LM Report 2004

Moldova

Key developments since May 2003: In September 2003, Moldova deployed a mine clearance team from the National Army to Iraq to participate in demining operations. Moldova’s April 2004 Article 7 report revises the number of stockpiled mines destroyed in 2002 and the number of mines retained; the new numbers are not consistent with previous reports, but no explanations are provided. In 2003, demining teams cleared 600 UXO and destroyed 170 old artillery shells.

Key developments since 1999: Moldova ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on 8 September 2000 and it entered into force on 1 March 2001. In November 2002, Moldova completed the destruction of its stockpile of 12,892 antipersonnel mines, far ahead of the March 2005 deadline. Moldova has declared that, for the purposes of the Mine Ban Treaty, it is not mine-affected. It reports that it completed destruction of all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control in August 2000. Between May and August 2000, 850,000 square meters of land were cleared. This followed humanitarian demining training from the US in 1999 and 2000. However, Moldova is still affected by mines and unexploded ordnance left over from World War II and from the Transdniester conflict of 1992.

Mine Ban Policy

The Republic of Moldova signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997, ratified on 8 September 2000, and the treaty entered into force on 1 March 2001.^[1] Moldova has not enacted new legal measures to implement the Mine Ban Treaty domestically. It cites Article 227 of its criminal code which penalizes possession, stocking, procurement, production and selling of firearms, munitions, and explosive devices without authorization with five years imprisonment.^[2]

Moldova was absent from the early years of the Mine Ban Treaty. It did not participate in the Ottawa Process and it has stated that it lacked funding to send delegations to Mine Ban Treaty meetings until 2002. It has not missed an annual Meeting of States Parties or intersessional Standing Committee meeting since that time. Moldova has voted for every annual pro-ban UN General Assembly resolution since 1996, including UNGA Resolution 58/53 on 8 December 2003.

Moldova submitted its initial Article 7 report, which had been due on 28 August 2001, on 8 April 2002. It submitted annual updates on 17 April 2003 and 29 April 2004. Each report covers the previous calendar year.

Moldova 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 the issues of joint military operations with non-States Parties, foreign stockpiling and transit of antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices, and the permissible number of mines retained for training.

In its April 2004 Article 7 report, Moldova states that it “has no information concerning the implementation of the Convention in the Transdniester region currently controlled by an anti-constitutional regime of Tiraspol” and it has no “information concerning antipersonnel mines belonging to the Russian Federation that are presently stockpiled in the Transdniester region.”^[3] (See below for more on Transdneister.)

Moldova ratified the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), including Amended Protocol II, on 16 July 2001. It did not participate in the Fifth Annual Conference of State Parties to Amended Protocol II in Geneva in November 2003 and has not submitted an annual national report as required by Article 13 of Amended Protocol II.

Production, Stockpiling, Transfer, and Use

Moldova states that it has never produced or imported antipersonnel mines and that it inherited its mine stocks from the Soviet Union.^[4] However, a number of MAI-75 mines produced by Romania in 1988 were also declared by Moldova in its stockpile.^[5] Government forces and separatist armed groups used mines in the 1992 conflict in the Transdniester region (see below).

Moldova initially declared a stockpile of 12,121 antipersonnel mines in April 2002. This included 9,992 PMN, 936 PMN-2, 944 MAI-75, 59 OZM-72, 12 MON-50, and 178 MON-100 mines.^[6] On 29 November 2002, Moldova notified the UN Secretary-General that it had destroyed all of the antipersonnel mines it possessed.^[7] However, in its transparency report submitted in April 2004, Moldova declared that it destroyed 12,892 antipersonnel mines, including 9,592 PMN, 800 PMN-2, and 2,500 MAI-75.^[8]

The discrepancies between Moldova’s initial transparency report and its most recent annual update also affect the number of mines retained for research and training purposes: Moldova initially declared it would retained 849 antipersonnel mines (200 each of PMN, PMN-2, and MAI-75, and all OZM-72 and MON series).^[9] The April 2004 report indicates that 411 mines had been retained (200 PMN, 136 PMN-2, and 75 MAI-75), though the text cites a figure of 736 mines.^[10] In April 2002, Moldova declared the OZM-72 and MON series mines, which are no longer included as mines retained for training, as “tactical mines.”^[11]

The OZM-72 is a bounding fragmentation mine; Moldova has not explained what modifications have been made so that it no longer meets the treaty definition of an antipersonnel mine. The MON is a Claymore-type directional fragmentation mine; Moldova has not reported what steps have been taken to ensure these mines cannot be victim-activated.

The NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) carried out destruction of the antipersonnel mines stockpile under a NATO Partnership for Peace program. The mines were destroyed by open detonation between 30 September 2002 and 26 November 2002, well ahead of Moldova’s treaty-mandated deadline of 1 March 2005. The project also destroyed 300 tons of other munitions and 325 tons of rocket fuel oxidizer. According to NAMSA, the Netherlands acted as the lead donor country and Canada, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland, United Kingdom, and United States provided funding for the destruction, which totaled $1.129 million.^[12]

Mine Action

Moldova has declared that, for the purposes of the Mine Ban Treaty, it is not mine-affected. It reports that it completed destruction of all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control in August 2000.^[13] Between May and August 2000, a demining operation cleared 85 hectares (850,000 square meters) of terrain mined during the military conflict of 1992 and eliminated 345 explosive objects.^[14] In 1999 and 2000, Moldova received humanitarian demining training under the US Department of Defense's “Train the Trainer” program, which provided $114,000 in assistance, including demining equipment.^[15]

However, Moldova is still affected by mines and unexploded ordnance left over from World War II and from the Transdniester conflict of 1992. The Ministry of Defense and the Police Demining teams of the Ministry of Interior Affairs are responsible for demining in Moldova. For clearance purposes, Moldavian territory is divided into four areas of responsibility and teams from First, Second and Third Infantry Brigades and a team from the Engineers Department of the Ministry of Defense are responsible for demining these areas.

In 2003, demining teams cleared 600 UXO and destroyed 170 old artillery shells.^[16] Over the years, Moldova has detected and neutralized more than 4,000 explosive devices, including the demining of four bridges over the Dniester River.^[17]

There are no systematic mine risk education programs in Moldova, but during clearance operations deminers meet with the local population and provide them with information on what to do if they find a mine or UXO.

Mine Action Assistance

From September 2003 to March 2004 a mine clearing team from the Moldavian National Army participated in demining operations in Iraq.^[18] According to the Ministry of Defense, the deminers collected a considerable amount of weapons and ammunition and destroyed 5,757 mines and UXO.^[19] In July 2004, the Moldavian Parliament approved an extension of Moldova’s participation, deploying a new team of twelve deminers selected on voluntary basis.^[20]

Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance

There is no public information on mine casualties in Moldova. However, it is known that Moldova has mine survivors from the conflict in the Transdniester region, and peacekeeping missions.^[21] In April 2000, the parliament enacted laws to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and war veterans.^[22] In May 2001, a new law was passed to increase social payments for war veterans, persons with disabilities, and their families.^[23]

On 30 May 2004, a Moldovan citizen was killed and another injured after they entered a minefield while trying to cross the border between Greece and Turkey.^[24]

Transdniester Region

The Transdniester region of Moldova, which accounts for 11 percent of the territory of Moldova, declared independence on 2 September 1990 as the Pridnestrovie Moldavian Republic (Pridnestrovskaya Moldavskaya Respublika, PMR). It has not been recognized internationally. Both sides used landmines when fighting broke out between Moldova and the PMR in 1992.^[25] PMR forces maintain control of the Transdniester region, while a July 1992 cease-fire agreement established a tripartite peacekeeping force comprised of Moldovan, Russian, and PMR units; negotiations to resolve the conflict continue. The Russian (Soviet) 14th Army has been based in the Transdniester region of Moldova since 1956.

