LM Report 2004

Spain

Key developments since May 2003: In 2003, Spain provided mine action funding and assistance of about $1.2 million. Spanish demining and explosive ordnance disposal personnel participated in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq and Kosovo. The International Demining Training Center provided training courses on humanitarian demining for 71 personnel from Afghanistan, Angola, Mozambique and Colombia.

Key developments since 1999: Spain became a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty on 1 July 1999. Legislation prohibiting antipersonnel mines was passed earlier in October 1998. Spain’s completed destruction of its stockpile of some 850,000 antipersonnel mines on 3 October 2000. Spain initially intended to retain 10,000 mines, but announced in May 2000 that this would be reduced to 4,000. In February 2000, the Ministry of Defense said that US antipersonnel mines stockpiled in Rota had been withdrawn. From 1999 to 2003, Spain contributed approximately $4.7 million to mine action. In September 2001, the International Demining Training Center was established, and it has expanded its activities since then.

Mine Ban Policy

Spain signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 19 January 1999, becoming a State Party on 1 July 1999. In the preceding years, Spain attended all the preparatory meetings of the Ottawa Process, but was not considered a strong supporter of the mine ban.^[1]

Legislation prohibiting antipersonnel mines was passed in October 1998. This included an annex stating that the penal sanctions required by Article 9 of the treaty would be developed in new implementing legislation.^[2] In 2001, Spain took the view that penal sanctions were already present in existing legislation.^[3]

Spain’s annual Article 7 report was submitted to the UN on 30 April 2004. Four previous Article 7 reports have been submitted.^[4] The reports for 2003, 2002 and 2001 include the voluntary Form J to report mine action funding and assistance.

Spain has attended all of the annual Meetings of States Parties and has participated regularly, if not in a high profile manner, in the intersessional work program. At the February 2004 intersessional Standing Committee meetings, Spain cited the completion of its stockpile destruction program and its mine action assistance as indications of Spain’s commitment to the treaty.^[5]

At the same meeting, Spain’s delegation confirmed that Spain remains engaged in efforts to universalize the Mine Ban Treaty. It follows the European Union (EU) strategy of allocating target countries to each EU member. However, Spain has not identified the countries that it targets.^[6] During its presidency of the EU in the first half of 2002, Spain encouraged other countries to join the treaty, particularly during bilateral contacts.^[7] The 1998 legislation includes a preamble in which the government states its intention to promote the treaty and put it on the agenda of international fora.^[8] On 8 December 2003, Spain voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 58/43, which calls for universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. It has voted for pro-ban UNGA resolutions each year since 1996.

Spain has rarely engaged in the extensive discussions that States Parties have had during intersessoinal meetings on matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2, and 3. It has, however, on other occasions made known its views and practice on issues related to joint military operations with non-States Parties, foreign stockpiling and transit of antipersonnel mines, and antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices.

The Ministry has not responded to Landmine Monitor inquiries about its position on the legality of Spanish forces engaging in joint military operations involving antipersonnel mines with countries not members of the Mine Ban Treaty. However, on 29 September 2003, a Catalan deputy received a written answer to a parliamentary question specific to Spanish troops sent to Iraq.^[9] The government answered that Spanish military personnel were forbidden to use antipersonnel mines under any circumstances, that operations in which antipersonnel mines are used will not be planned, directed or carried out, and that no forces under Spanish command will use antipersonnel mines other than under the exceptions allowed by Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty.^[10]

The Ministry of Defense has stated that there are no foreign antipersonnel mines on Spanish territory, including the US installations at Torrejón near Madrid and at Rota and Morón de la Frontera near Cádiz. In February 2000, the Ministry of Defense said that US antipersonnel mines prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty had been withdrawn from Rota.^[11]

Asked to clarify the government’s position on the legality of a foreign State transiting antipersonnel mines through Spanish territory, the Ministry of Defense referred to the 1998 national law. This states that “by ‘transfer’ is understood not only the actual transportation of mines from or to a national territory, but also the transfer of command and control over the mines.”^[12]

Spain possesses two antivehicle mines which have antihandling devices.^[13] The government has taken the view that antivehicle mines with antihandling devices should be dealt with in the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), by means of a new protocol.^[14] However, Spanish legislation implementing the Mine Ban Treaty prohibits not only antipersonnel mines but also “similar weapons.” The Spanish Campaign to Ban Landmines has argued that antihandling devices capable of being detonated by the accidental act of a person are thereby already prohibited by Spanish law. The government has interpreted the legislation otherwise, and excluded antivehicle mines with antihandling devices or sensitive fuzes from its implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty and Article 7 reporting.^[15]

