Key developments since May 2003:In March 2004, the Prime
Minister’s Office stated that efforts were underway to start the process
of ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty, and that Poland was acting “as a
de facto State Party.” It was reported in September 2004 that the
Defense Ministry supported ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty and that the
Defense Minister “doesn’t see any obstacles to beginning the process
of ratification.” On 30 April 2004, Poland voluntarily submitted a second
Article 7 report to the UN. On 15 October 2003, Poland ratified CCW Amended
Protocol II. In 2003, a total of 5,449 mines and 64,384 UXO were detected and
destroyed in emergency EOD operations. Planned clearance of three former
military areas totaled 31.81 square kilometers, destroying 227 mines and 11,752
UXO. In 2003, 235 Polish military engineers were engaged in mine/UXO clearance,
EOD, and mine risk education in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Iraq, Kosovo, and Syria. Poland estimated the value of this
in-kind assistance in 2003 as $1 million.
Key developments since 1999:Poland has been a signatory to
the Mine Ban Treaty since 4 December 1997. From signature until 2004, Poland
repeatedly cited several pre-conditions to its ratification. However, in 2004,
the Prime Minister’s Office and the Defense Ministry indicated that
ratification could now go forward. Poland has been a regular participant in the
Mine Ban Treaty work program. In March 2003,Poland submitted a
voluntary Article 7 report, declaring stockpiles of about one million
antipersonnel mines, and noting that Poland banned export of antipersonnel mines
in 1998 and stopped production long before that. It submitted a second report in
May 2004. In 2000, Poland established an inter-agency working group to develop
a plan and timeline for ratification. Poland and Canada co-sponsored a landmine
seminar in Warsaw in June 2001. From 1999-2003, Poland cleared 16,972 mines and
256,704 UXO, nearly all left from World War II. During those years, more than
700 Polish deminers engaged in international operations in Afghanistan, Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.
Mine Ban Policy
The Republic of Poland signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 with
pre-conditions for ratification; these were restated in 2001, 2002 and
2003.[1] However, in March
2004, the Prime Minister’s Office stated that: “Poland fully
supports and associates itself with the goals of the Ottawa Convention. The
question for us is not if but when it will be ratified. Nowadays, Poland acts as
a de facto state-party to the Convention.... At the same time, efforts
are underway to start the ratification procedures in our
Parliament.”[2]
It was reported in September 2004 that the Defense Ministry supported
ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty. A spokesman said that the Defense Minister
will inform the Foreign Minister that he “doesn’t see any obstacles
to beginning the process of ratification of the convention.” The
spokesman said a group of military experts had concluded that Poland could
quickly come up with at least partial alternatives to antipersonnel mines; the
same group is to present a timetable in 2005 for the destruction of
antipersonnel mines and the development of
alternatives.[3]
Earlier, in December 2003, the Polish Mission to the European Union (EU)
stated: “[W]ith accession to the EU, and accession to the MBT [Mine Ban
Treaty] by almost all neighbors in the region, we face a new situation to which
we have to respond with a new
approach.”[4] Also in
December 2003, Poland informed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) that “in view of the development in the international
security environment and pursuant to the new National Security Strategy of the
Republic of Poland, steps have been taken to review the current Polish military
doctrine. The outcome of this effort will hopefully enable the Polish Armed
Forces to redefine the role of APM [antipersonnel mines] in our defence
system.”[5]
Polish authorities remain concerned whether “Poland’s defence
capabilities could be adequately protected until our Armed Forces obtain
alternative sources which can effectively replace such
weapons.”[6] In 2003, the
Minister of Defense formed a teamto examine this question and prepare,
by 30 June 2005, a “detailed report [which] can serve as a basis to verify
our position on ratification of the Convention. However, the present state must
be considered as being too early to prejudge the final
decision.”[7] The
Ministry of Defense indicated that an initial report, due by 31 July 2004, would
be used to prepare Poland’s official position to be made known at the
Review Conference in November – December
2004.[8] The Ministry of
Defense disclosed that it is paying attention to the position of Finland on the
Mine Ban Treaty and to the new US policy on
landmines.[9] In April 2003,
the Ministry of Defense told a parliamentary commission that Poland will
“probably ratify the Convention within the next couple of
years.”[10]
The Ministry of Defense reported no progress in Poland’s search for
alternatives to antipersonnel mines during 2003; despite earlier expectations,
no research was conducted on
alternatives.[11] An
interministerial working group was set up in 2000 to be responsible for this and
for the timetable for treaty ratification. In 2002–2003, the
group’s work was dominated by proposals on mines other than antipersonnel
mines and explosive remnants of war in the Convention on Conventional Weapons
(CCW).[12] Canada supplied a
study on alternatives to antipersonnel mines in 2001.
