Kosovo

Background

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008.^[1] When its constitution came into effect on 15 June 2008, 43 UN members had recognized Kosovo as an independent state.^[2] Serbian President Boris Tadic declared the declaration illegal and stated that “Serbia considers Kosovo as its southern territory.”^[3]

In 1999, conflict between the armed forces of the then-Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) led to the NATO bombing campaign against the FRY in Kosovo. In June 1999, Kosovo came under the administration of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), which was granted authority by UN Security Council Resolution 1244. Beginning in October 2005, the UN facilitated negotiations on Kosovo’s future status. The negotiations discontinued in June 2007, when no agreement could be reached.

Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council holding a veto, considers Kosovo’s declaration of independence illegal, based on existing UN Security Council resolutions.^[4] Russia’s position impacts Kosovo’s ability to become a UN member state and thus be eligible to adhere to international treaties such as the Mine Ban Treaty.

Kosovo’s new constitution calls on the European Union (EU) to take over the oversight role from UNMIK. On 13 June 2008, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposed a plan to downscale UNMIK’s activities and to allow the EU’s mission in Kosovo to operate under the UN’s umbrella.^[5] UNMIK, however, formally continues to exercise its authority according to Resolution 1244 until the Security Council decides otherwise.^[6]

Use and Stockpiling

Kosovo saw an increase in violence after the declaration of independence, but there have been no confirmed cases of new use of antipersonnel mines.^[7] Weapons possession is a criminal offense for all Kosovo residents except those holding UNMIK authorization, with penal sanctions for violations.^[8] In March 2008, an UNMIK official told Landmine Monitor that while the amnesty for reporting and handing over weapons to authorities is still in effect, some items of UXO are occasionally discarded in fields instead of turned in, due to fear of prosecution.^[9] Another official said that at times these mines are mistakenly believed by local populations to be new minefields.^[10]

Landmine/ERW Problem

Kosovo became contaminated by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), primarily unexploded ordnance (UXO), during the conflict between the FRY and the KLA in the late 1990s and in the war between the FRY and NATO in 1999.^[11]

The UN coordinated a major demining operation by international NGOs and commercial companies from June 1999 to December 2001 and reported that “the problems associated with landmines, cluster munitions and other items of unexploded ordnance in Kosovo have been virtually eliminated.... Whilst it may take years to completely eradicate all items of explosive ordnance from Kosovo, as indeed it will in most other countries in Europe, the situation is such that the level of contamination no longer impedes social and economic development within the province.”^[12] As of August 2008, the precise extent of residual mine and ERW contamination remained unclear.

The Office of the Kosovo Protection Corps Coordinator (OKPCC) does not provide estimates of contaminated area, but has sharply increased its estimates of known and suspected dangerous areas from 58 in 2007 to 130 as of March 2008. These included 57 known dangerous areas tasked for clearance, eight contaminated by mines, and 49 by (cluster) submunitions, up from 11 known areas identified in 2007. The OKPCC also increased the number of suspected areas which it says require technical survey and possible clearance from 47 in 2007 to 73 in 2008 (60 suspected mined areas and 13 suspected to contain submunitions).^[13]

A survey completed by HALO Trust in August 2007 identified 172 remaining mine or UXO clearance tasks.^[14] The OKPCC increased its list of known and suspected dangerous areas after its Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Management Section, assisted by the Mines Awareness Trust (MAT), conducted a preliminary assessment of the suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) reported by HALO, but discounted 42 after resurvey found they had no mine or UXO threat.^[15] However, after obtaining renewed accreditation from the OKPCC in the last week of May 2008, HALO started clearance in two areas: one that involved battle area clearance in Vrelo, near Pristina airport, a task handed over to the OKPCC by the Kosovo Protection Force (KFOR);^[16] and the second, mine clearance in Krivenik, near the border with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; as of mid-July, HALO had cleared more than 100 submunitions and mines from these two sites.^[17]

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), following up on a 2006 review of existing data, stated that “even if the true extent of contamination is more extensive than previously understood, its impact remains modest.”^[18] According to the OKPCC, both contamination records and the pattern of recent incidents continue to indicate that ERW, such as hand grenades and submunitions, pose the main humanitarian threat, while the threat from antipersonnel mines is limited.^[19] No human mine accident has been recorded since 2004.^[20]

Mine Action Program

Coordination and management

Kosovo plans to set up a National Mine Action Authority but implementation is dependent on progress in dealing with the demands of forming a government since the province’s declaration of independence in February 2008.^[21] In the meantime, this role is performed by the OKPCC EOD Management Section, which has been responsible for mine action and all matters related to EOD, under the direct authority of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General.^[22]

The EOD Management Section also serves as a mine action center, responsible for coordinating all demining and survey, as well as for quality assurance, risk education (RE), public information, and victim assistance. The EOD Management Section continued to coordinate the clearance operations of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) EOD teams and demining NGOs in 2007, and reported inspecting clearance sites on a daily basis.^[23]

