Key developments since May 2004: A humanitarian demining law was
drafted for parliamentary approval after elections in July 2005. Revision of
the mine action strategy was finalized in March 2005, postponing clearance of
high and medium priority mine-affected areas to 2006, and of all areas to 2009.
Government responsibility for mine action was also postponed to 2006-2009. In
2004, over 400,000 square meters were released (including some 180,000 square
meters demined), compared with over 1,100,000 square meters in 2003. The
reduced clearance and need to revise the strategy were attributed to
difficulties in 2004, when one of the two clearance organizations withdrew due
to lack of funding, and a serious training accident delayed other planned
activities. UNICEF supported the preparation of two mine and weapons risk
manuals. Some US$3.8 million in funding was provided by international donors
for mine action in 2004. Mine/UXO casualties increased significantly in 2004.
At the First Review Conference in Nairobi, Albania was identified as one of 24
States Parties with the greatest needs and responsibility to provide adequate
survivor assistance. A new victim assistance project was started in October
2004 by UNDP. In January 2005, the National Strategy on People with
Disabilities was approved, and in April 2005 a new law entitling all persons
with disabilities to a social pension was adopted.
Mine Ban Policy
The Republic of Albania signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 8 September 1998,
ratified it on 29 February 2000 and became a State Party on 1 August 2000. Law
8547 of 11 November 1999 and Decision 269 of 25 May 2000 gave legal force to the
treaty in Albania, but did not include penal
sanctions.[1]In February 2004,
Albania’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva stated that Article
278 of the criminal code “prohibits the unlawful production, stockpiling,
use, import, export, transfer and trading of all ordnance in Albania and imposes
hefty penalties of up to 20
years.”[2]In March 2004, the
Director of the Albanian Mine Action Executive stated, “Albania still
lacks the national legislation to legally enforce the Ottawa Treaty in Albania.
It remains an objective for 2004.”[3]No further progress has been
reported.[4]
Albania submitted its annual Article 7 transparency report on 29 April 2005,
covering calendar year 2004. It includes voluntary Form J, and provides details
of progress in mine clearance, mine risk education and survivor assistance
programs during 2004. Albania has submitted three transparency reports
previously.[5]
Albania attended the First Review Conference in Nairobi in November-December
2004 with a delegation headed by Besnik Baraj, Deputy Minister of Defense and
Chair of the Albanian Mine Action Committee. In his statement, he summarized
the progress of the Albanian mine action program and noted that the National
Mine Action Strategy had recently been revised and the “strategic
objective is to render Albania Mine Safe by 2006.” He also said that
Albania supported a joint proposal for a mine-free region in South Eastern
Europe by 2009.[6]
Albania also attended the intersessional meetings in Geneva in June 2005,
where it made statements to the Standing Committees on mine clearance and victim
assistance. Albania 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, Albania 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.[7]
On 3 November 2004, Albania attended the inaugural meeting in New York of
the Forum of Mine-Affected Countries (FOMAC), a group of high-level
representatives from mine-affected countries. FOMAC was formed to
encourage cooperation between mine-affected
countries.[8]
Albania became a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and
its Amended Protocol II on 28 August 2002. It participated in the Sixth Annual
Conference of States Parties to the Protocol in November 2004, but did not
submit the annual report required by Article 13.
Stockpile Destruction, Production, Transfer and
Use[9]
Albania completed destruction of its stockpile of 1,683,860 antipersonnel
mines on 4 April 2002, more than two years before its treaty deadline, in an
internationally funded project carried out under NATO auspices. Albania has
opted not to retain any antipersonnel mines for research or training
purposes.
Production of antipersonnel mines in Albania was suspended in 1990 and
officially ceased in 1991. The two production plants―ULP Mjekës in
central Albania and KM Poliçan in the south―were converted to
facilities for ammunition demilitarization by 2002. According to the United
Nations, Russian antipersonnel and Chinese antivehicle mines found in Kosovo
after the 1999 conflict may have been transferred from
Albania.[10]The most recent use of antipersonnel mines in Albania was in 1998 and 1999
in the northeast of the country during the Kosovo crisis.
Landmine and ERW Problem
Northeast and central Albania are affected by mines and explosive remnants
of war (ERW) as a result of different events.
In the northeast, contamination by mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
resulted mainly from armed conflict in the neighboring province of Kosovo in
1998-1999. Contamination includes extensive minefields on the Albanian border
with Kosovo in the districts of Kukes, Has and Tropoje. These minefields were
laid by Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) forces during the Kosovo crisis.