During the Ottawa Process which led to the Mine Ban Treaty, Poland attended
all preparatory meetings, but was not an early or full supporter of a
comprehensive antipersonnel mine ban. At the Oslo negotiations in September
1997, Poland was one of a few countries that indicated that it might not sign
the treaty.[13] Poland
subsequently attended regional landmine conferences in 1998 (Hungary), 1999
(Croatia), 2000 (Slovenia, Ukraine, Greece), and 2001 (Greece). In June 2001,
Poland and Canada co-sponsored a regional seminar on the Mine Ban Treaty which
was held in Warsaw.[14]
Poland has attended all of the annual Meetings of States Parties to the Mine
Ban Treaty as an observer, and has participated regularly in the intersessional
work program. At the Fourth Meeting in September 2002, its delegation declared
that Poland accepted the importance of transparency measures to the success of
the treaty and would submit a voluntary Article 7 report. Poland also agreed
about the necessity of eliminating the production and transfer of antipersonnel
mines.[15]
Poland subsequently provided an Article 7 report, dated 5 March 2003, that
revealed for the first time details of Poland’s stockpile of antipersonnel
mines.[16] On 12 May 2004,
Poland submitted its second Article 7 report to the UN on a voluntary basis.
This included optional Form J on which Polish mine action assistance was
noted.[17]
Poland attended the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September 2003 in
Bangkok, and the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in February and June
2004, but made no statements. In December 2003, Poland voted for UN General
Assembly Resolution 58/53, which calls for universalization and implementation
of the Mine Ban Treaty. Poland has voted for each of the annual pro-ban UN
General Assembly resolutions since 1996.
On 8–9 June 2004, Poland attended the “Regional Seminar on
Advancing the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production
and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction in Northern and
Eastern Europe,” in Vilnius, Lithuania.
On 15 October 2003, Poland deposited its instrument of ratification for
Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons
(CCW).[18] Poland attended the
Fourth Annual Conference of States Parties to the Protocol in November 2003. On
15 October 2003, Poland also submitted an annual report in accordance with
Article 13 of the Protocol, which notes legislation criminalizing violations,
clearance activities in Poland, and Polish involvement in mine clearance in
peacekeeping operations abroad. A previous Article 13 report was submitted in
December 2002 on a voluntary
basis.[19] Poland attended
earlier annual conferences of States Parties to the Protocol as an observer. In
other CCW work, Poland welcomed the adoption of the new Protocol V on explosive
remnants of war, and initial steps have been taken for
ratification.[20]
NGO Activities
On the 1 March 2004 anniversary of entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty, a
news agency, two radio stations, the website of Polish NGOs, and a Warsaw
newspaper carried short news items based on a press release by the Polish Red
Cross. Also in March, the “Polish NGO Portal” conducted interviews
with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense asking about
ratification of the treaty, and posted the interviews on its website. It also
sent a letter to the Ministry of Defense requesting details of the team of
experts studying antipersonnel mines and alternatives, and the possibility of
revising the Polish position on ratification. The Ministry’s reply was
posted on the NGO
website.[21]
In 2003, the Polish Red Cross published a book on international humanitarian
law which included a Polish version of Mine Ban Treaty. At the launch of this
book on 4 November, the Canadian ambassador in Warsaw gave a speech about the
treaty and Poland’s long-awaited ratification, before a large audience
that included the military, ministerial staff, and media. The event was widely
reported. At a Red Cross conference in Geneva on 2–6 December, the Polish
Red Cross spoke strongly in favor of Poland’s ratification in the near
future.
The Polish Red Cross and the Canadian Embassy organized an exhibition
“Landmines – the Deadly Legacy” in March 2003, under the
patronage of Jolanta Kwasniewska, Poland’s First Lady. Also in March, the
Polish Section of Amnesty International issued an appeal against the use of
indiscriminate weapons, including antipersonnel mines, in Iraq.