Spain is a State Party to the CCW and its Amended Protocol II. It attended the Fifth Annual Conference of States Parties to the Protocol in November 2003, and submitted the annual Article 13 report required by the Protocol on 7 November 2003. It has attended the annual conferences of States Parties and submitted reports in previous years. The Ministry of Defense expressed its support for regulation of explosive remnants of war, including preventive measures, under the CCW.^[16] In this regard, on 29 October 2002, the Defense Commission approved a green paper stressing Spain’s view that the use of cluster bombs against civilians should be banned, and that technical measures allowing for the neutralization, deactivation and self-destruction of these weapons should be introduced.

Production, Transfer and Use

Production of antipersonnel mines ceased officially in May 1996, and the 1994 export moratorium was made indefinite in 1996.^[17] Spain was previously a producer of at least five types of antipersonnel mine, and also an exporter of mines.^[18] Spain imported mines from Italy. Spain reported in April 2001 that production facilities had either been decommissioned or converted to other uses.^[19] Spain last used antipersonnel mines in 1975, on the Moroccan border with its then-colony of Western Sahara.

Stockpiling and Destruction

Spain’s antipersonnel mine stockpile destruction program was completed on 3 October 2000, far in advance of both the October 1998 national legislation’s three-year deadline and the Mine Ban Treaty’s four-year deadline of 1 July 2003.^[20] Spain possessed 853,286 antipersonnel mines in 1998 when national legislation was passed. Spain’s initial Article 7 report stated that 496,415 mines of type P-5 were destroyed from July 1998 to December 1999, leaving 356,871 remaining for destruction.^[21]

At the end of 2003, Spain retained 3,815 antipersonnel mines as permitted by Article 3 of the treaty, a reduction of 185 from the quantity of 4,000 retained at the end of 2002. How these mines were consumed is not reported.^[22] Spain initially intended to retain 10,000 mines for permitted purposes, but announced at the Standing Committee meetings in May 2000 that this would be reduced to 4,000 (3,784 of P-5, and 216 of P-4B). The mines were retained for training in mine clearance and for the ANGEL research project.^[23] No mines were consumed in 2001–2002, and the Ministry of Defense explained that their use in training programs does not require destruction, so each mine can be used several times.^[24]

Mine Action Funding and Assistance

In the UN Security Council in November 2003, Spain stressed that mine action must remain an international priority and be adequately funded. The Spanish representative said that during past years Spain had contributed €15 million (over $16 million) for training programs and assistance to mine victims, and provided demining teams to various countries.^[25] The details of this contribution, which is much higher than Landmine Monitor estimates, were not provided.^[26]

Spain has not reported a comprehensive total for its funding of mine action in 2003, which the Landmine Monitor estimates to be €1,073,579 ($1,214,755).^[27]

The Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECI) contributed a total of €286,047 ($323,662) to several programs of assistance to mine victims in 2003, including:

• Cambodia: €75,398 (85,313) for a survivor assistance program
• Kosovo: €135,649 ($153,487) for a program that includes support to families of mine victims.
• Nicaragua: €75,000 ($84,863) for capacity-building and reintegration of mine survivors, through the Organization of American States (OAS).^[28]

During 2003, the International Demining Training Center (Centro Internacional de Desminado) provided training courses on humanitarian demining for 71 personnel from Afghanistan, Angola, Mozambique and Colombia. Fourteen courses were also offered to Spanish military personnel, including those preparing to serve in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq and Kosovo. Total cost of the courses in 2003 was €787,532 ($891,092).^[29] Similar courses were offered in previous years, with the technical support of the Ministry of Defense.

