Key developments since May 2004: Serbia and Montenegro submitted its
initial Article 7 report on 25 October 2004. A stockpile destruction project
has been established, in cooperation with the NATO Maintenance and Supply
Agency; destruction began on 17 August 2005. Serbia and Montenegro intends to
retain 5,000 antipersonnel mines for training purposes. In 2004, at least 1.6
square kilometers of land was cleared in Serbia at a cost of some US$2 million;
some 1,060 antipersonnel mines and 215 antivehicle mines were destroyed. The
Montenegrin Ministry of Health established a commission for antipersonnel mine
survivors, and the Serbian Ministry of Health established the Council of Health
Workers to develop programs to assist landmine survivors. At the First Review
Conference, Serbia and Montenegro was identified as one of 24 States Parties
with the greatest needs and responsibility to provided adequate survivor
assistance.
Mine Ban Policy
Serbia and Montenegro (formerly FR Yugoslavia) acceded to the Mine Ban
Treaty on 18 September 2003 and became a State Party on 1 March 2004. In terms
of national implementation measures, Serbia and Montenegro stated in February
2004: “Upon completion of the ratification procedure, the Convention
became an integral part of our domestic legislation,” but noted that
“the normative and legislative authority” rests with the member
states—the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of
Montenegro.[1]
The Republic of Montenegro Ministry of Justice stated that since April 2004
“Montenegro has been implementing a new Penal Code which has been
harmonized with international agreements and standards,” and which
fulfills the obligations of the Mine Ban Treaty. It includes punishments of one
to five years of prison for production, transfer, or stockpiling of banned
weapons.[2] In October 2004, Serbia
and Montenegro reported that “A new Criminal Code of the Republic of
Serbia is currently being drafted which will cover in a comprehensive way the
sanctioning of non-compliance with ratified international
treaties.”[3] Throughout 2005,
the Republic of Serbia has been reviewing the proposal for a new penal code that
would include as criminal offenses “the use of banned means of
combat” and “the non-permitted production of banned
weapons.”[4] According to the
Ministry of Justice, it will be possible to penalize the use, stockpiling,
production and trade of antipersonnel mines under these two
provisions.[5]
Serbia and Montenegro submitted its initial Article 7 report on 25 October
2004.[6] The due date was 28 August
2004. It includes voluntary Form J with information on mine victim assistance.
It did not submit the annual update for the remainder of the calendar year, due
by 30 April 2005.
Serbia and Montenegro attended the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban
Treaty in Nairobi in November-December 2004. Ambassador Dejan Sahovic from the
Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva headed the delegation. In his statement,
he outlined the steps Serbia and Montenegro had already taken to implement the
treaty and noted “The existing unique partnership of Governments and the
civil society, of donors and mine-affected countries, should be further
strengthened.”[7] At the
conference, Serbia and Montenegro supported a joint proposal for a mine-free
region in South Eastern Europe by
2009.[8]
Serbia and Montenegro attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings
in June 2005, where representatives made a presentation on plans for stockpile
destruction. Serbia and Montenegro 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, and in particular the issues of joint military
operations with non-States Parties, antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or
antihandling devices, and the permissible number of mines retained for training.
However, Serbia and Montenegro submitted a formal declaration with its
instrument of accession stating that “it is the understanding of Serbia
and Montenegro that the mere participation in the planning or conduct of
operations, exercises or any other military activities by the armed forces of
Serbia and Montenegro, or by any of its nationals, if carried out in conjunction
with armed forces of the non-State Parties (to the Convention), which engage in
activities prohibited under the Convention, does not in any way imply an
assistance, encouragement or inducement as referred to in subparagraph 1 (c) of
the Convention.”
Serbia and Montenegro is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons,
having assumed the obligation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. However,
it is not yet party to Amended Protocol II. In April 2005, the Foreign Ministry
said that it had drafted a ratification bill and forwarded it to the Defense
Ministry for finalization. The bill then has to be adopted by the Council of
Ministers and Parliament. The Foreign Ministry stated that this procedure could
be completed in 2005.[9]
Serbia and Montenegro attended, as an observer, the Sixth Annual Conference
of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in November 2004.