In September 2002, the ICBL and Polish Red Cross launched the Landmine
Monitor Report 2002 at the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in
Warsaw.[22] In 2001, a Polish
version of the ICRC video “The Ottawa Treaty” was distributed to all
Red Cross branches in Poland and to the Ministry of Defense. The mine issue was
included in an academic course and a film was made on the
issue.[23]
Production, Transfer and Use
Poland produced three types of antipersonnel mine, and imported a fourth
type. Production of the PMD-6 ceased in 1957, of the POMZ-2 in the 1960s, and
of the MON-100 in 1988. The PSM-1 was last imported in the 1980s from
Bulgaria.[24]
Poland previously exported antipersonnel mines, but in November 1995 informed
the UN that export had been halted de facto following adoption of UN
General Assembly Resolution 48/75 in December
1993.[25] An export moratorium
in 1995 was made permanent by a Cabinet decree on 7 April
1998[26] and then superceded by
a law adopted in September
2002.[27] In September 2002,
Poland confirmed that it was already complying with the Mine Ban Treaty
prohibitions on production and transfer of antipersonnel
mines.[28]
In March 2004, the Ministry of Defense re-stated its previous position that
any decision to allow transit through Poland of foreign antipersonnel mines
would be “of a political character and in regard to the NATO allies
probably regulations adopted in frame of the ‘SOFA’ [Status of
Forces] agreement will be
relevant.”[29]
The Ministry of Defense confirmed that in 2003, as in 2001 and 2002, no
antipersonnel mines were used in joint military operations with other States not
party to the Mine Ban Treaty; antipersonnel mines were used exclusively for
training demining troops.[30]
Stockpiling
Poland reported that it possessed a stockpile of 997,680 antipersonnel mines
as of the end of 2003. During 2003, 58,291 POMZ-2(2M) mines were dismantled due
to expiry of shelf-life.[31]
Poland’s first Article 7 report disclosed a stockpile of 1,055,971
antipersonnel mines as of the end of
2002.[32]
In February 2001, the Ministry of Defense confirmed that Poland possesses
Claymore-type directional fragmentation mines, but that these are “meant
exclusively for mine-controlled detonation...[which] excludes the possibility of
accidental detonation.” The MON-100 is described in the first Article 7
report as “Directional fragmentation mine, if equipped with a MUW fuse
attached to a trip
wire.”[33]
In its Amended Protocol II Article 13 report, Poland declared, “All
antipersonnel mines remaining within the Polish Armed Forces equipment are
detectable. However, the mines do not satisfy the standards specified in the
para 3 Technical Annex and in this respect their modernization is not
planned.”[34]
Human Rights Watch identified several antivehicle mines possessed by Poland
that may have antipersonnel characteristics, and thus may be prohibited by the
Mine Ban Treaty. These include the MN-111, MN-121, MIN-123 and
MPP-B.[35]
In March 2004, the Ministry of Defense confirmed that destruction of the
antipersonnel mine stockpile is not a problem in financial terms. The Ministry
has not started discussions on the destruction methods or
timetable.[36]
Landmine/UXO Problem and Clearance
Poland remains contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) from World
War II and the Soviet occupation. The most contaminated areas are the Vistula
and Odra drainage basins, and forest areas in the southeast. Mines and UXO are
discovered most often in urbanized areas during construction work.
Poland’s Amended Protocol II Article 13 report states that “there
are no mined areas on the territory of Poland” and no mine-suspected
areas. “Therefore there is no need for the regular mine clearance
programs to be organised. However...every year separate pieces of the explosive
remnants of World War II are found, Polish Armed Forces have in their disposal
37 land force engineers patrols and 2 naval engineer groups operating all over
the country in cases of
emergencies.”[37] They
are also responsible for clearance of former military facilities being handed
over to the local civilian administration.
In 2003, a total of 5,449 mines and 64,384 UXO were detected and destroyed in
emergency explosive ordnance disposal (EOD)
operations.[38] In addition,
227 mines and 11,752 UXO were cleared from former military
areas.[39] According to the
Ministry of Defense in March 2003, the quantity of mines and UXO found depends
largely on new infrastructure developments, and may increase due to increased
construction.[40] In 2002 and
in previous years, there were fewer mines and UXO found (in 2002: 2,626 mines
and 42,006 UXO, including former military areas; in 2001, 3,842 mines and 45,332
UXO; in 2000: 2,091 mines and 35,386 UXO; in 1999: 2,737 mines and 57,844
UXO).[41] Thus, from 1999 to
2003, Poland cleared a total of 16,972 mines and 256,704 UXO.