In a general survey by the Albanian Armed Forces in 1999-2000, 102 affected
areas were identified, contaminating more than 15 square
kilometers.[11]The explosive
threat includes antipersonnel and antivehicle mines laid by FRY forces, UXO and
submunitions from FRY rocket artillery, and at least six NATO cluster strikes
within Albanian territory. An added complication is that no records of
minefields are available to Albania.[12]
In the largely rural prefecture of Kukes, one of the poorest in Albania with
a population of almost 120,000 people, 39 villages are directly affected by
mines and UXO. The main activities in these villages are grazing, farming,
gathering firewood and other subsistence livelihoods. Although most people have
been informed of the mine threat, the risk of incidents remains because of
economic pressure to use contaminated
land.[13]
The mine/UXO problem also has a serious impact on infrastructure
development. Thousands of square meters of land had to be cleared for the
construction of the critical road connection between Bajram Curri and
Gjakova.[14]Other areas had to be
cleared to allow the opening of new border control posts. Some water sources in
northeastern Albania remain blocked by mines. The Albanian Mine Action
Executive describes the Albania/Kosovo border, a prime area for ecotourism
development, as a wasteland because of mine and UXO contamination. Patrolling
the border, where trafficking and other cross-border criminality occur, is
difficult and dangerous. Since the end of the Kosovo crisis in 1999, 13 police
officers have been wounded or killed by mines and
UXO.[15]
Central regions of Albania are also contaminated by mines and ERW, as a
result of looting of military depots during widespread civil disorder in 1997.
It was estimated that some 2.2 square kilometers of land were contaminated with
abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO), producing 15 “hotspots.” In
April 2004, Albania reported that clearance of the hotspots was
complete.[16]An amnesty
encouraging the handing in of looted mines and AXO expired on 31 May 2005, after
several extensions.[17]There is
said to be greater concern about incidents in these areas than in mine-affected
areas in the northeast of the
country.[18]
Mine Action Program
The Albanian Mine Action Executive (AMAE) is the operational body
established to carry out the mine action program under the guidance of the
Albanian Mine Action Committee (AMAC). The Deputy Minister of Defense serves as
Chair of AMAC.[19]
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has sought to strengthen national
capacity for mine action planning since 2002. The UNDP mine action strategy of
June 2002 was revised during 2004, announced at the First Review Conference in
Nairobi in November-December 2004, and finalized on 2 March
2005.[20]
The revised strategy has the goal of freeing Albania from the impact of
mines and UXO by 2006, when only low priority areas are expected to
remain.[21]The strategy phases in
government responsibility for the remaining mine/UXO problem during
2006–2009, a postponement of the previous plan for Albania to assume
responsibility in 2004-2005. All affected areas will then be cleared by 2009.
The revised strategy includes clearance, mine risk education and victim
assistance.[22]
A draft humanitarian demining law, said to have been in preparation in March
2004, was reviewed by AMAE on 7 June 2005. After the July 2005 parliamentary
elections, the new parliament was expected to approve the new law and provide a
budget for its implementation. Meanwhile, the draft was circulated to the legal
departments of relevant ministries and AMAC for consideration in relation to
existing law and for possible
revision.[23]
According to AMAE, its mine action program has been mainstreamed into the
Regional Development Strategy for Kukes prefecture, thereby allowing the
implementation of development projects in previously contaminated areas;
priority for development projects is given to these areas. Mine action has also
been mainstreamed with development by means of the Rapid Rural Appraisal of
Kukes region, conducted in January 2005 by joint AMAE and UNDP development
teams.[24]Mine risk education was
identified as an integral part of the mine action program in August 2002. All
mine action activities in northeast Albania are coordinated by AMAE, including
mine risk education.[25]
During 2004, UNDP increased its assistance to AMAE, supporting an operations
advisor and a chief technical advisor. A UN volunteer mine victim assistance
advisor also joined AMAE in Tirana in 2004, and a local IMSMA assistant joined
the Kukes regional office.[26]The
Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) has been used in Albania
since 2002. UNDP reports that, since 2002, AMAE has “developed the
capacities to fully run the Mine Action Program including an IMSMA Cell, a
Support Cell, an Operations Cell and a Quality Management Section based at the
regional Office in Kukes.”[27]
In 2004, as in previous years since 2000, mine clearance and survey capacity
in Albania was provided by international NGOs funded directly by international
donors. Due to lack of funding, the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD)
terminated its activities in Albania in March
2004.[28]Handicap International
(HI) ceased its training and other preparations for technical survey after a
major accident during training in May 2004. DanChurchAid continued operations,
as the only mine action operator working in Albania throughout 2004. In
1999-2000, the Albania Armed Forces carried out survey and clearance activities.