Production, Transfer and Use
In April 2005, the Ministry of Defense reported that Serbia and Montenegro
had not produced any type of landmine since
1990.[10] Previously, Serbia and
Montenegro had stated several times that mine production stopped in 1992, and
that mine exports halted in
1990.[11]
Landmine incidents continued to be reported in southern Serbia during 2004
and 2005, although less frequently than in previous years. As before, it is
unclear if all or any of these incidents represent new use or result from
earlier deployment by irregular anti-Serbian forces. Between 1 January 2004 and
10 April 2005, the police and other security forces of the Serbian Ministry of
Interior discovered and destroyed two antipersonnel mines, three antivehicle
mines and 52 kilograms of explosives in the southern municipalities of
Preševo, Bujanovac and
Medvedja.[12] During 2003, a total
of 40 antipersonnel mines and six antivehicle mines were discovered and
destroyed by government forces in the same
municipalities.[13]
Stockpiling and Destruction
According to its initial Article 7 report and previous statements made by
government representatives, Serbia and Montenegro holds a stockpile of 1,320,620
antipersonnel mines.[14] The mines
are stored at several locations in both
republics.[15] The stockpile
consists of the following quantities and types:
Serbia and Montenegro Antipersonnel Mine
Stockpile[16]
Type
Quantity
Mine AP Blast PMA-1 & 1A
287,804
Mine AP Blast PMA-2
145,185
Mine AP Blast PMA-3
258,631
Mine AP Fragmentation PMR-2
74,072
Mine AP Fragmentation PMR-2A
465,089
Mine AP Fragmentation PMR-3
3,528
Mine AP Bounding Fragmentation PROM-1
52,547
Incomplete, fuzeless or damaged mines
33,764
Total
1,320,620
Serbia and Montenegro acknowledges that it also possesses MRUD
(Claymore-type) directional fragmentation mines, but states that the mines are
only used in command-detonated mode, and therefore are not covered by the Mine
Ban Treaty.[17]
Serbia and Montenegro declared in its initial Article 7 report that it will
retain 5,000 antipersonnel mines for the development of and training in mine
detection, mine clearance or mine destruction techniques, as permitted under
Article 3. The 5,000 mines will include: 500 PMA-1; 1,000 PMA-2; 1,000 PMA-3;
500 PMR-2A; 1,000 PMR-3; 1,000
PROM-1.[18] Serbia and Montenegro
has not yet reported in any detail on the intended purposes and actual uses of
its retained mines—a step agreed to by States Parties in the Nairobi
Action Plan that emerged from the First Review Conference.
At the First Review Conference, Serbia and Montenegro announced that its
stockpile destruction project “is in the final stages of its
preparation.” It said that destruction would begin in 2005, and that
stocks “will be destroyed in less than three
years.”[19] In June 2005,
Serbia and Montenegro stated that the project is expected to be completed by May
2007. The deadline set by the Mine Ban Treaty for stockpile destruction is 1
March 2008.[20]
Serbia and Montenegro requested assistance with stockpile destruction from
the NATO South East Europe Initiative (SEEI) Trust Fund. The project was
approved in October 2004, and agreements between the Ministry of Defense and
NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) were completed by 26 January
2005.[21] The preparatory phase of
the project began in March 2005, and a special facility was opened on 17 August
2005 in Kragujevac to handle the destruction
process.[22]
The Kragujevac destruction facility will demilitarize the majority of the
stockpiled mines through reverse assembly. An estimated 110 tons of TNT
recovered from the mines will be recycled at the Prva Iskra Baric explosives
factory. The value of the resulting commercial explosives will offset the cost
of transporting the TNT to the factory and the recycling process. Items that
cannot be demilitarized will be destroyed using open burning and open detonation
techniques; this includes 3,528 PMR-3 antipersonnel mines and 33,764 incomplete
or damaged mines, as well as primers and
fuzes.[23] Serbia and Montenegro
has said that special attention will be paid to environmental concerns, and that
all steps in the destruction process will be documented and covered by the media
to ensure the project is conducted in a transparent and public
manner.[24]
The total estimated cost of the project is €1,689,996 (some $2.1
million).[25] NAMSA is the
executing agent for the donors, with Canada and Austria as lead donors. Serbia
and Montenegro’s contribution to the project will include provision of
vehicles and labor for loading, transporting and off-loading mines, logistic and
office support to the NAMSA team, and provision of all explosives and
accessories required for the destruction of detonators and
fuzes.[26]
Landmine and UXO Problem
Serbia and Montenegro reported in its initial Article 7 report that there
were two remaining areas of landmine contamination on its territory. A third
area along the Croatia-Montenegro border located on the Prevlaka peninsula was
also heavily mined in the early 1990s; it became a demilitarized zone under a UN
mission and demining was completed in
2003.[27]
The first area of remaining minefields is along the border with Croatia from
the tri-border area, where Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina meet,
extending to the Belgrade-Zagreb highway in the municipality of Sid. These
minefields are the result of the 1992–1995 conflicts during the breakup of
the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The initial Article 7
report stated the original area contaminated with mines and UXO (unexploded
ordnance) to be six square kilometers, including 5,600 antipersonnel mines and
antivehicle mines emplaced in 1991-1992, and reported clearance which took place
before Serbia and Montenegro became a State Party to the
treaty.[28]
In May 2005 the Serbian Mine Action Center reported the total contaminated
area to be around 5.1 square kilometers, with an estimated 8,500 antipersonnel
and antivehicle mines (around 5,300 antipersonnel mines and 3,200 antivehicle
mines).[29] General and technical
survey of the border area was performed in 2002 by the Serbian Mine Action
Center in a joint project with the Croatian Mine Action
Center.[30]
The second area of remaining minefields is in the Montenegrin municipality of