During 2003, planned clearance totaling 3,181 hectares (31.81 square
kilometers) was conducted at three former military areas: Okonek (1,507 hectares
cleared), Lambinowice (315 hectares) and Czerwony Bor (1,359 hectares).
Clearance was completed at Czerwony Bor in November
2003.[42] In 2002, the same
areas were worked, clearing 3,802 hectares in
total.[43] In February 2002,
former military areas suspected of mine/UXO contamination were reported to total
241 square kilometers, and were
fenced.[44]
Apart from the planned clearance, in 2003 a total of 260 specialist personnel
were involved in 10,309 EOD responses to mines and UXO found during farming and
construction work. In 2002, 280 specialists were involved in 9,177 EOD
responses.[45]
The cost of planned clearance and EOD was PLN17.4 million ($4.47
million)[46] in 2003 and PLN28.5
million ($7,125,000) in
2002.[47]
In the years following World War II, the area of Poland subject to mine/UXO
clearance was 271,840 square kilometers, or 87 percent of Polish territory. By
1985, more than 88 million items of UXO, including 15 million mines, had been
disposed of. Clearance of former Soviet military areas started in September
1991, and between 1991 and 1993 items including 2,512 mines were
collected.[48]
Mine Risk Education
Mine risk education is mainly carried out by engineering troops, via the
media and in schools. In addition, the local public is warned when planned
clearance and major EOD responses are undertaken. After a fatal accident
involving UXO in March 2003, media warnings were increased. The Engineering
Corps has produced mine/UXO awareness leaflets, which are distributed at public
events.[49]
Mine Action Funding and Assistance
Poland’s Article 7 report for 2003 states that 235 Polish military
engineers were engaged in mine/UXO clearance, EOD, and mine risk education in
peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Kosovo,
and Syria.[50] Poland estimated
the value of this in-kind assistance in 2003 as $1 million, of which Iraq
accounted for about 25
percent.[51]
In previous years, Polish forces have also been involved in mine-related
activities in Albania, Lebanon and Yemen. Poland reported to the OSCE in 2003
that more than 700 Polish deminers have been engaged in international operations
in the last five years.[52]
In 2001, Poland donated $20,000 for two projects of the NATO Partnership for
Peace involving stockpile destruction in Moldova and Ukraine. In 1999, Poland
contributed $10,000 to the ICRC for victim assistance. Poland has not provided
mine action funding to the UN Mine Action Service Mine Action Investments
database.[53]
Landmine/UXO Casualties and Survivor Assistance
According to police sources, in 2003, five civilians (four men and one child)
were killed and 11 (six men and five children) were injured as a result of
handling UXO.[54] In 2002,
three civilians were killed and 11 injured. In 2001, police sources reported
seven civilians were killed; however, according to the Engineer Corps there were
about 40 mine/UXO incidents resulting in injuries and most of these involved
children.[55] None of the
casualties were deminers or EOD
specialists.[56]
Since 1999, five Polish nationals have been killed and eight injured by mines
while engaged in military, peacekeeping or mine clearance operations and other
activities outside of Poland. On 7 May 2004, one Polish national was killed and
another injured in a landmine incident in
Iraq.[57] On 9 May 2004, a
Polish officer in Iraq was killed by a
landmine.[58] In 2003, a Polish
soldier was slightly injured during mine clearance operations in Afghanistan on
9 January;[59] and two Polish
peacekeepers were killed and one injured by an antivehicle mine in the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 3
March.[60] In 2002, five Polish
peacekeepers were injured by mines in
Afghanistan.[61] In 1999, a
Polish officer was killed by a mine in the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia.[62]
Within Poland, 658 soldiers were killed and several thousand injured in
clearance operations between 1944 and 1994. Between 1945 and 1973, mines and UXO
killed 3,833 civilians (including 3,189 children) and injured 8,221 (including
6,656 children).[63]
Poland’s Amended Protocol II Article 13 report states that “there
is no specific rehabilitation programme for mine victims... [who] are treated
through the social health care system on general
rules.”[64] The Ministry
of Health reported that mine/UXO survivors are entitled to the same standards of
public healthcare as all other insured persons. Military casualties are
entitled to medicine and orthopedic equipment free of
charge.[65] On 1 January 2004,
a new law gave people permanently unable to work as a result of war injuries,
including mine and UXO injuries, inflicted up to 1956 entitlement to
compensation.[66]
[1] The pre-conditions were that all
permanent members of the UN Security Council and countries neighboring Poland
should first join the treaty, and that the Polish Armed Forces should be
supplied with alternative weapons. See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp.