AMAE reports that the withdrawal by FSD, and the training accident which led
to withdrawal of HI, prevented achievement of the 2004 demining and survey
objectives and led, in part, to revision of the National Mine Action
Strategy.[29]Operations in 2004
were affected adversely also by lack of helicopter support to provide evacuation
within the time frame recommended by IMAS in case of demining accidents in
remote areas. Suspension of this support, previously provided by KFOR in
Kosovo, prompted AMAE to suspend operations in remote areas in favor of less
remote mined areas, with a consequent change in clearance priorities for
2004.[30]In 2005, the General
Staff of the Ministry of Defense agreed to provide a helicopter medical
evacuation service to the demining teams free of
charge.[31]All demining operators
in Albania are insured.[32]
DanChurchAid started the 2004 demining season with eight demining teams, one
impact survey team and one mine detection dog team. In late September, its
capacities were expanded to include another demining team to conduct battle area
clearance. Emphasis was put on building local capacities for demining through
various language and other skills trainings. No mechanical demining machines
were used in Albania during
2004.[33]
AMAE is responsible for quality control, which was not conducted in Albania
until September 2002. Since then, AMAE has sampled previously-cleared land.
After quality control, cleared land is handed over to the community in
ceremonies attended by AMAE, local organizations, local community members and
mine survivors.[34]
Survey and Assessment
Level 1 survey conducted by the Albanian Armed Forces in 1999-2000 resulted
in an estimate of 15 square kilometers of mine/UXO contaminated land in Albania.
This estimate has been subject to ongoing revision by impact and technical
surveys carried out since 2002. At the end of 2004, there was estimated to be
4.3 square kilometers of mine/UXO contaminated land.
Estimated Area of Mine/UXO contamination at end of 2004 (square
meters)[35]
High priority
1,149,738
Medium priority
915,283
Low priority
2,258,378
Total contaminated area
4,323,399
High priority areas are those with high population densities, areas where
mine incidents occurred, and where contamination affects agriculture and
grazing. Medium priority areas are less densely populated areas where no mine
incidents have occurred but socioeconomic activity is adversely affected by
mine/UXO contamination. Low priority areas are not close to populated centers
and contamination has little socioeconomic impact on the population. At the
start of each demining season, priorities for clearance are drafted by AMAE in
cooperation with local communities and mine action partners, and submitted to
AMAC for approval.[36]
By the end of 2004, the DanChurchAid impact survey team had established the
precise location of an additional 26 minefields and dangerous areas in its area
of responsibility. Since 2002, DanChurchAid has reduced more than six square
kilometers of the 15 square kilometers originally considered dangerous, and
located 139 suspected areas covering over three square kilometers. The impact
survey involves collecting detailed information on the location of mined areas,
collecting caches of mines and UXO, and gathering socioeconomic data on the
impact of mines/UXO. This information is used to prioritize mined areas for
clearance and educate the population about confirmed dangerous
areas.[37]
A technical survey project, which had been suspended in May 2004 due to a
serious accident in training, re-started in March 2005. It was re-designated as
the Technical Survey and Clearance Project, because the combination of clearance
and survey techniques was considered the most cost-effective method of
addressing the mainly linear mined areas in
Albania.[38]DanChurchAid was
selected to replace Handicap International as the implementing organization, by
a tender procedure executed by UNDP.[39]
Mine/UXO Clearance
Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Albania must destroy all
antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as
possible, but not later than 1 August 2010. The mine action strategy finalized
in March 2005 schedules clearance of high and medium priority areas by December
2006 and all areas by 2009.[40]
During 2004, a total of 423,852 square meters of land was released, of which
182,792 square meters were demined. This was a substantial reduction from the
amount released in 2003 (1,110,401 square meters, which itself was less than
planned).[41]
Area Cleared and Released in 2004 (square
meters)[42]
DanChurchAid was responsible for all demining and technical survey in
Albania in 2004. Clearance of 16 minefields was completed before the onset of
winter suspended work on nine additional minefields; work re-commenced in 2005.
Demining teams, a battle area clearance team and mine detection dog team were
used. DanChurchAid reports that in 2004 the area demined represents a 30
percent increase in productivity compared with the 126,117 square meters demined
by its teams in 2003.[44]
The impact survey team was also responsible for collecting caches of mines
and UXO from the population in mine-affected areas; 217 antipersonnel mines, one
antivehicle mine and 15 UXO were collected from private
caches.[45]
On 10 September 2004, a DanChurchAid deminer was injured during clearance
operations.[46]During the original
HI training for the technical survey project, two trainees were killed and 18
injured when a cluster bomblet exploded on 24 May 2004.
Mine Risk Education
Organizations involved in mine risk education (MRE) projects during 2004
included the Albanian Red Cross, Victims of Mines and Weapons Association,
UNICEF, AMAE and the Albanian Institute of Pedagogical Studies.
MRE has been coordinated by AMAE “as an integral part of the AMAP
[Albanian Mine Action Program] in order to effectively reach all targeted groups
by 2005.”[47]The activities
of all organizations carrying out MRE were to be integrated, with monthly
coordination meetings and regular field monitoring. These duties referred
specifically to northeast Albania.[48]MRE standards based on IMAS were introduced in 2003.