Plav, where an 81-kilometer stretch of the border between the Bogicevic and
Lipovica mountains in Albania and the former Yugoslavia (now Serbia and
Montenegro) was also mined in 1991. Mines were also laid by Serbian forces
during the 1999 conflict.[31] The
Army began demining the border area in 2003 and continued in
2004.[32] The remaining suspected
contamination area is 46 kilometers in length; 31 minefields remain from the
original 65 locations recorded in that area. According to government estimates,
between 200 and 250 PMR–2A and PMR–2AS antipersonnel mines
remain.[33] In 2004 Army teams
carried out demining operations in the area, but it is has not been reported how
large an area was cleared or how many mines were removed since, according to the
Montenegrin Ministry of Interior, the clearance operation was not performed as
humanitarian demining; a technical survey is required to establish the actual
situation.[34]
In addition to these areas of primarily mine contamination, UXO from previous
wars remain a large problem in Serbia and Montenegro. Unexploded cluster
bomblets from NATO air strikes in 1999 are one of the main forms of UXO. A
general survey of the areas contaminated by cluster bomblets was conducted in
2001 by the Italian NGO
INTERSOS.[35] Cluster bomblets have
been located in six main areas in Serbia (four locations in Nis, three in
Kraljevo, two in Kursumlija, two in Sjenica, two on Mount Kopaonik and one
location in Vladimirci), totaling an area of 25 square
kilometers.[36]
In Montenegro, the municipality of Rozaje on the administrative border with
Serbia is also contaminated with cluster bomblets. According to data collected
by the Montenegrin Ministry of Interior, during the NATO attacks in 1999 four
cluster bombs containing BL 755 bomblets were dropped. Contamination is
centered on the villages of Besnik and Njegusi, which covers an area of around
five kilometers by 300 meters. As each cluster bomb contains 147 bomblets, it
is calculated that a total of 588 cluster bomblets were dropped. Several
clearance operations have been conducted in the area, but according to the
Montenegrin Ministry of Interior, between 70 and 100 bomblets still affect the
two villages.[37]
The 1999 NATO air strikes are believed to have also scattered a total of 62
unexploded aerial bombs and other large ordnance across 44 locations in Serbia,
including the riverbeds of the Danube and the Sava. This estimate is based on
reports from the civilian population, state information service, civil defense
sector of the Army, and Ministry of Internal Affairs which reports
investigations of mine/UXO
incidents.[38]
Fencing and Marking
The initial Article 7 report of 25 October 2004 reports: “Mined areas
are properly marked with semi-permanent signs (poles with barbed wire)....
Local population has been informed and instructed with respect of the rules of
movement.... All potentially dangerous locations are outside populated areas
(minimum distance 5 km).”[39]
Areas contaminated with cluster bomblets are only partly marked, reportedly
because the mountainous terrain is largely
inaccessible.[40]
Mine Action Program
At state union level, there is no national mine action body and no national
mine action plan. For Serbia, the Mine Action Center has mine action
coordination and planning responsibilities. In Montenegro, the Regional Center
for Underwater Demining is the body responsible for mine action. The Serbian
Mine Action Center’s duties include proposing relevant legislation,
collecting data on mined and suspected areas, developing demining projects, and
obtaining funding.[41]
Mine/UXO clearance activities of the Armed Forces are restricted to
contaminated areas where military facilities are located; they do not have the
mandate to clear other land. Army clearance operations are not within the
Serbian Mine Action Center’s responsibility, and it keeps no records of
Army clearance operations. Army demining units are reported to lack modern
equipment and the funding needed to acquire
it.[42] In previous years, other
mine/UXO clearance agencies have worked primarily on the Prevlaka peninsula.
In Montenegro, the local NGO SAVE, based in Niksic, is registered for
humanitarian demining.[43] In April
2004, six members of the Montenegrin Ministry of Interior, two members of the
Serbian Ministry of Interior and two members of the Serbian Ministry of Defense
received refresher training in conventional munition disposal, with the support
of the South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and
Light Weapons (SEESAC). Both the ministries of interior received equipment to
enhance their operational capabilities and improve operator
safety.[44]
Serbia’s demining plan for 2005 envisages the removal of mines in the
border area with Croatia; the total area to be cleared is around 1.3 square
kilometers.[45] Also a priority for
clearance during 2005 is cluster bomblet contamination in the Nis region. These
priorities are based on the need to return private properties to their owners,
to allow the reconstruction of key infrastructure, and to reduce the number of
civilian casualties.[46] The
International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF) was
responsible for international tendering of work for both priority areas, with
demining operations due to begin in July
2005.[47]
In addition, on the Croatian border, clearance of around 500,000 square
meters of no-man’s land between the Batrovci-Bajakovo border crossing
(370,000 square meters) and the future Jamena-Strosinci border crossing (130,000
square meters) will be conducted as a joint project with the Croatian Mine
Action Center.[48]
In March 2005, it was reported that the European Agency for Reconstruction
would secure some €6 million ($7,462,800) for a project to ensure safe
passage of boats down the Sava and Danube rivers, some parts of which were
suspected to be UXO-affected. Prior agreement was needed with Croatia to search
the border area between Bogojevo and Erdut, and between Backa Palanka and Ilok.
Agreement with Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina was also needed for clearance
of the Sava in the tri-state border
belt.[49] There has been no
confirmation as to whether these agreements have been secured.