833–835, Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 567, and Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 529. [2] Letter to Thierry
Vanneste, Director General, Handicap International Belgium, from Tadeusz
Iwanicki, Secretary of State, Chancellery of the Prime Minister, 4 March
2004. [3] “Poland to ratify ban
on landmines,” Agence France-Presse (Warsaw), 21 September
2004. [4] ICBL and ICRC meeting with
Jaroslaw Zaczykiewicz, Counselor, Polish Embassy in Brussels, Przemyslaw
Wyganowski and Pawel Wasowicz, Polish Mission to the EU, Brussels, 27 February
2004. ICBL notes. Poland became a member of the EU on 1 May
2004. [5] Poland response to OSCE
questionnaire, 20 December 2003, p.
1. [6] Letter from Tadeusz Iwanicki,
Secretary of State, 4 March 2004. [7]
Information from Ministry of Defense in letter from Andrzej Braiter, Deputy
Director, Security Policy Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 March
2004; letter from Tadeusz Iwanicki, Secretary of State, 4 March
2004. [8] Interview with Col. Marek
Zadrozny and Maj. Zbigniew Ciolek, Department of International Co-operation, and
Col. Lech Zajda and Maj. Stanislaw Kraszewski, Military Engineering Command,
General Staff, Ministry of Defense, Warsaw, 19 April 2004; letter to Malgorzata
Borowska, Portal Organizacji Pozarządowych (Polish NGO Portal), from Col.
Czeslaw Juzwik, Department of International Co-operation, Ministry of Defense, 7
April 2004. [9] Interview with
Ministry of Defense officials, 19 April
2004. [10] Statement by Col. Marek
Zadrozny, Department of International Co-operation, Ministry of Defense, Senate
Commission on National Security and Public Security, Warsaw, 2 April 2003, www.senat.gov.pl [11] Information from Ministry of
Defense in letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 March 2004; telephone
interview with Maj. Zbigniew Ciolek, Department of International Co-operation,
Ministry of Defense, Warsaw, 20 May
2004. [12] Letter from Andrzej
Braiter, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 March 2004. See Landmine Monitor
Report 2003, p. 531. [13] See Landmine
Monitor Report 1999, pp. 754-755.
[14] See Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 835. [15] Statement by
Poland, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 16–20 September 2002.
[16] Article 7 Report, 5 March
2003. [17] Article 7 Report, 12 May
2004. [18] Letter from Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, 15 March 2004. [19]
CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 Reports submitted 15 October 2003 and 11
December 2002. [20] Letter from
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 March
2004. [21] Polish NGO Portal, www.ngo.pl [22]
See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
530. [23] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 573. [24] Article 7 Report,
Forms B and H, 5 March 2003; Interview with Col. Lech Zajda, Military
Engineering Command, General Staff, and Maj. Artur Talik, Engineering Corps
Command, Ministry of Defense, Warsaw, 20 March 2003. The Ministry of Defense
added that stocks of the MOP-2 signaling mine were used up in 2002 in
training. [25] “Report of the
Secretary-General: Moratorium on the export of antipersonnel mines,” UN
General Assembly, 3 November 1995, p.
15. [26] Article 7 Report, Form A, 5
March 2003; Letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 March 2004.
[27] “Ordinance of the Council
of Ministers of August 20, 2002 concerning the imposition of prohibition and
restriction on transfer of goods of strategic importance for the state
security,” Journal of Laws, 6 September 2002. Translation by Landmine
Monitor researcher. [28] Statement by
Poland, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 16-20 September 2002.
[29] Information from Ministry of
Defense in letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 March 2004; letter from
Adam Kobieracki, Director, Security Policy Department, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, 27 March 2003. [30] Ibid.,
See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.