In 2003, Spanish demining and explosive ordnance disposal personnel participated in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq and Kosovo.^[30]

Additionally, in 2003 the autonomous community of Asturias donated €8,000 ($9,052) to the Spanish NGO Acadica for the manufacture of wheelchairs for mine survivors and others in Cambodia. The Catalan Government provided €10,000 and Barcelona City Hall provided €6,000 ($6,789) to the NGO Moviment per la Pau (Movement for Peace, MxP) for two public mine awareness programs.^[31]

In 2002, the AECI contributed €462,625 ($523,460) to programs of assistance to mine victims in Angola and Honduras and to courses by the International Demining Training Center.^[32]

From 1999–2003, Spain contributed approximately $4.7 million to mine action (1999: $1,187,447; 2000: $935,000; 2001: $667,221; 2002: $688,467; 2003: $1,214,755). However, this is an estimate, as Spanish funding of mine action has not been reported fully in all years.^[33]

From 1995–1998, Spain contributed about $2.3 million to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action, the OAS, and bilaterally. Funding from 1995–2003 has been concentrated on Angola, Mozambique, Central and South America. Some funding has also been directed to Kosovo (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1999, 2000), and Croatia (1999). The AECI was set up in 1997.^[34]

For 2004, the International Demining Training Center expected to offer courses in humanitarian demining to Chilean, Colombian and Russian students.^[35] The Center was opened in 2001. Courses are provided with the technical support of the Ministry of Defense. The Ministry budgeted €1,442,420 ($1,370,299) for the Center’s infrastructure. In 2002, the Center provided demining training for personnel from Afghanistan, Angola and Mozambique. AECI provided funding of €190,604 ($181,074) and Ministry of Defense assistance totaled €414,712 ($403,462).^[36] In 2001, the Center provided demining training for personnel from Lebanon, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala. Funding of courses in 2001 was not reported.^[37]

Spanish policy determining mine action funding was set out in January 2001, in response to a parliamentary question. The criteria for AECI included concentration on victim assistance programs, cooperation between government and NGOs (especially Spanish NGOs), demining in priority countries, use of local deminers, promotion of the independence of affected communities, and placing mine clearance in the context of economic and social development. Funds for demining were to be restricted to countries that are full members of the Mine Ban Treaty and “show a clear will in favor of demining.”^[38]

The Spanish Campaign to Ban Landmines and other NGOs have expressed concern at the low level of governmental contribution to mine action programs. In September 2001, Parliament also urged the Spanish government to increase resources for demining, victim assistance, and mine awareness.^[39] In response, the International Demining Training Center was set up, and has expanded its activities.^[40]

Research & Development

In 2001, the Spanish company, GTD Ingeniería de Sistema y de Software, was reported to be involved in the international ANGEL project on locating and neutralizing antipersonnel mines. Spain’s October 2003 Article 7 report noted that the Spanish Army provides technical data and other assistance to the program. Some of the mines that Spain has retained under Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty are used in the program.^[41]

NGO Activities

During 2003, several NGOs and other institutions carried out awareness-raising activities on the mine issue in Spain. La Caixa Foundation organized a discussion event on 1 October that was attended by other NGOs, an UNMAS representative, and mine survivors. This event included Gervasio Sánchez’s photo exhibition, “Vidas Minadas. Cinco años después” (Mined lives. Five years later), which was shown throughout October 2003.

Acadica, in cooperation with the Jesuit Refugee Service, carried out a victim assistance program in Cambodia; this included provision of schooling and shelter for children with disabilities, and production of 200 wheelchairs for mine survivors. The program cost of €57,856 ($65,464) was co-financed by Acadica and the government of Asturias. Acadica also put out mine awareness messages on local TV and radio stations. The Catalan NGO Mestres per Bòsnia (Teachers for Bosnia) conducted mine awareness publicity in 2003. The Group d’Estudis Pedagògics (Pedagogical Studies Group) launched a comic book “Mines antipersonal: l’últim pas” (Antipersonnel Mines: the Last Step) to promote involvement of youngsters in the mine issue, and organized an exhibition and audiovisual.

In 2003, MxP continued its public awareness activities in schools in Barcelona and nearby municipalities. On 9 September 2003, a press conference was organized to launch the Landmine Monitor Report 2003 (with a Catalan translation of the Executive Summary). MxP also joined the Cluster Munition Coalition.

In previous years, Spanish NGOs have carried out activities to raise public awareness of the mine issue and, in particular, the need for assistance for mine survivors.