Pridnestrovie was also the scene of heavy fighting during World War II, and an unknown number of German and Soviet mines and UXO still remain scattered in old battlefields. Unexploded ordnance constitutes a more serious threat than landmines, especially in the Ribnitsa, Dubosary, Tiraspol, and Bendery regions. The Engineer Battalion of the PMR Ministry of Defense is responsible for demining operations, while Russian engineer units attached to the peacekeeping forces also take part in mine clearance. A Joint Control Commission, co-chaired by Moldova and PMR, coordinates all peacekeeping activities, including demining.^[26]

In April 2004, the government of Moldova declared that it “has no information concerning the implementation of the Convention in the Transdniester region currently controlled by an anti-constitutional regime of Tiraspol” and it has no “information concerning antipersonnel mines belonging to the Russian Federation that are presently stockpiled in the Transdniester region.”^[27] More than 43,000 tons of ammunition, including landmines, was located in two depots in the Transdniester region, but according to statements by Russian officials, 30 percent of the stock was returned to Russia for destruction between 2001 and 2004.^[28]

The total number of landmine casualties in the Transdniester region is not known, as information is not publicly available. In 1999, it was reported that eight PMR sappers had been killed by landmines since the end of the war.^[29] PMR reportedly provides full support for the medical rehabilitation and socio-economic reintegration of victims of war.^[30]

[1] After signing, government officials said the treaty would not be ratified until the issues related to the status of the Transdneister region were resolved, and Russian troops withdrawn from its territory, but it proceeded to ratification nonetheless.
[2] Article 7 Report, paragraph 9, 29 April 2004.
[3] Ibid, paragraphs 10-11, 29 April 2004.
[4] Statement by Vitalie Rusu, Head of Disarmament and Arms Control Section, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 6 February 2003.
[5] Article 7 Report, Form D, 8 April 2002.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Permanent Mission of the Republic of Moldova to the United Nations, Verbal Note no. 07/7918, 29 November 2002.
[8] Article 7 Report, paragraph 4, 29 April 2004. Among the discrepancies, the April 2004 update includes 1,556 more MAI-75 mines and drops all mention of the OZM-72 and MON series of mines. There are also 400 fewer PMN and 136 fewer PMN-2 mines (matching the number of PMN-2s retained for training).
[9] Article 7 Report, Form B and Form D, 8 April 2002.
[10] Article 7 Report, paragraph 8, 29 April 2004. The text of paragraph 8 reports that 736 mines are retained, while the totals for the individual types tallies to 411.
[11] Article 7 Report, Form D, 8 April 2002.
[12] NAMSA presentation, “PfP Trust Fund Projects,” to the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 6 February 2003.
[13] Republic of Moldova response to OSCE questionnaire, (FSC.DEL/655/02), 16 December 2002, p.2; Article 7 report, Form C, 8 April 2002; Article 7 report, Paragraph 3, 29 April 2004.
[14] Article 7 Report, paragraph 3, 29 April 2004.
[15] This included $71,000 in 1999 and $43,000 in 2000. U.S. Department of State, “Demining Program Financing History,” dated 24 October 2000. See also, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesman, Media Note, “Global Humanitarian Demining: Removal of Land Mines in Moldova,” 6 September 2000.
[16] Statement of Gen. Victor Gaychuk, Minister of Defense of Moldova, Argumenti I Facti – Moldova №3, 2003.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Article 7 Report, paragraph 6, 29 April 2004.
[19] Ministry of Defense press service, March 2004.
[20] Valeriy Rusu, Chief of Press Service of Ministry of Defense of Moldova, 26 July 2004.
[21] See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 746-747.
[22] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 742.
[23] “War Veterans to Be Better Socially Protected in Moldova,” Moldova Azi, 3 May 2001, available at www.azi.md/news?ID=11660 (accessed 18 September 2004).
[24] “Would-be immigrant killed in minefield blast on Greek border,” Agence France-Presse (Athens), 30 May 2004.
[25] U.S. Department of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Background Note: Moldova (07-04), July 2004.
[26] Statement by Vladimir Bodnar, Head of Defense Commission, Parliament of PMR, 22 January 2003.
[27] Article 7 Report, paragraphs 10-11, 29 April 2004.
[28] Interview with Dmitry Kozak, First Deputy of the Head of Administration of President of Russia, RIA Novosty, 17 November 2003.
[29] Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 777; see also Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 746-747.
[30] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 351.