In August 2005, media reports indicated that clearance of cluster bombs in
Nis and Kopaonik would be carried out by the Dok-ing company from Croatia, and
ME.DE.COM from Bosnia and Herzegovina, following a tender managed by the
ITF.[50] The US provided $713,770
for this contract.[51]
The Republic of Montenegro declared that it was planning to clear UXO from
affected areas in the municipalities of Plav and Rožaje, to the standards
of humanitarian demining, during
2005.[52]
Mine/UXO Clearance
Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Serbia and Montenegro must destroy
all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon
as possible, but not later than 1 March 2014.
In 2004, a total of 1,631,504 square meters of land in Serbia was demined.
Mine clearance operations were carried out by companies and NGOs from Serbia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and
Germany.[53] According to the
initial Article 7 report, from 1 March to 1 September 2004 an area of 674,400
square meters was cleared near Jamena village in the tri-border region,
resulting in the destruction of 1,060 antipersonnel mines and 215 antivehicle
mines. Clearance continued on a further 192,400 square
meters.[54] ITF reports funding the
clearance of 732,000 square meters (1,390 mines and six UXO found) in two
tenders financed by Germany and the European Commission in
2004.[55]
Clearance techniques used included manual, mechanical and mine detection
dogs. According to the head of the Serbian Mine Action Center, all operations
and quality control were carried out in accordance with International Mine
Action Standards (IMAS).[56]
However, he also noted that owners of the tobacco plant in Nis requested that
the area previously cleared by the Army be cleared again “in accordance
with IMAS.”[57]
In 2004, in Montenegro, what was described as a humanitarian demining
operation was carried out in the sea near Verige in the Bay of Kotor. The
operation was performed by divers of the Regional Center for Underwater
Demining, with divers from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia.
Sixty-five tons of various lethal materials, mostly cannons, grenades and other
ammunition were extracted.[58] The
operation was supported by the US
($161,650).[59]
The Montenegrin Ministry of Interior reported that in 2004 Army teams carried
out demining operations along the border with Albania; precise details were not
provided.[60] Media reports claimed
that demining was conducted by a specialist engineering unit on an 81-kilometer
stretch of the border between the mountains of Bogicevic and Lipovica. It began
in August 2004 and was completed a month later, allowing people in Plav
municipality to resume agriculture for the first time in 10
years.[61]
Security forces of the Serbian Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense
regularly locate and destroy landmines and UXO in southern Serbia near the
administrative boundary with Kosovo. In June 2004, a Ministry of Interior team
destroyed almost all the previously discovered ordnance, including 211
antipersonnel and 11 antivehicle mines. Small-scale clearance of mines and UXO
also occurs in other areas in Serbia, performed normally by the Ministry of
Interior security forces.[62]
The only reported demining accident in 2004-2005 involved a deminer injured
while clearing cluster bomblets from a factory compound in the southern Serbian
city of Nis, in August 2005.[63]
Mine Risk Education
Mine risk education (MRE) is not identified as one of the Serbian Mine Action
Center’s responsibilities.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) closed its MRE program in
southern Serbia on 31 March 2004, following a survey and marked reduction in
mine incidents. Limited MRE continues under the management of the Coordination
Center for Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa, with the involvement of the
Civil Defense networks and volunteers in local communities. ICRC has not
undertaken MRE programs in other parts of Serbia and
Montenegro.[64]
Funding and Assistance
Landmine Monitor estimates that Serbia and Montenegro received $2.86 million
in mine action funding in 2004 from national and international sources,
excluding the NAMSA stockpile destruction project and funding for mine action in
the UN-administered Serbian province of
Kosovo.[65] Landmine Monitor
identified two international donors contributing a total of $1,774,140 to mine
action in Serbia and Montenegro in 2004: Germany, €605,515
($753,140),[66] and the United
States ($1,021,000).[67] Both
donations were made through ITF.
National funding of mine action in 2004 appears to have totaled $1,089,561.
The Serbian Mine Action Center reported receiving from national sources the
following: €300,000 ($373,140) from the Serbian Road Directorate;
€250,000 ($310,950) from the Serbian Construction Directorate;
€150,000 ($186,570) from the Directorate for building land and the
construction of Belgrade; €130,000 ($161,694) from the tobacco factory in
Nis.[68] In addition, a total of
4,789,000 dinars ($57,207) was allocated from the national budget for the
salaries of the Serbian Mine Action Center’s employees in
2004.[69] This data is included in
the Landmine Monitor estimate of total funding.
The Serbian Mine Action Center reported that the total cost of demining in
2004 was €1,610,000 (some $2 million). The center said that, in addition
to the national sources noted above, this expenditure was funded, via the ITF,
by Germany, €590,000 ($733,842) and the European Commission,
€195,000 ($242,541). The center excludes funding of the stockpile
destruction project, which is not within its area of
responsibility.[70]
ITF reported allocating $1,248,677 or five percent of its 2004 expenditure
for mine action in Serbia and Montenegro, including the province of
Kosovo.[71]
For 2005, the amount to be allocated for salaries and operating costs is
8,053,000 dinars ($96,197).[72]
However, Serbia did not budget any funds for demining operations in 2004 or
2005.[73] Montenegro claims that it
has so far allocated around €2.5 million ($3,109,500) to humanitarian
demining, including a facility to train divers for underwater demining and
related expenditures. A donation from the US of some $1.2 million and
€200,000 ($248,760) from the European Commission was used to purchase
equipment for underwater demining and for demining on land, to train divers, and
to clear the land and sea border with
Croatia.[74]
Landmine/UXO Casualties
In March 2004, two people from the municipality of Medvedja were injured
after stepping on an unidentified explosive device while taking their cattle to
graze.[75] No other civilian mine
casualties were reported in 2004 or the first three months of 2005 in southern
Serbia (the municipalities of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa) or in
Montenegro.[76]
In August 2005, a demining expert was injured by a cluster bomblet in the
southern Serbian city of
Nis.[77]
In 2003, one Serbian policeman was killed and two others injured when their
vehicle hit an antivehicle mine, and a military deminer was injured by an
antipersonnel mine during mine clearance
activities.[78]
There is no comprehensive data on mine casualties in Serbia and Montenegro.
