of Tanusevci), Task 4 (the Gracani-Karaula Road), and Task 6 (vicinity of Matejce), are said to be permanently marked with signs and mine tape until the funding is available for further surveys and clearance operations.[35]

Mine/UXO Survey and Clearance

Despite closure of the UNMAO office, survey and clearance operations by international teams continued in 2003, funded by the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF). In total, 1,616,754 square meters were released to the community as a result of clearance and survey operations.[36]

Handicap International (HI) and CARE/Minetech carried out clearance and survey on a total of 901,047 square meters in 2003. HI teams cleared 319,751 square meters and surveyed 309,633 square meters. The HI teams found five UXO and no mines. Responding to calls from residents, the HI teams found another three items of UXO. Minetech teams contracted by CARE International carried out clearance operations on 86,722 square meters, locating two mines and six UXO; they cleared another 4,941 square meters in response to requests from local residents, and surveyed 180,000 square meters.[37]

Local teams from the Department for Civil Protection conducted what the ITF termed “battle area clearance” operations on a total of 715,887 square meters, resulting in the destruction of two mines and 548 UXO.[38]

In 2004, clearance of three of the six priority areas started on 17 May.[39]

From the start of operations in September 2001 through December 2003, approximately 6.7 million square meters of potentially mine/UXO-affected land in northwest FYR Macedonia are reported to have been cleared, according to data detailed in previous Landmine Monitor reports. During these operations, only 27 mines (2001: 4, 2002: 19, 2003: 4) and 846 UXO (2001: 153, 2002: 131, 2003: 562) were found and destroyed. Included in this data is clearance conducted by teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in 2001 and 2002. Not included is clearance by the Italian NGO Intersos in 2001, details of which were not reported.

Clearance operations started in September 2001, shortly after conflict subsided, but were limited by adverse weather. NATO and FYR Macedonia security forces carried out mine clearance of roads in areas affected by the conflict. Teams from BiH were contracted by the ITF to carry out mine/UXO clearance in inhabited areas. The BiH teams cleared 1,739,257 square meters, and destroyed four mines and 153 UXO. The Italian NGO Intersos also carried out clearance operations in eight villages.[40]

In 2002, a total of nearly 3.9 million square meters was cleared, destroying 19 mines and 131 UXO.[41] The BiH teams checked and cleared 1,780,771 square meters, mainly in the Kumanovo and Tetovo regions. Eight antipersonnel mines, one antivehicle mine, and 56 items of UXO were found. They concluded operations on 4 July. Three eight-person local teams started operations on 30 September 2002 in the Kumanovo region, checking and clearing 361,772 square meters. They located five mines and 41 items of UXO. In September and October 2002, HI and Care International also started clearance operations in FYR Macedonia. HI cleared 1,630,260 square meters (one mine and 24 UXO were found). MineTech teams contracted by Care International cleared 83,478 square meters (four antipersonnel mines and ten UXO were found).[42]

In 2003, the UXO-contaminated area in southeastern FYR Macedonia was surveyed by the Department for Civil Protection. During technical survey in September 2003 near Prilep, 15 artillery shells containing phosgene gas were discovered and destroyed at the Krivilok training center where stockpile destruction was carried out.[43] On 13 February 2004, Macedonian deminers destroyed 70 pieces of unexploded 75mm artillery shells found in the Strumica area during the previous six months.[44]

Mine Risk Education (MRE)

As the lead agency for mine risk education, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continued its activities during 2003 with printed material, presentations, and a media campaign. In 2003, 265 presentations were held for over 3,589 people including 3,157 children. The last ICRC presentation was held on 30 June 2003, and the ICRC ended its MRE program in FYR Macedonia.[45] The Department of Civil Protection became responsible for these activities.[46] In June 2004, the Unit for Humanitarian Demining said that no mine risk education was planned for 2004, in view of the limited funds available, although it considered that there was still a need for MRE activities.[47]