Since June 2006, the EOD Management Section has been staffed entirely by Kosovars (director, public information assistant, an RE clerk and two quality assurance inspectors).^[24] As of March 2008, the position of a third inspector had yet to be filled.^[25]

The operational abilities of the KPC EOD teams have been enhanced by the IMAS (International Mine Action Standards) Level 3 EOD training provided by MAT in 2007; there were plans to continue the training in 2008.^[26] The training was intended to enable KPC teams to take over more responsibility for EOD from KFOR.^[27]

National mine action legislation and standards

No mine action legislation was in force in Kosovo in 2007.^[28] The OKPCC planned to prepare legislation in 2008^[29] as one of its key activities towards fulfilling the first strategic goal within the Multi Year Strategic Plan^[30] (see below) but as of June had made no progress on this issue.^[31] Meanwhile, the KPC continued to use standing operating procedures based on UN national technical and safety guidelines and IMAS.^[32]

Strategic mine action planning

A “Multi Year Strategic Plan for the Kosovo Mine Action Programme 2008–2010” (MYSP) prepared by UNMIK provides a framework for all mine action, setting out seven main goals. These include: establishing a national mine action coordinating mechanism; completing the identification, marking, and recording of suspected risk areas; developing demining and EOD capacity; and maintaining high levels of awareness among at-risk populations. To achieve these targets, the MYSP calls for the OKPCC to draw up annual integrated workplans for the new mine action coordination authority that will form the basis of a resource mobilization strategy.^[33] The workplans are also supposed to set measurable targets to provide a basis—previously lacking—for assessing progress.^[34]

The MYSP considers national ownership a precondition for implementing the strategy.^[35] It is based on assumptions that:

• UXO have caused the most casualties in recent years;
• Kosovo has the appropriate national institutions and mechanisms to deal with the residual mine and UXO problem; and
• Donors are prepared to support mine action “surge” activities by funding local NGOs on tasks proposed by the national mine action authority.^[36]

The GICHD commented: “An appropriate strategy might simply be to extend the duration of the programme rather than to further increase capacity. However, if Kosovo authorities decide that the capacities of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) EOD teams should be further augmented, it would be easy to accomplish this. The EOD Management section seems quite capable of coordinating the demining programme, even if the number of KPC teams is expanded.”^[37]

HALO disputes the view expressed by some stakeholders (see below, mine action evaluations section) that the threat from mines and submunitions in Kosovo is extremely limited and manageable, and that KPC EOD teams have sufficient capacity to deal with the residual threat after 2007 without support from international mine action organizations.^[38] HALO believes Kosovo needs to “maximize demining capacity” and has proposed joint clearance operations with the KPC.^[39]

Integration of mine action with reconstruction and development

The OKPCC EOD Management Section had stated that mine action priorities are set to meet the needs of socio-economic development and reconstruction.^[40] In 2007, 13 community clearance requests were submitted to the EOD Management Section through the municipality directorate of civil protection. Nine of these requests were investigated and cleared in 2007, three were assigned for technical survey, and one was listed as a future task as of April 2008. It was not apparent, however, whether those tasks addressed issues of safety or development blockages.^[41] The MYSP focuses on mine/ERW clearance, and does not address links to reconstruction or development.^[42]

Mine action evaluations

The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and GICHD have conducted three assessments in the past two years, reporting favorably on the progress of mine/ERW clearance, the structure of mine action in Kosovo, and plans for the future.

An UNMAS assessment of the remaining mine/UXO problem conducted in May 2006 concluded that the KPC EOD teams were capable of addressing the residual landmine and ERW threat in Kosovo and beyond.^[43]

GICHD’s 2006 review of existing data found only minor information management issues in the EOD Management Section, but identified six contaminated areas for clearance not listed as tasks in the OKPCC’s Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database.^[44] It also recommended that the KPC reassess the action required on seven task dossiers.^[45]

A GICHD follow-up mission in early 2007 concluded that the OKPCC EOD Management Section had made excellent progress on strengthening management and coordination. GICHD concluded that the KPC had sufficient capacity to complete clearance with seven multi-tasking teams trained in mine clearance, battle area clearance, clearance of houses and booby-traps, community liaison, technical survey, and EOD Level 3 tasks.^[46] As noted above, GICHD also concluded that the EOD Management Section was capable of coordinating the demining program, even if the number of KPC teams were expanded.^[47]

Demining

Three bodies were engaged in demining in Kosovo in 2007: the KPC, KFOR, and MAT.^[48]

The Office of the KPC Coordinator’s EOD Management Section did not renew HALO’s accreditation for clearance operations after 1 December 2006 on the grounds that local capacity could deal with the residual contamination.^[49] During 2007, HALO continued the Community Liaison Survey started in 2006 but its 117 deminers were inactive.^[50] The OKPCC reaccredited HALO in May 2008.^[51]