Available data indicates that there are more than 1,370 mine survivors in the
country; most are displaced persons from the conflict in Kosovo or refugees from
earlier hostilities in Bosnia and
Herzegovina.[79] However, there are
plans to develop a single database to record mine casualties. As of September
2004, 260 mine survivors had been registered in
Montenegro.[80]
Landmine Monitor reported last year, that in 2004 there were plans to
establish a database on mine casualties and survivors, which “will play a
key role in planning aid projects for mine victims and their families.”
The Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) was to be used.
Training of personnel in the use of IMSMA started in
2003.[81] No new information is
available on the status of IMSMA use.
Survivor Assistance
At the First Review Conference in Nairobi, Serbia and Montenegro 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.[82]
Serbia and Montenegro submitted the voluntary Form J with its initial Article
7 Report giving details of its plans to address the issue of mine victim
assistance. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinates activities of the
republics related to the implementation of the provisions of the Mine Ban Treaty
in the field of mine victim
assistance.[83]
On 11 August 2004, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Montenegro
established a Commission for APM Victims consisting of eight experts in the
fields of physical therapy, rehabilitation and psychosocial reintegration. In
the Republic of Serbia, the Council of Health Workers was established. In
Montenegro, the main objectives are: to assist mine survivors through the
establishment of a database, medical and social services, material assistance
and fundraising; to assist medical institutions and rehabilitation personnel,
including through training programs; to facilitate the socioeconomic
reintegration of landmine survivors; to raise the level of social awareness on
the needs of mine survivors. In Serbia, the main objectives of the project are
to establish a central landmine casualty database, develop a comprehensive
rehabilitation program for landmine survivors (including through the
establishment of regional health centers with mobile teams to visit survivors),
and provide physical therapy and vocational training
programs.[84]
In the past, Serbia and Montenegro was reported as having well-developed
surgical and rehabilitation services for mine survivors, as well as
reintegration programs. However, the lack of resources has affected the quality
of healthcare services. There is an urgent need to reform and improve services
by activities, including the training of medical staff, the supply of equipment,
medical supplies and treatment aids, and through expert and technical
assistance. There are several Health Clinic Centers that have both surgical and
orthopedic capabilities. Under the health insurance system, all citizens are
entitled to free surgical and orthopedic
treatment.[85]
Serbia and Montenegro has 23 rehabilitation centers, including the Dr.
Miroslav Zotovic Rehabilitation Center in Belgrade, Igalo in Montenegro, and
centers in Nis, Novi Sad and Podgorica. However, the majority of mine survivors
are treated at the Institute for Prosthetics in Belgrade. There are also
private clinics supplying prosthetics and other assistive
devices.[86]
In 2004, 10 experts from the Institute for Prosthetics underwent a special
five-day training course in rehabilitation organized by the Slovenian Institute
of Rehabilitation.[87]
State facilities providing psychosocial support include the Institute of
Prosthetics and the Dr. Laza Lazarevic Institute for Neuropsychiatric Diseases
in Belgrade. However, health professionals are reportedly lacking training on
post-traumatic stress disorder among landmine survivors. The local association,
Dobra Volja (Goodwill), provides psychosocial support to mine survivors, who are
mostly refugees from Croatia and
Kosovo.[88]
Handicap International’s program, SHARE-SEE (Self Help for Advocacy,
Rights and Equal Opportunities in South East Europe), aims at empowering local
associations of persons with disabilities in Serbia and Montenegro through
trainings and regional
exchanges.[89]
The National Employment service is responsible for developing vocational
training programs and job placement for persons with disabilities, including
mine survivors. However, financial restraints and high unemployment in Serbia
and Montenegro is limiting the opportunities for the economic reintegration of
people with a disability.[90]
The ICRC’s income generation project for internally displaced persons
in southern Serbia included some mine survivors. In 2004, 1,120 families
received in-kind grants, including 563 grants for agricultural or livestock
projects, and 557 for crafts or service projects. In addition, 358 people
received vocational training and 206 enterprises received loans. The project
closed at the end of 2004.[91]
Other organizations identified as supporting socioeconomic reintegration
activities include the International Rescue Committee and a private fund called
Kapetan Dragan.[92]
Disability Policy and Practice
Serbia and Montenegro has legislation protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities. However, due to economic conditions, there are difficulties in
implementing their provisions.[93]
The 2004 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for Serbia and Montenegro identified
the lack of accessibility as a major factor in discrimination against persons
with disabilities.[94]
Mine survivors and the families of those killed receive funds as determined
by law from the budget of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Policy of
the Republic of Serbia, as do all victims of war. The ministry budget also
provides funding for organizations and associations of disabled war veterans.