ICRC activities started in 2001, in cooperation with the Macedonian Red Cross, when 20 volunteers were trained to carry out mine risk education in mine-affected areas. Children were identified as being the most at-risk group. MRE activities went through several phases, starting with community-based activities and ending with a media campaign and traveling theater in 2002 aimed at reaching a wider audience. The last theater performance was held in November 2002. In 2001, UNICEF was also involved. Since 2001, 1,032 presentations for over 2,500 people and 14,500 children have been held.[48]

Mine Action Funding

In 2003, the ITF provided $229,000 for mine/UXO clearance operations in FYR Macedonia.[49] This was one percent of ITF expenditure in 2003, and a drastic reduction from the allocation to FYR Macedonia in 2002 ($1,213,653, or five percent). The funding in 2002 covered training and equipping of Civil Protection teams, mine/UXO clearance, and victim assistance. In 2001, the ITF allocated $474,592, or 2 percent of its funds, to FYR Macedonia.[50]

In June 2004, the Unit for Humanitarian Demining reported that it had received €40,000 (approx. $48,000) from the ITF and €25,000 (approx. $30,000) from the Slovenia government, which would fund its mine clearance operations to the end of July. Further operations would then be dependent on additional donor funding.[51]

The Mine Action Investments database recorded donations to FYR Macedonia totaling $1,189,310 from 1999 to 2002 (1999: $58,333 from Japan; 2001: $57,461 from Canada, $10,753 from Slovenia, $1 million from the US; 2002: $62,763 from Slovenia).[52]

In 2003, the Unit for Humanitarian Demining was financed primarily by the ITF, which covered its operational costs including deminers’ salaries. The Macedonian government provided $10,000 in office, logistics and utility costs.[53]

Landmine/UXO Casualties

In 2003, five people were killed and three injured by mines in FYR Macedonia. On 4 March 2003, two Polish soldiers serving with NATO ‘Allied Harmony’ operation and one civilian were killed and two civilians injured when the vehicle they were traveling in detonated a landmine on the road between Sopot and Susevo, northeast of Skopje.[54] On 17 June, one member of the Army’s Border Brigade was killed and one seriously injured when their vehicle ran over an antivehicle mine near the village of Vaksince.[55] In October, a civilian was killed when his tractor drove over an antivehicle mine on the road between Gracani and Karaula.[56] These incidents occurred on roads regularly used. No further casualties were reported between January and May 2004.

Prior to its closure in July 2003, the UNMAO used IMSMA to record mine casualties. In January 2001–December 2002, 42 mine/UXO casualties were recorded in the UNMAO database, of whom 15 people were killed and 27 others injured. The majority of reported incidents are attributed to antivehicle mines.[57] However, Landmine Monitor information on five incidents in the database where no casualties were recorded by UNMAO, and two other unrecorded incidents, indicates that another four soldiers were killed and 13 injured since 1999. In 2002, one person was killed (an Italian member of KFOR) and three injured (including a German member of KFOR). In 2001, 18 people were killed and 33 injured, including three members of an EU monitoring mission killed (a Slovak and a Norwegian and their local translator). In 2000, one soldier was injured after his vehicle hit an antivehicle mine. In 1999, three soldiers were injured. In addition to the military casualties in 1999, Macedonian authorities reported that seven Kosovo Albanians were killed and 16 injured by landmines near the border, while trying to enter the country illegally.[58]

There have been no reports of deminers killed or injured during clearance operations in 2001–2004.