The new mine action plan announced in June 2004 provided a plan for MRE
through December 2006, which includes ensuring that MRE activities conform to
IMAS, take a community approach, coordinate with demining organizations, and
include MRE in elementary school curricula. At the regional office in Kukes, a
new position was established to monitor and coordinate mine action, including
MRE, in the field.[49]
Albania’s 2004 Article 7 report summarized MRE activities since 2001
and provided detail of the 2004
operations.[50]AMAE reported that
mine casualties continue to occur in northeast Albania, but the number of
incidents declined as a result of what AMAE describes as good progress in
clearance, and well implemented and coordinated MRE
activities.[51]
UNICEF has been the lead UN agency for MRE in Albania since 1999. During
2004 UNICEF supported the preparation of two mine and weapons risk manuals, one
for students and one for teachers, to be distributed throughout Albania free of
charge, after a pilot phase in Kukes prefecture. They were prepared by the
Albanian Institute of Pedagogical Studies, in collaboration with AMAE.
According to AMAE, the manuals are required due to the high level of incidents
in or near hot spots- exploded ammunition stores- which are present throughout
Albania (not confined to the mine-contaminated
northeast).[52]
During 2004, a joint MRE program conducted by the Albanian Red Cross and
funded by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reached about
6,500 people, including over 3,400 children, in mine-affected areas. There were
410 presentations to community groups and school-based distributions of
children’s games incorporating MRE messages, and nine billboards erected
in mine-affected communities.[53]In support of an integrated strategy for mine action and MRE, the Red
Cross coordinator and MRE instructors sought to maintain contact with clearance
organizations operating in the area, to support day-to-day clearance and liaise
between the affected communities and
deminers.[54]
The local NGO Victims of Mines and Weapons Association (VMA) carried out MRE
in 39 mine-affected villages in northeast Albania, from November 2003 to
November 2004, supported by UNICEF. This was undertaken through anti-mine
committees established in the villages, with membership consisting of
influential village people, including nurses, teachers, and youth
representatives from schools. These committees, supported by the VMA team,
organized monthly meetings to disseminate MRE information. The VMA team also
provided MRE materials to the mine-affected communities, including posters and
leaflets. This project was funded by the US Department of
State.[55]
School-based MRE activities were also organized, including a competition for
the best poster design, leaflets, songs, role plays and information about
minefields, mine risk signs and environment issues. A mobile theater traveled
from village to village to disseminate safety
messages.[56]
Funding and Assistance
Landmine Monitor identified a total of US$3,793,344 of mine action funding
for Albania in 2004, compared to the $3.6 million spent in
2003.[57]Six countries are
reported to have contributed $3,068,458 in 2004:
Austria: €49,500 ($61,568) to ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled
Tirana Project;[58]
Czech Republic: $50,000 through ITF for demining and training, and for
victim assistance for children through local
NGOs;[59]
Germany: €300,000 ($373,140) through ITF for DanChurchAid
demining;[60]
Switzerland: CHF126,563 ($93,750) in-kind to
UNDP;[61]
UK: $400,000 ($150,000 and $250,000 reported by UNDP as funding received in
2004 for mine action in
Albania;[62]
US: $2,090,000, including $1,750,000 through ITF to DCA for clearance and
building national demining capacity, and $340,000 for victim assistance through
the Leahy War Victims
Fund.[63]
The International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF)
reported allocating $2,833,958, or 11.3 percent of its 2004 funding to mine
action in Albania in 2004. Donations reported by ITF, additional to those noted
above, are: Canada ($149,577) and DanChurchAid
($575,309).[64]ITF also reports
other unspecified donations from the EC, US and private
donors.[65]
From the ITF allocation of $2,833,958 to Albania in 2004, 81 percent
($2,295,792) was expended on demining, 4.3 percent ($123,589) on victim
assistance, 6.8 percent ($191,627) on MAC support, and 7.9 percent ($222,950) on
other projects.[66]
AMAE reports mine action funding in 2004 of over $5.5 million, allocated as
$2,203,719 for mine clearance (donated by Germany, Czech Republic, EC, US
through ITF, and Denmark), €2 million ($2,487,600) for technical survey
(EC), $116,000 for MRE (US), $262,300 for victim assistance (US through ITF,
ICRC, UK and individual donors), and $449,799 for capacity-building (Canada,
UNDP and US through ITF).[67]
AMAE expenditure budgeted for 2005-2006 amounted to $8.65
million.[68]The government planned
to contribute by providing a helicopter for evacuations from remote areas and by
provision of explosives for clearance operations; these contributions were
uncosted.[69]
Landmine/UXO Casualties
In 2004, there were 25 new mine/UXO casualties in Albania, including six
people killed and 19 injured, in three mine-related incidents/accidents. On 17
May, four Albanians, aged 14, 16, 20 and 38 years, were killed by an antivehicle
mine while gathering herbs in Kukes district about one mile from the Macedonian
border; the area was not known to be mine-affected. On 24 May, a KB-1
submunition exploded during training of personnel for the technical survey
project, killing two people and injuring 18
others.[70]On 10 September 2004,
one deminer working with DanChurchAid was injured during a mine clearance
operation.[71]This is an increase
compared to the four people injured in
2003.[72]
Casualties continued to be reported in 2005. In April, one deminer working
with DanChurchAid was injured during mine clearance operations, and in June, a
man was injured on the Kosovo-side of the border while grazing
animals.[73]
As of June 2005, the AMAE database contained information on 272 mine/UXO
casualties in northeast Albania since 1999: 34 people were killed and 238