The ministry financially supports projects that address the problem of
employment and the general living standard of disabled
persons.[95]
[1] Statement by Dušanka
Divjak-Tomic, Minister Counselor, Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva,
Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 9
February 2004.
[2] Letter to the Helsinki
Committee for Human Rights in Serbia from Željko Šturanović,
Deputy Minister of Justice of Montenegro, No. 03-2510/04, 8 June 2004. See
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 712, for more details.
[3] Article 7 Report, Form A, 25
October 2004 (for 1 March 2004-1 September 2004).
[4] The draft proposal for the new
penal code is available at www.mpravde.sr.gov.yu. Article 376, Proposed
criminal offense, “Use of Banned Combat Means,” states: (1) A person
who in time of war or armed conflict orders the use of combat means or combat
methods that are prohibited under international law, or deploys them by
himself/herself shall be punished by 2- to 10-year imprisonment; (2) If the
action provided under Para 1 of this Article results in the death of several
persons, the perpetrator shall be punished by at least 5-year imprisonment or by
40-year imprisonment; (3) A person who publicly calls for the use or plans the
use of weapons as provided under Para 1 of this Article shall be punished by
imprisonment, ranging from 6 months to 5 years. Article 377, Proposed criminal
offense, “The Non-permitted Production of Banned Weapons,” states:
(1) A person who illegally or contrary to the provisions of international law
produces, buys, sells, imports, exports or in some other way procures, conveys,
keeps or transports the weapons the production or deployment of which is
prohibited ... shall be punished by 1 to 5 years’ imprisonment; (2) An
official or a responsible person who orders or enables a legal person to deal in
the activities provided under Para 1 of this Article shall be punished by 1 to 8
years’ imprisonment.
[5] Information provided to the
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia by Assistant Minister Aleksandra
Popovic, Ministry of Justice, Republic of Serbia, Official Document No.
337-00-79/2005-06, 14 April 2005.
[6] This is the date as recorded by
the depositary, the United Nations. The report itself carries a date of 1
September 2004.
[7] Statement by Amb. Dejan
Šahović, Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World (First Review
Conference), Nairobi, 3 December 2004.
[8] Statement by Amb. Dejan
Šahović, First Review Conference, Nairobi, 3 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.
[9] Information provided to the
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia by Assistant Minister Ljubisa
Perovic, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Ministry Document No. 11342, 19
April 2005.
[10] Ministry of Defense Official
Document Charter No. 116-9, signed by Col. Dr. Vlado Radic, Head of the
Department for Defense Technology, Ministry of Defense, 15 April 2005.
[11] Letter from Maj. Gen.
Dobrosav Radovanovic, Assistant Minister of Defense, Sector of International
Military Cooperation and Defense Policy, Ministry of Defense, 29 January 2003;
see also Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 789. On 20 June 2003, Serbia
and Montenegro repeated this statement at the Conference on Disarmament.
[12] Report of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Public Security Sector, Analytical
Department, No. 538/05–4, signed by Col. Mirjana Orasanin, Chief of
Cabinet, 26 April 2005; Official Document of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of
the Republic of Serbia No. 538/2005, signed by Col. Mirjana Orasanin, 18 April
2005.
[13] Serbian Ministry of Internal
Affairs, “Report for the period 1 January–31 December 2003,”
No. 231, signed by Ministerial Counselor Col. Ivan Djordjevic, 9 February
2004.
[14] Article 7 Report, Form B, 25
October 2004; statement by Col. Dr. Vlado Radic, Department for Defense
Technology, Ministry of Defense, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction,
Geneva, 15 June 2005. The 1,320,620 figure includes the 5,000 mines that Serbia
and Montenegro intends to retain under Article 3.
[15] Email from Zoran
Dimitrijevic, Local Representative, NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA),
Belgrade, 19 September 2005.
[16] Article 7 Report, Form B, 25
October 2004; statement by Col. Dr. Vlado Radic, Department for Defense
Technology, Ministry of Defense, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction,
Geneva, 15 June 2005.
[17] For more details, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 714.
[18] Article 7 Report, Form D, 25
October 2004.
[19] Statement by Amb. Dejan
Šahović, First Review Conference, Nairobi, 3 December 2004.
[20] Statement by Col. Dr. Vlado
Radic, Ministry of Defense, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva,
15 June 2005; information also provided by Zoran Dimitrijevic, NAMSA Belgrade, 7
June 2005.
[21] Email from Zoran
Dimitrijevic, NAMSA, Belgrade, 19 September 2005.
[22] Statement by Col. Dr. Vlado
Radic, Ministry of Defense, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva,
15 June 2005; information also provided by Zoran Dimitrijevic, NAMSA, Belgrade,
7 June 2005; NATO Update, “1.3 million landmines to be destroyed in Serbia
and Montenegro,” 17 August 2005, NATO press release forwarded from the
Arms Control Statements from the US Department of State, 26 August 2005; see
also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 714.