FYR Macedonia has also reported casualties caused by UXO dating back to World Wars I and II, in the south of the country. In the Struga area, a popular tourist destination, in 1997–2000, five people were killed and 30 injured; in the Bitola region, eight people were killed and 111 injured between 1965 and 2002; and in Gevgelija, one person has been killed and one injured.[59]

Survivor Assistance[60]

The Kosovo Mine Action Coordination Center reported in August 2001, “FYROM has a well-developed medical and hospital system and should be more than capable of dealing with any mine/UXO casualties.”[61] However, the World Health Organization reported that public health services in the country had suffered from a decade of regional instability and difficulties in socioeconomic transition, exacerbated by the influx of refugees following the 1999 Kosovo crisis.[62] Hospitals lack adequately trained staff and medical equipment is often old and in a poor state of repair. The only specialist accident and emergency unit is at the Clinical Center in Skopje. Services providing social care for persons with disabilities, including mine survivors, are reportedly poorly developed.[63] In 2004, FYR Macedonia reported that it is “undertaking measures to support the efforts for demining and mine victims assistance.... Most of the mine victims were hospitalized and rehabilitated at the Military Hospital in Skopje.”[64]

During most of 2001, the ICRC was the only international humanitarian organization with access to the conflict-affected areas. The ICRC supplied medical and surgical supplies to hospitals in Skopje, Tetovo and Kumanovo, the State University Hospital, City Hospital, the Military Hospital, and the Special Police Forces Rescue Unit for the treatment of 650 war-wounded patients, including mine/UXO casualties. The ICRC also assisted with the evacuation of the injured to the hospitals.[65] The ICRC closed its medical department in Skopje in September 2002; however, in 2003, surgical kits were donated to three hospitals in Skopje and one in Tetovo.[66]

The Institute for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Skopje is the principal center for rehabilitation in the country.[67] The Director of the Institute reported that in 2003 at least three mine survivors were assisted including one person injured in the incident in March and two children from Kosovo.[68] The Slavej orthopedic center, located within the Clinical Center in Skopje, works in close cooperation with the Institute for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Clinic for Orthopedic Surgery, and is the only facility in the country providing orthopedic devices.[69] In 2003, the Slavej center provided prostheses for about 10 to 12 mine survivors, including seven or eight from Kosovo.[70]

In 2002, the ITF provided $28,703 for mine survivor assistance in FYR Macedonia. Seven mine survivors were rehabilitated and fitted with prostheses at the Institute for Rehabilitation in Slovenia. The ITF also provided funding for one student from FYR Macedonia to study prosthetics and orthotics at the College for Health Studies at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. Since 1998, one other healthcare professional completed their rehabilitation training in Slovenia.[71]

The Clinical Center has only three degree-trained physiotherapists; the other physiotherapists were trained at technical schools (high schools). In June 2001, HI provided skills training for 16 physiotherapists from the Orthopedic Clinic and Institute for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, but more training is needed to learn new techniques and improve the quality of rehabilitation.[72]

Disability Policy and Practice

Three laws (and their subsequent amendments) in particular are intended to benefit persons with disabilities, including mine survivors: the 1997 Law on Social Protection, the 1993 Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, and the 2000 Law on Employment of Disabled Persons.[73]