injured. The group most affected by mine casualties is men of working
age.[74]Data on mine/UXO
casualties is collected with the support of the Albanian Red Cross and
VMA-Kukesi. In 2004, the IMSMA database was transferred to the AMAE regional
office in Kukes in order to be closer to mine clearance
operations.[75]
Comprehensive information on the number of people killed or injured by mines
and UXO in the hotspots in other parts of Albania since 1997 is not known. AMAE
reported in June 2004 that there were an estimated 400 survivors of UXO
incidents.[76]
Survivor Assistance
At the First Review Conference in Nairobi, Albania was identified as one of
24 States Parties with significant numbers of mine survivors, and with
“the greatest responsibility to act, but also the greatest needs and
expectations for assistance" in providing adequate services for the care,
rehabilitation and reintegration of
survivors.[77]
Albania submitted the voluntary Form J to report on victim assistance
activities with its annual Article 7 report in
2005.[78]
In 2004, progress continued to be made on the integrated victim assistance
strategy adopted in 2003.[79]The
strategy includes building local capacities in trauma surgery and
rehabilitation, and the economic reintegration of mine survivors through a
micro-finance scheme. AMAE coordinates victim assistance activities in
cooperation with the Ministry of Health, Kukes Hospital, Institute of Primary
Healthcare, the National Prosthetic Center, Albanian Red Cross, VMA-Kukesi,
ICRC, UNDP, the Slovenian Institute of Rehabilitation and the ITF. A UN
volunteer was employed as a victim assistance advisor to develop a sustainable
victim assistance capability by December
2006.[80]
In October 2004, UNDP Albania started a new victim assistance project with
funding from the UK and UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery.
The project aims to develop a community-based rehabilitation (CBR) network in
mine-affected villages, an emergency medical fund for landmine/UXO survivors,
and a prosthetic support center at Kukes Hospital for the repair and maintenance
of prostheses; to integrate socioeconomic programs into locally-based
development programs; to update the IMSMA database to include casualties of the
1997 hotspots. Previously, physical rehabilitation was very limited as there
were no rehabilitation centers in the mine-affected area.
In November 2004, 30 village nurses from mine-affected villages received six
days training in basic rehabilitation skills for the CBR project from an
Albanian orthopedic surgeon and four specialists from the Slovenian Institute of
Rehabilitation. In November-December, a prosthetic repair technician underwent
six weeks of training at the National Prosthetic Center. As of May 2005, 16
amputees had been assisted at the new Prostheses Support Center. One
physiotherapist and one neurologist from Kukes Hospital also received training
with UNDP support. VMA-Kukesi is setting up the CBR network in mine-affected
villages. One survivor was also treated for his eye injuries through the
emergency assistance fund at the IGLI Russian clinic in Tirana. Two other
visually impaired survivors received medical treatment for their injuries
through donations from the 2003 Night of a Thousand
Dinners.[81]
State facilities provide medical aid and treatment to mine casualties. The
main specialized facility is the Central University Military Hospital in Tirana.
However, the hospital is far from the mine-affected
areas.[82]
Kukes regional hospital is the main hospital in the mine-affected area.
Hospitals at the district level have very basic equipment but no intensive care
units. Mine casualties can receive initial treatment at these hospitals, but
more serious cases are transferred to Kukes. In November 2004, mobile x-ray
equipment and orthopedic surgical kits were delivered to Kukes Hospital,
improving its surgical capacity. Funding was provided by the US Department of
State through the ITF. In early 2004, training was organized for two surgeons
and an anesthetist in Slovenia.[83]
The National Prosthetic Center (NPC) in Tirana, located at the National
Trauma Center within the Central University Military Hospital, is the only
center for prosthetics and orthotics in Albania. It has the capacity to produce
lower limb prostheses. All services are free of charge, except for wheelchairs
and crutches, if required. In 2004, the ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled
(SFD) took over support of the center through the provision of raw materials and
on-the-job training of technicians. The SFD also sponsored one technician from
the NPC to undertake a 2.5 year internationally recognized prosthetics course in
Bangalore, India. In 2004, the NPC assisted about 950 people, including 154
amputees.[84]
In 2004, 15 mine and UXO survivors who required specialized treatment not
available in Albania were rehabilitated at the Slovenian Institute of
Rehabilitation, with ITF support. The ITF also supported five child survivors
to attend a one-week summer camp in Slovenia, organized by the Slovenian Red
Cross. Funding was provided through the ITF by the US Department of State and
money raised at the Night of a Thousand Dinners event in
Slovenia.[85]
In 2005, the New Italian University in Tirana started a three-year
internationally recognized physiotherapy program. There is no prosthetic and
orthotic school in Albania to train
technicians.[86]
The local NGO, VMA-Kukesi, operates in northeast Albania providing
psychosocial support, vocational training and income generation activities for
mine survivors and their families in 39 villages in the three mine-affected
districts of Has, Kukes, and Tropoja. In 2004, VMA organized a summer camp for
360 children, including mine survivors and the families of those killed or
injured. The VMA socioeconomic reintegration project provides community-based
vocational training, interest-free loans, cows, goats, chickens or beehives to
develop home-based income generating activities. In 2004, 37 mine survivors and
their families benefited from the project, which is supported by the ITF through
the US Department of State and donations from the Night of a Thousand Dinners.