[23] Statement by Col. Vlado
Radic, Ministry of Defense, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva,
15 June 2005; information also provided by Zoran Dimitrijevic, NAMSA Belgrade, 7
June 2005.
[24] Statement by Col. Vlado
Radic, Ministry of Defense, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva,
15 June 2005; Article 7 Report, Form F, 25 October 2004.
[25] Average exchange rate for
2004: €1 = $1.2438, used throughout this report. US Federal Reserve,
“List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2005.
[26] Statement by Col. Dr. Vlado
Radic, Ministry of Defense, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva,
15 June 2005; information also provided by Zoran Dimitrijevic, NAMSA Belgrade, 7
June 2005. Other donors include Norway, Switzerland, Netherlands, Czech
Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovenia.
[27] Article 7 Report, Form C, 25
October 2004; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 717.
[28] Article 7 Report, Form C, 25
October 2004.
[29] Letter from Petar
Mihajlovic, Director, Serbian Mine Action Center, 20 May 2005; Aleksandar Radic
and Daniel Sunter (eds.), “Defense & Security-Remnants of Past
Wars,” VIP News Services (Belgrade), 31 March 2005. In May
2004, the Mine Action Center reported a different estimate of mine contamination
in this area. See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 715.
[30] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2003, p. 678.
[31] Article 7 Report, Form C, 25
October 2004.
[32] “Montenegrin-Albanian
border cleared of mines,” SRNA, 19 September 2004; “Army
Demines Border with Albania,” VIP News Services (Belgrade) 9 August
2004.
[33] Letter from Mico Orlandic,
Assistant Minister, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Montenegro, 6 April 2005.
According to Serbia and Montenegro’s initial Article 7 report, “EOD
Specialists of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of
Montenegro” estimated in 1999 that there were 613 PMR-2A type mines in 65
“micro-locations” along 5.9 kilometers of the border; that number of
mines was reduced by about a third, and locations were reduced to 46 after
demining in 2003. Article 7 Report, Form C, 25 October 2004.
[34] Letter from Mico Orlandic,
Ministry of Internal Affairs, Montenegro, 6 April 2005.
[35] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2002, p. 791.
[36] Letter from Petar
Mihajlovic, Serbian Mine Action Center, 20 May 2005; Aleksandar Radic and Daniel
Sunter (eds.), “Defense & Security-Remnants of Past Wars,”
VIP News Services (Belgrade), 31 March 2005.
[37] Letter from Mico Orlandic,
Ministry of Internal Affairs, Montenegro, 6 April 2005.
[38] Letter from Petar
Mihajlovic, Serbian Mine Action Center, 20 May 2005; Aleksandar Radic and Daniel
Sunter (eds.), “Defense & Security-Remnants of Past Wars,”
VIP News Services, 31 March 2005.
[39] Article 7 Report, Form I, 25
October 2004.
[40] Letter from Petar
Mihajlovic, Serbian Mine Action Center, 20 May 2005; Aleksandar Radic and Daniel
Sunter (eds.), “Defense & Security-Remnants of Past Wars,”
VIP News Services (Belgrade), 31 March 2005.
[41] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 716.
[42] Letter from Col. Dr. Vlado
Radic, Defense Ministry of Serbia and Montenegro, 15 April 2005; letter from
Petar Mihajlovic, Serbian Mine Action Center, 7 May 2003.
[43] Letter from Mico Orlandic,
Montenegrin Ministry of Internal Affairs, 6 April 2005.
[44] SEESAC, “SCG explosive
ordnance disposal training 19-30 April 2004,” SEESAC Activity Report AR
30, Belgrade.
[45] Letter from Petar
Mihajlovic, Serbian Mine Action Center, 20 May 2005.
[46] Statement of Petar
Mihajlovic, Serbian Mine Action Center, at EU Mine Action Coordination Meeting
for South-East Europe, Sarajevo, 6 April 2005 (narrative report by David
Orifici, GICHD, 11 May 2005).
[47] Letter from Petar
Mihajlovic, Serbian Mine Action Center, 20 May 2005.
[48] Letter from Petar
Mihajlovic, Serbian Mine Action Center, 20 May 2005.
[49] Aleksandar Radic and Daniel
Sunter (eds.), “Defense & Security-Remnants of Past Wars,”
VIP News Services (Belgrade), 31 March 2005.
[50] “Croats Clearing Nis
from Cluster Bombs,” VIP Daily News Report, Issue 3136, 4 August
2005 (Belgrade), p. 5; “Clearing Aerial Bombs in Nis,” VIP News
Service, “Defense and Security,” Issue No.136, 18 August 2005
(Belgrade), p. 8.
[51] Email from H. Murphey McCloy
Jr., Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, US Department of State, 20 September
2005.
[52] Letter from Mico Orlandic,
Ministry of Internal Affairs, Montenegro, 6 April 2005.
[53] Letter from Petar
Mihajlovic, Serbian Mine Action Center, 20 May 2005. Operators include the
Serbian companies PMC Inzenjering and Azimut Beograd, BiH organizations STOP
Mines and ME.DE.COM, the German NGO HELP and Roehl company, and the Croatian
Enigma company. Telephone interview with Petar Mihajlovic, Serbian Mine Action
Center, 8 September 2005.