[1] For example, Spain did not endorse the pro-treaty Brussels Declaration of June 1997 until later, and at the Oslo negotiations floated a proposal that antipersonnel mines should not be banned when national security demanded otherwise. There was strong support from parliamentarians and the public for the treaty. See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 648–650.
[2] “Law Banning Antipersonnel Landmines as well as those Arms with Similar Effects,” Law 33/1998, Boletin Oficial del Estado, no. 239, 6 October 1998. The law also bans mine delivery systems.
[3] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp. 451–452.
[4] See Article 7 reports submitted: 30 April 2004 (for calendar year 2003); 22 October 2003 (for calendar year 2002); 7 June 2002 (for the period 28 January–31 December 2001); 15 April 2001 (for the period 28 December 1999–31 December 2000); 15 December 1999 (for the period 1 July–28 December 1999). This leaves the period 1–27 January 2001 unreported.
[5] Intervention by Spain, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 11 February 2004.
[6] Interview with Luis Gómez Nogueira, Department of General Security and Disarmament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geneva, 11 February 2004.
[7] Government answer to parliamentary question by Deputy Carles Campuzano, Secretaria de Estado de Relaciones con las Cortes, 30 April 2002.
[8] See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 650.
[9] Parliamentary question by Deputy Carles Campuzano, 31 July 2003.
[10] Government answer to question by Dep. Carles Campuzano, Journal of Sessions (official publication), 18 November 2003.
[11] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 786, and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 451.
[12] Law 33/1998, Article 1. See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 786.
[13] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 787.
[14] Letter from Lt. Col. Jose Quevedo, Dirección General de Política de Defensa, Unidad de Control de Armamento, Ministry of Defense, 23 January 2003. Spain, as President of the EU in 2002, also put this forward as the position of the Union – see Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 452.
[15] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp. 722–723, and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp. 452–453.
[16] Letter from Lt.Col. Jose Quevedo, Ministry of Defense, 23 January 2003.
[17] Intervention by Spain, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February 2004. This confirmed previous statements to this effect.
[18] The five types were: Expal P-4B, P-4A, P-5, P-5AR (with antihandling device), and P-Salta. There were five manufacturing companies: Bressel, Explosivos Alaveses (Expal), Explosivos de Burgos, Fabricaciones Extremeñas, and Unión Española de Explosivos, which were all part of the DEFEX (Defense and Export) group controlled by the Industry National Institute and in receipt of public subsidies. Spanish mines have been found in Iraq, Mauritania, the Falklands, and Morocco. See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 650–651.
[19] Article 7 Report, Form E, 15 April 2001.
[20] See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 650–654; Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 785–786.
[21] Article 7 Report, Forms B, G, 15 December 1999. The original stockpile consisted of five types: P-5 (597,011), P-4B (163,579), P-5AR (28,700), P-S1A (27,188), and P-S1 (36,808).
[22] Article 7 Report, Form D, 30 April 2004.
[23] Article 7 Report, Form D, 15 December 1999; Intervention by Spain, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 30 May 2000.
[24] Letter from Lt. Col. Jose Quevedo, Ministry of Defense, 23 January 2003.
[25] “Action against mines dynamic component of peacekeeping operations, Under-Secretary-General tells Security Council,” Press Release, UN Security Council, 13 November 2003.
[26] Landmine Monitor estimates that Spanish donations to mine action totaled about $4.7 million in 1999–2003 and $2.3 million in 1995–1998.
[27] Exchange rate for 2003 of €1=$1.1315, used throughout this report. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 2 January 2004.
[28] Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2004 (for calendar year 2003). The donation of €75,000 to Nicaragua was spent in 2003 from the 2002 budget. Total expenditure in 2002 has been reduced accordingly.
[29] Ibid, and Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report, Form F, 7 November 2003.
[30] Intervention by Spain, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February 2004.
[31] Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2004 (for calendar year 2003).
[32] Article 7 Report, Form J, 22 October 2003 (for calendar year 2002).
[33] See previous editions of Landmine Monitor, and Mine Action Investments database, www.mineaction.org , accessed on 4 June 2004. No funding data was recorded for Spain.
[34] See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 654–655, and Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 725.
[35] Intervention by Spain, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February 2004.
[36] Letter from Lt. Col. Jose Quevedo, Ministry of Defense, 23 January 2003. Exchange rate €1=US$0.95. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 6 January 2003.
[37] Intervention by Spain, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February 2004; Letter from Manuel Morato Ferro, Ministry of Defense, 24 October 2001.
[38] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 788–789.
[39] See Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 436.
[40] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 788–789.
[41] Article 7 Report, Form J, 22 October 2003; CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 Report, Form E, 11 October 2002. See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 455.