By June 2005, 238 mine/UXO survivors were registered members of
VMA-Kukesi.[87]
In February 2005, the Night of a Thousand Dinners event hosted by the US and
Dutch embassies in Albania raised $18,000 from individual donors. The funds
will be used to treat sight-impaired
survivors.[88]
Two mine survivors from Albania participated in the Raising the Voices
training in Geneva in February 2004, and the First Review Conference in Nairobi
in November-December 2004.
Disability Policy and Practice
The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is responsible for issues relating
to persons with disabilities, including mine survivors.
Albania has legislation to protect the rights of persons with disabilities.
Mine survivors are entitled to the same rights as all persons with disabilities
in Albania.[89]However, there is
reportedly discrimination against people with disabilities in the workforce,
education and other state services in
Albania.[90]In April 2005, the
Ministry adopted a new law entitling all persons with disabilities (even those
who were not officially employed at the time of their injury) to a social
pension. The amount of benefit is dependent on the level of
disability.[91]
In August 2004, the Ministry released the National Strategy on People with
Disabilities, which aims to improve the living conditions of people with
disabilities through services, education, employment, vocational training,
capacity-building, legislation and accessibility. The strategy was approved by
the Council of Ministers on 7 January
2005.[92]
The Tirana-based Albanian Disability Rights Foundation, an umbrella
organization for all NGOs working with people with disabilities, provides
assistance to mine survivors and other people with disabilities. The foundation
has a lawyer who acts on behalf of persons with disabilities in need of legal
assistance.[93]
Handicap International’s program in Albania focuses on
capacity-building of local disability
organizations.[94]
[1] The full title of the latter
is: Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 269, “On Ban of Use, Storage,
Production and Transfer of the APM and their Destruction,” 25 May
2000. [2] Presentation by Albania,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action
Technologies, Geneva, 11 February 2004. This is a reference to Article 278 of
the Albanian criminal code which imposes penal sanctions for the
“production of live weapons and ammunition, bombs, mines or explosives
without authorization from the government authorities” and for the
transfer of “weapons and live ammunition [and] explosives.” [3] Interview with Arben Braha,
Director, Albanian Mine Action Executive (AMAE), Tirana, 15 March 2004. [4] Albania initially reported that
legislation was being prepared as early as 2000. See Landmine Monitor Report
2004, p. 98. [5] Previous Article 7 reports were
submitted on 30 April 2004; 30 April 2003; 3 April 2002. The initial report was
due 28 January 2001. [6] Statement by Besnik Baraj,
Deputy Minister of Defense, Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World (First Review
Conference), Nairobi, 2 December 2004. See also “Mine Free Regions
Initiative: The Example of Mine Free South Eastern Europe by 2009,”
prepared by Slovenia, delivered to the First Review Conference, Nairobi, 1
December 2004. Supported by Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada,
Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia and the European
Commission. [7] Notably, Albania has not
expressed a position on the legality of transit of antipersonnel mines through
its territory by a non-State Party, or on the legality of other states engaging
in activities involving antipersonnel mines on Albanian territory, despite one
possible instance in 1999 when Albania was a signatory to the Mine Ban Treaty.
See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 51. In 1999, US Army engineer units
reportedly deployed to Albania with antipersonnel mines and their delivery
systems as part of Task Force Hawk to support operations in Kosovo. [8] UN, “Countries stand
united in the battle against landmines,” 4 November 2004, http://www.un.int/angola/press_release_landmines.
[9] For more details see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 99-101. [10] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2000, p. 560, citing UNMACC Threat Fact sheet No. 1, 27 October
1999. [11] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 5; see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp.