[54] Article 7 Report, Form G, 25
October 2004.
[55] ITF, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 54.
[56] Letter from Petar
Mihajlovic, Serbian Mine Action Center, 20 May 2005.
[57] Aleksandar Radic and Daniel
Sunter (eds.), “Defense & Security – Remnants of Past
Wars,” VIP News Services (Belgrade), 31 March 2005.
[58] Letter from Mico Orlandic,
Ministry of Interior, Montenegro, 6 April 2005.
[59] Email from H. Murphey
McCloy, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, US Department of State, 20
September 2005.
[60] Letter from Mico Orlandic,
Ministry of Interior, Montenegro, 6 April 2005.
[61] “Montenegrin-Albanian
border cleared of mines,” SRNA, 19 September 2004; “Army
Demines Border with Albania,” VIP News Services (Belgrade), 9
August 2004.
[62] Report by Col. Mirjana
Orasanin, Chief of Cabinet to the Minister, Public Security Sector, Analytical
Department, Ministry of Interior, Serbia, 26 April 2005.
[63] “One person seriously
injured during demining in southern Serbia,” Associated Press, Nis,
25 August 2005.
[64] Interview with Zeljko
Lezaja, Liaison Assistant and ICRC Coordinator of the MRE program, 20 April
2005. See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 717-718.
[65] See report on Kosovo in this
edition of Landmine Monitor.
[66] Article 7 Report, Form J, 15
April 2005; email from Dirk Roland Haupt, Federal Foreign Office, Division 241,
25 July 2005.
[67] USG Historical Chart
containing data for FY 2004, email from Angela L. Jeffries, Financial Management
Specialist, US Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, 20
July 2005.
[68] Letter from Mladjan Dinkic,
Minister of Finance, to the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, 5
April 2005.
[69] Letter from Mladjan Dinkic,
Minister of Finance, to the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, 5
April 2005. Exchange rate US$1 = 83.714 dinars, used throughout this report.
National Bank of Serbia middle rate on 1 August 2005.
[70] Letter from Petar
Mihajlovic, Serbian Mine Action Center, 20 May 2005.
[71] ITF, “Annual Report
2004,” pp. 22-24. ITF does not provide a breakdown of funding allocated
to Kosovo. ITF 2004 funding, per activity, was: $1,137,285 for demining;
$64,823 for victim assistance; $46,569 for other activities. ITF plans to
finish operations in Serbia and Montenegro by the end of 2008. ITF,
“Contribution to the Landmine Monitor 2005,” email from Iztok
Hočevar, Head of International Relations Department, 22 July 2005.
[72] Letter from Mladjan Dinkic,
Minister of Finance, to the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, 5
April 2005.
[73] Letter from Mladjan Dinkic,
Minister of Finance, to the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, 5
April 2005.
[74] Letter from Mico Orlandic,
Ministry of Interior, Montenegro, 6 April 2005.
[75] Col. Mirjana Orasanin,
Minister’s Chief of Cabinet, “Report of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, the Public Security Sector – the
Analytical Department,” No. 538/05-4, 26 April 2005.
[76] Information provided by Col.
Mirjana Orasanin, Ministry of Interior, Serbia, reference no. 01-538/2005, 18
April 2005; information provided by Dragan Pejanovic, Head of Office,
Montenegrin Ministry of Internal Affairs, reference no. 01-1174/1, 29 May 2005;
information provided by Col. Dr. Vlado Radic, Ministry of Defense, Charter No.
116-9, 15 April 2005.
[77] “One person seriously
injured during demining in southern Serbia,” Associated Press
(Nis), 25 August 2005.
[78] For details, see Landmine
Monitor Report 2004, p. 718.
[79] For more details, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 718-719.
[80] Article 7 Report, Form J, 25
October 2004.
[81] Letters from Petar
Mihajlovic, Serbian Mine Action Center, 13 March 2003 and 18 May 2004; see also
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 716.
[82] 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.
[83] Article 7 Report, Form J, 25
October 2004.
[84] Article 7 Report, Form J, 25
October 2004.
[85] For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 719.
[86] For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 719-720.
[87] ITF, “Annual Report
2004,” p. 54.
[88] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 720.
[89] Email to Landmine Monitor
(HI) from Dr. Pascal Granier, Disability Policy Coordinator, HI Regional Office
for Southeast Europe, 12 August 2004.
[90] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 720.
[91] ICRC, “Annual Report
2004,” pp. 210-211; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p.
720.
[92] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 720.
[93] For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 721-722; see also Landmine Survivors
Network, “National Legal Frameworks Relating to Persons with Disabilities
in Heavily Mine-Affected Countries,” June 2005, pp. 10-11, 28.
[94] “Serbia and
Montenegro: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, 18 December 2002,” IMF
Country Report No. 04/120, International Monetary Fund, May 2004, pp. 27-28, www.imf.org, accessed 20 September 2004.
[95] Information provided by Dr.
Božidar Simatković, Assistant Minister of Labor, Employment and Social
Policy, reference no. 401-00-136/2005-11, 11 April 2005.
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