837. [31] Article 7 Report, Form B,
12 May 2004. The stockpile at the end of 2003 consisted of: PMD-6 (686,483),
POMZ-2(2M) (277,686), PSM-1 (13,589), and MON-100
(19,922). [32] Article 7 Report, Form
B, 5 March 2003. [33] Information from
the Ministry of Defense in letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 28 February
2001; Article 7 Report, Form H2, 5 March
2003. [34] CCW Amended Protocol II
Article 13 Report, Form C, 15 October
2003. [35] Human Rights Watch Fact
Sheet, “Antivehicle Mines with Antihandling Devices,” prepared for
Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva,
10–11 January 2000. [36]
Information from Ministry of Defense in letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
15 March 2004; Interview with Col. Marek Zadrozny and Lt.Col. Waldemar
Ratajczak, Department of International Co-operation, and Col. Lech Zajda,
Military Engineering Command, General Staff, and Maj. Artur Talik, Engineering
Corps Command, Ministry of National Defense, Warsaw, 5 March
2003. [37] CCW Amended Protocol II
Article 13 Report, Form B, 15 October
2003. [38] Information from Ministry
of Defense in letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 March
2004. [39] Interview with Ministry of
Defense officials, 19 April 2004. [40]
Letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 27 March
2003. [41] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, pp. 571–572. [42]
Interview with Ministry of Defense officials, 19 April 2004. One hectare =
10,000 square meters; 1,000,000 square meters = 1 square
kilometer. [43] Letter from Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, 27 March 2003. Data for former military areas in previous
years was not reported. [44] Letter
from Ministry of Defense, 5 February
2002. [45] Information from Ministry
of Defense in letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 March 2004, and letter
from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 27 March
2003. [46] Exchange rate for 2003 of
$1 = PLN3.89, taken from CIA, The World Factbook, available at www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/pl.html,
accessed 5 October 2004. [47]
Information from Ministry of Defense in letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
15 March 2004; letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 27 March 2003. Exchange
rate in 2002: US$1 = PLN4. [48]
“Explosive Remnants of War: an Overview,” in Arthur H. Westing (ed),
Explosive Remnants of War: Mitigating the Environmental Effects (Stockholm:
SIPRI and UNEP, 1985), p. 6; information from Ministry of Defense in letter from
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 28 February
2001. [49] Letter from Ministry of
Defense, 5 February 2002; letter from Col. Janusz Lalka and Col. Lech Zajda,
Military Engineering Command, General Staff, 28 April
2003. [50] Article 7 Report, Form J,
12 May 2004. [51] Email to HI from
Przemyslaw Wyganowski, Polish Mission to the EU, Brussels, 5 July
2003. [52] Poland response to OSCE
questionnaire, 25 January 2003, p.
3. [53] Mine Action Investments
database, www.mineaction.org, accessed
on 15 September 2004. [54] Information
from police headquarters in letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 March
2004. See also Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
533. [55] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 572. No data on civilian casualties in 1999 and 2000 has been
reported. From 1944 to 1994, 658 soldiers were killed and several thousand
injured during clearance operations. From 1945 to 1973, 3,833 civilians
(including 3,189 children) were killed by mines and UXO, and 8,221 were injured
– Letter from Maruisz Handzlik, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 28 February
2001. [56] Letter from Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, 27 March 2003. [57]
“TV crew members killed by land mine in Iraq – Polish
official”, Polish Radio 1, 7 May 2004. An Algerian was also killed in the
incident. All were part of a Polish television
crew. [58] “Two Polish
servicemen die in Iraq,” PAP (news agency), 9 May 2004. The second
fatality was not mine-related. On 24 March and 8 May, two Polish soldiers were
also injured in Iraq in booby-trap
explosions. [59] Michael Tarm,
“U.S. military halts mine clearing at main Bagram base after soldier
injured,” Associated Press (Afghanistan), 10 January
2003. [60] See Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 533. [61]
Ibid. [62] Letter from Maruisz
Handzlik, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 28 February
2001. [63]
Ibid. [64] CCW Amended Protocol II
Article 13 Report, Form B, 15 October
2003. [65] Information from Ministry
of Health in letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 March
2004. [66] “Act of 20 July 2001
on assistance for civilian victims of war,” entered into force 1 January
2004. Ibid; “Swiadczenia dla ofiar wojny” (“Compensations for
war victims”), Gazeta Wyborcza (daily newspaper), 13-14 December
2003.
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