[1] FYR Macedonia response to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) questionnaire, 3 January 2003, p. 3. See also Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 329.
[2] Response to OSCE Questionnaire, 22 January 2004, p. 2. On 2-3 February 2004, at the Reay Group workshop on “Progress in Meeting the Aims of the Ottawa Convention in South Eastern Europe” in Bucharest, the Macedonian representative detailed several pre-existing laws which penalize activities prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty.
[3] See Article 7 reports submitted: 30 April 2004 (report dated 15 April 2004) (for the period 15 April 2003–15 April 2004); 15 April 2003 (for the period 15 April 2002–15 April 2003); 24 February 2003 (for the period from 6 November 2002); 25 June 2002 (for the period 30 April 2001–30 April 2002); and 25 May 1999 (for the period 4 December 1997–31 March 1999).
[4] Interview with Svetlana Geleva, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Skopje, 23 February 2004.
[5] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 733, and Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 321.
[6] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 687.
[7] Fax from Ministry of Defense, 20 April 2004.
[8] Article 7 Report, Form B, 25 May 1999 (for the period 4 December 1997–31 March 1999). See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 687, and Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 321.
[9] Maj. Metodija Velickovski, Department of Engineering, General Staff, Ministry of Defense, “Anti personnel mine situation in Republic of Macedonia,” Workshop on Regionally-focused Mine Action, NATO Partnership for Peace, Athens, 18-19 October 2001. The six types were PMA-1 (8,353), PMA-2 (4,030), PMA-3 (560), PMR-2A (29,918), “antimagnetic plastic material APM” (50), and “APM” (10).
[10] Fax from Ministry of Defense, 20 April 2004.
[11] Article 7 Report, Form G, 25 May 1999 (for the period 4 December 1997–31 March 1999). Mines destroyed in phase 1 were: “antimagnetic plastic material APM” (50); phase 2: PMR-2A (29,918); phase 3: PMA-1, PMA-2, PMR2A, PROM-1 (16,071) – subtotals for each type were not reported.
[12] Article 7 Report, Form G, 15 April 2003 (for the period 15 April 2002–15 April 2003).
[13] See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 321.
[14] Article 7 Report, Form D, 25 May 1999 (for the period 4 December 1997–31 March 1999), and Article 7 Report, Form D, 25 June 2002 (for the period 30 April 2001–30 April 2002).
[15] Email response to LM Questionnaire, Ruzica Zanteva Angelova, Counselor, Multilateral Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 25 June 2002; Article 7 Report, Form D, 30 April 2004. The mines retained were: PMA-1 (1,400), PMA-2 (600), and PMR-2A (2,000).
[16] For details of the conflict, see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 735–736.
[17] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 332.
[18] “Rebels disarmed, Macedonia disputes NATO presence,” Associated Press, 26 September 2001.
[19] “Macedonia arms cache fuels unease,” CNN, 11 October 2001.
[20] Email from Alain Lapon, UNDP Office, Skopje, 23 February 2004.
[21] Response to LM Questionnaire, 25 June 2002; see also Article 7 Report, Form E, 25 May 1999. However, mine casualties occurred prior to 2001.
[22] UNMIK “MACC Update 10/08/2001,” 10 August 2001. In mid-2001, the ICRC reported that, due to the use of old or low quality ammunition, the UXO problem is relatively worse than in other conflicts. See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp. 331–333.
[23] “Updates from UNMAS,” Mine Action Support Group Newsletter, December 2002, p. 13.
[24] Telephone interview with Suzana Paunovska, Macedonian Red Cross, 25 May 2004.
[25] Response to OSCE Questionnaire, 3 January 2003, p. 3; intervention by FYR Macedonia, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education, and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 14 May 2003.
[26] See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 322; interview with Svetlana Geleva, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Skopje, 23 February 2004.
[27] “Kosovo: UN Mission to set up joint committee with Skopje on border issues,” UN News Service, 19 March 2002. See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 632, and Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 736.
[28] Interview with Ljupcho Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, Skopje, 2 February 2004. For ITF training, see Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 323.
[29] Interview with representatives of Unit for Humanitarian Demining, Department for Civilian Protection, Ministry of Defense, Skopje, 7 June 2004.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Interview with Ljupcho Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 25 February 2004.
[32] See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 322, and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 333.
[33] Interview with Ljupcho Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 2 February, 2004.