597–598. [12] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 5; DanChurchAid, “Humanitarian Mine Action Programme in
Albania: Annual Report 2004.” [13] “The Albanian Mine
Action Program,” Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education
and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 5 February 2003. [14] Interview with Arben Braha,
AMAE, Tirana, 25 May 2005. [15] Interview with Arben Braha,
AMAE, Tirana, 25 May 2005. [16] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 100-101. [17] Email from Lawrence Dozcy,
Project Manager, Support for Security Reform Project, UNDP, Tirana, 19 August
2005. [18] Interview with Veri Dogjani,
MRE and Victim Assistance Officer, AMAE, Tirana, 9 May 2005. [19] For the development of mine
action structures and program, see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp.
101-102. [20] Interview with Arben Braha,
AMAE, Tirana, 12 April 2005. [21] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 6. [22] Presentation by Arben Braha,
AMAE, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action
Technologies, Geneva, 14 June 2005; presentation, Standing Committee on Mine
Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 5 February
2003. Although the revised strategy was announced at the First Review
Conference in November-December 2004, the Mine-Free Regions Initiative, to which
Albania subscribed and was also announced at the Conference, records December
2005 as the target for Albania to be free from the effect of mines and
unexploded ordnance. “Mine Free Regions Initiative: The Example of Mine
Free South Eastern Europe by 2009,” prepared by Slovenia, delivered to the
First Review Conference, Nairobi, 1 December 2004. [23] Interviews with Arben Braha,
AMAE, Tirana, 28 March 2004 and 25 May 2005. [24] Interview with Arben Braha,
AMAE, Tirana, 25 May 2005. [25] Interview with Veri Dogjani,
MRE and Victim Assistance Officer, AMAE, Tirana, 9 May 2005; Article 7 Report,
Form I, 30 April 2004. [26] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” pp. 3, 7-8. [27] UNDP Albania Country Office
website, “Albanian Mine Action Program (AMAP) – Capacity Building
Project,” www.undp.org.al/?projects, last updated on 26 May 2005. [28] FSD’s withdrawal
caused some 70 local deminers in northeast Albania, a poor area with very high
unemployment, to become unemployed. AMAE requested that priority be given to
employing these deminers for the technical survey project. AMAE, “Annual
Report 2004,” p. 6. [29] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 3. [30] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 11. [31] Presentation by Arben Braha,
AMAE, Standing Committee Meeting on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine
Action Technologies, Geneva, 14 June 2005. [32] Email from Arben Braha,
AMAE, 24 August 2005. Insurance for local staff covers US$50,000 in case of
death. [33] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 11; interview with Arben Braha, AMAE, Tirana, 12 April 2005;
DanChurchAid, “Humanitarian Mine Action Program in Albania, Annual Report
2004,” p. 9. [34] Interview with Veri Dogjani,
MRE and Victim Assistance Officer, AMAE, Tirana, 9 June 2005. [35] Article 7 Report, Form C,
Annex A, 29 April 2005. [36] Interview with Arben Braha,
Director, AMAE, Tirana, 20 September 2005, and email 24 August 2005. [37] DanChurchAid,
“Humanitarian Mine Action Program in Albania, Annual Report 2004,”
pp. 10-11. [38] DanChurchAid,
“Humanitarian Mine Action Program in Albania, Annual Report 2004,”
p. 14. [39] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 7; AMAE/UNDP Brochure, “Albanian Mine Action Program:
Albania safe from Mines and UXO by 2006,” Tirana, June 2005. [40] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” pp. 3-4. [41] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 11. For explanation of the reduced clearance in 2004, see
preceding section Mine Action Program. [42] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 11.
[43] The 2,265 landmines
destroyed included: 780 PMA3/VPMA3; 768 type PMA1/PMA1A/VPMA1; 195 PMR2A; 520
type PMA2/VPMA2; 2 MRUD. Article 7 Report, Form G, Table 2, 29 April 2005. [44] DanChurchAid,
“Humanitarian Mine Action Program in Albania, Annual Report 2004,”
p. 18. [45] DanChurchAid,
“Humanitarian Mine Action Program in Albania, Annual Report 2004,”
p. 18. [46] Interview with Melanie
Reimer, Victim Assistance Advisor, UNDP-AMAE, June 2005. [47] Article 7 Report, Form I, 30
April 2004; see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 105. [48] Interview with Veri Dogjani,
MRE and Victim Assistance Officer, AMAE, Tirana, 9 May 2005. [49] Interview with Veri Dogjani,
MRE and Victim Assistance Officer, AMAE, Tirana, 9 May 2005. [50] Article 7 Report, Form I, 29
April 2005. [51] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 12 [52] Interview with Veri Dogjani,
MRE and Victim Assistance Officer, AMAE, Tirana, 9 May 2005. [53] ARC, “Mine Risk
Education Yearly Report 2004.” [54] Interview with Ramadan
Disha, MRE Coordinator, ARC, Tirana, 26 May 2005. [55] Interview with Veri Dogjani,
MRE and Victim Assistance Officer, AMAE, Tirana, 9 May 2005; AMAE, “Annual
Report 2004,” p. 12. [56] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 12. [57] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 106. [58] Article 7 Report, Form J, 27
April 2005; email from Norbert Hack, Minister, Department of Disarmament, Arms
Control and Non-Proliferation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1 August 2005.