[34] Ibid; Statement by Svetlana Geleva, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education, and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 11 February 2004.
[35] Interview with representatives of the Ministry of Defense, 7 June 2004.
[36] Interview with Ljupcho Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 2 February, 2004; Statement by Macedonia FYR, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February 2004. However, the ITF reported that 735,133 square meters were “cleared,” and four mines and 521 UXO were found. ITF, “Annual Report 2003,” p. 26.
[37] Interview with Ljupcho Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 2 February, 2004; Statement by Macedonia FYR, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February 2004.
[38] Ibid.
[39] Interview with representatives of the Ministry of Defense, 7 June 2004.
[40] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 333.
[41] FYR Macedonia response to OSCE Questionnaire, 3 January 2003, p. 3.
[42] See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, pp. 322-323.
[43] Interview with Ljupcho Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 2 February 2004. See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, pp. 322-323.
[44] Interviews with Ljupcho Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 2 and 25 February 2004.
[45] Interview with Darko Jordanov and Herbi Elmazi, ICRC, Skopje, 3 June 2004.
[46] Telephone interview with ICRC staff, Skopje, 25 February 2004, and ICRC, “Special Report: Mine Action 2003,” p. 40.
[47] Interview with representatives of the Ministry of Defense, 7 June 2004.
[48] Interview with Darko Jordanov and Herbi Elmazi, ICRC, Skopje, 3 June 2004. See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, pp. 323-324, and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp. 334-335.
[49] Email from Sabina Beber, Head of International Relations, ITF, 27 February 2004.
[50] Emails from Eva Veble, Head of International Relations, ITF, 30 April 2003 and 5 June 2002.
[51] Interview with representatives of the Ministry of Defense, 7 June 2004.
[52] “Multi-Year Recipient Report: Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of,” Mine Action Investments database, accessed at www.mineaction.org on 17 September 2004. UNMAS records of donations by the US include $500,000 donated to FYR Macedonia in 2002-2003. Some of these funds appear to have been channeled through the ITF. See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 334.
[53] Interview with Ljupcho Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 25 February 2004.
[54] Macedonian Information Centre (MIC), “Two NATO Soldiers Killed by landmine,” Vol. XII, 5 March 2003; MIC, “Two NATO Soldiers and three civilians – victims of planted mine,” Vol. XII, 6 March 2003; MIC, “NATO jeep blasted by dug-in antitank mine,” Vol. XII, 7 March 2003.
[55] MIC, “Professional soldier killed by a landmine,” Vol. XII, 18 June 2003.
[56] Interview with Ljupcho Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 2 February 2004.
[57] Information provided by Sandy Powell, Project Manager, and Vesna Mirkoska, Assistant, UN Mine Action Office, Skopje, 29 April 2003.
[58] Ibid; Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 737–738.
[59] Information provided by UN Mine Action Office, 29 April 2003.
[60] For more information on mine victim assistance in FYR Macedonia see HI, Landmine Victim Assistance in South East Europe, Brussels, September 2003.
[61] UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, “MACC Update: 10/08/2001,” 10 August 2001.
[62] WHO, Department of Emergency and Humanitarian Action, “FYR Macedonia,” June 2000, p. 1.
[63] European Observatory on Health Care Systems, “HiT summary: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 2002, Health Care Systems in Transitions,” accessed at www.observatory.dk on 29 April 2003.
[64] Response to OSCE Questionnaire, 22 January 2004, p. 2.
[65] ICRC, “ICRC Special Report, Mine Action 2001,” Geneva, July 2002, pp. 32–33.
[66] ICRC, “Annual Report 2003,” Geneva, June 2004, p. 211.
[67] HI, Landmine Victim Assistance in South East Europe, September 2003, p. 56.
[68] Interview with Dr Zoran Dimovski, Director, Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Skopje, 5 April 2004.
[69] Landmine Victim Assistance in South East Europe, September 2003, p. 56.
[70] Interview with Goran Caloski, Manager, Slavej A.D. Orthopedic and Prosthetic Center, Skopje, 5 April 2004.
[71] ITF, “Annual Report 2002,” p. 23.
[72] HI, “Information Letter: No. 6,” Skopje, 6 February 2002; interview with Cathriona McCauley, Disability Project Coordinator, HI, Skopje, 28 April 2003.
[73] Committee for the preparation of the National Strategy for Poverty Reduction in the Republic of Macedonia, “National Strategy for Poverty Reduction in the Republic of Macedonia,” Ministry of Finance, Government of the Republic of Macedonia, August 2002, pp. 64–65, 72. For more information see Landmine Victim Assistance in South East Europe, September 2003, pp. 58–59.