Average exchange rate for 2004: €1 = $1.2438, used throughout this report.
US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January
2005. [59] Email from Jan Kara,
Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 29 July 2005. [60] Article 7 Report, Form J, 15
April 2005; email from Dirk Roland Haupt, Federal Foreign Office, Division 241,
25 July 2005. [61] Mine Action Investments
database; email from Janine Voigt, Diplomatic Collaborator, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, 1 July 2005. Rate of exchange for 2004 fixed by donor: US$1 =
CHF1.35. [62] UNDP, “Funding Update
by Donors,” www.undp.org, accessed 22
August 2005. These amounts are included in the estimate of total funding in
2004. The UK did not include these amounts in its funding reports. [63] Email from H. Murphey McCloy
Jr., Senior Demining Advisor, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, Bureau of
Political-Military Affairs, US Department of State, 4 October 2005. [64] ITF, “Annual Report
2004,” pp. 23-24. These amounts are included in the estimate of total
funding. [65] ITF, “Annual Report
2004,” pp. 23-24, 40-45. [66] ITF, “Contribution to
the Landmine Monitor 2005,” by email from Iztok Hočevar,, Head of
International Relations Department, 22 July 2005. Percentages calculated by
Landmine Monitor differ slightly from those in ITF “Annual Report
2004,” p. 45. [67] Information provided by
Arben Braha, AMAE, 12 April 2005. AMAE later informed Landmine Monitor that the
EC funding of €2 million for technical survey was received in 2003, but
carried over to 2004. Email from AMAE, 6 October 2005. [68] Presentation, Standing
Committee Meeting on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action
Technologies, Geneva, 14 June 2005. [69] Presentation by Stefano
Calabretta, Chief Technical Advisor, UNDP-AMAE, EU Mine Action Coordination
Meeting for South East Europe, Sarajevo, 7 April 2005. [70] Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Juliana Buzi, AMAE, 15 July 2004; AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 12; Article 7 Report, Form I, 29 April 2005; “Albanian
court frees Briton, Bosnian implicated in death of two Albanian de-mining
trainees,” Associated Press, 15 June 2004. [71] Information provided by
Melanie Reimer, Victim Assistance Advisor, UNDP-AMAE, June 2005. [72] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 108. [73] Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Veri Dogjani, MRE and Victim Assistance Officer, AMAE, 17 August
2005. [74] “The Albania Mine
Action Programme: Victim Assistance and Social-Economic Reintegration,”
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration,
Geneva, 16 June 2005; for more details, see Landmine Monitor Report 2004,
pp. 108-109. [75] AMAE, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 10. [76] AMAE, “Plans to
implement Article 5,” 18 June 2004, p. 1. [77] United Nations, Final
Report, First Review Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on the
Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel
Mines and on Their Destruction, Nairobi, 29 November-3 December 2004,
APLC/CONF/2004/5, 9 February 2005, p. 33. [78] Article 7 Report, Form J, 29
April 2005. [79] For more details on the
situation in 2003, see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 109-112. [80] “The Albania Mine
Action Programme: Victim Assistance and Social-Economic Reintegration,”
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration,
Geneva, 16 June 2005; Article 7 Report, Form J, 29 April 2005. [81] Article 7 Report, Form J, 29
April 2005; information provided by Melanie Reimer, Victim Assistance Advisor,
UNDP-AMAE, June 2005. [82] For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 109-110. [83] ITF, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 43; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 110. [84] ICRC Special Report,
“Mine Action 2004,” p. 31; Article 7 Report, Form J, 29 April
2005. [85] ITF, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 42; Article 7 Report, Form J, 29 April 2005. [86] Information provided by
Melanie Reimer, Victim Assistance Advisor, UNDP-AMAE, June 2005. [87] Article 7 Report, Form J, 29
April 2005; Standing Tall Australia and Mines Action Canada, “101 Great
Ideas for the Socio-Economic Reintegration of Mine Survivors,” June 2005,
p. 13; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 111-112; information
provided by Melanie Reimer, Victim Assistance Advisor, UNDP-AMAE, June 2005. [88] AMAE, “The Albanian
Mine Action Programme,” June 2005, p. 4. [89] For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 112-113. [90] US Department of State,
“Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2004: Albania,”
Washington DC, 28 February 2005. [91] Information provided by
Melanie Reimer, Victim Assistance Advisor, UNDP-AMAE, June 2005. [92] “Major advance for
disability rights in Albania,” OSCE, press release, www.osce.org; see also Republic of Albania,
“National Strategy on People with Disabilities,” August 2004, www.dpi.org accessed 9 August 2005. [93] Information provided by
Melanie Reimer, Victim Assistance Advisor, UNDP-AMAE, June 2005. [94] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 113.
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