The EOD Management Section continued to cooperate closely with KFOR, which conducts improvised explosive device destruction in Kosovo,^[52] and the two bodies exchanged technical information and advice.^[53]

The KPC operated seven EOD teams in 2007, the same number as in 2006, but added 24 new staff, increasing the teams to 19 members each. This gave the KPC flexibility to operate teams as a single unit for large tasks or as two units of nine members for small tasks or EOD response. The KPC has one EOD team on standby seven days a week to undertake spot tasks clearing mines and ERW in response to calls from the public, the Kosovo Police Service and KFOR.^[54] All seven KPC EOD teams attended an IMAS Level 3 EOD training course that qualifies them to deal with larger items of UXO up to 240mm in diameter.^[55]

In 2007, MAT was the last NGO demining in Kosovo, deploying two technical survey teams under contract to the EOD Management Section with funding from the European Commission. The EOD Management Section had planned to disengage MAT by the end of 2007, leaving only national capacity for future clearance.^[56] In March 2008, however, the EOD Management Section stated that it was seeking funds to continue contracting MAT.^[57]

Through the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF) regional cooperation support, the Mine Detection Dog Center for Southeast Europe (MDDC) in Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, provided four mine detection dog (MDD) teams from April to October 2007 to assist the OKPCC EOD Management Section in mine/ERW clearance, technical survey and area reduction.^[58]

Identifying hazardous areas

The HALO survey (see Landmine/ERW Problem section) reported the presence of 172 suspicious or dangerous areas.^[59] After resurvey, the OKPCC discounted 42 of the areas as unaffected^[60] but it also revised and increased its own list of dangerous and suspicious areas. This list now includes 57 known dangerous areas, mostly affected by submunitions, and 73 areas that need to be further verified.^[61] The OKPCC retained two MAT teams in 2006 and 2007 to conduct technical surveys of dangerous or suspect areas^[62] and to train KPC EOD teams in all levels of technical survey.^[63]

Previously, HALO has expressed concerns about how the OKPCC confirms or discredits SHAs.^[64] HALO criticized the OKPCC/MAT reassessment of areas which HALO had identified as suspect on grounds that: general survey teams wrote off tasks that could not be confirmed quickly; that they relied on sampling the most easily accessible parts of a suspect area; that KPC and MAT used MDDs as a primary clearance tool; and that survey teams “intimidated” communities.^[65]

Marking and fencing of affected areas

The OKPCC has reported that all known dangerous areas have been clearly marked.^[66] The MYSP requires that all known dangerous areas are marked according to national and international standards using signs designed to last until clearance can occur.^[67] Marking and fencing of newly discovered dangerous and suspected areas continued in 2007. At the end of each demining season, fencing and marking are undertaken in order to remind the population of the remaining danger in the area.^[68] However, as in previous years, marking and fencing materials are often removed by the public.^[69] The OKPCC planned to put up bigger signs to mark areas contaminated by submunitions than those used for mine-affected areas,^[70] though it was not known when this would occur.

Mine and ERW clearance in 2007 and 2008

Mine action operators, using manual clearance and supported by four MDD teams, cleared 23 dangerous areas in 2007, the same number as in 2006, but covering a total area more than 60% smaller than in 2006.^[71] The OKPCC attributed the drop in productivity to more difficult terrain.^[72] HALO attributed it to the KPC’s lack of clearance capacity.^[73]

The KPC EOD teams, as directed by the EOD Management Section, undertook mine and battle area clearance in 10 locations: Dulje Pass, Devetak, Jasic, Junik, Llukare, Velika Reka, Germia, Banjica, Doganaj, and Topillo. The areas in Banjica, Lukare and Jasic included densely forested land, steep gradients and many natural obstacles, which were said to slow the pace of demining.^[74]

Two MAT teams were tasked to perform technical survey on any reported suspicious or dangerous areas that remained, or were newly reported by HALO, KFOR, or members of the public. After verifying or discrediting the presence of a mine/UXO threat, the teams cleared any hazard found, whether mines, submunitions, or other ERW.^[75]

Demining in 2007

* UNMIK OKPCC does not differentiate in its reporting between mine and battle area clearance. There is also a further 50,000m² of area reduction and quality assurance using MDDs, but the amount of each has not been reported.

** The total number of antipersonnel mines destroyed by the KPC EOD teams in 2007 is 228. Of that number, 215 were not emplaced but were found and destroyed during clearance of a former Yugoslav Army ammunition compound in Llukare and are classified under AXO destroyed.

In the first four months of 2008, KPC EOD teams cleared 77,574m² of land. MAT and MDD teams were planning to commence operations in mid-May.^[76]

HALO was reaccredited for clearance operations by OKPCC in the last week of May 2008. During its first week of clearance, HALO teams found three antipersonnel mines and 10 BLU-97 submunitions. Both were in areas formerly not considered affected by the OKPCC. As of June 2008, HALO employed two teams, one conducting battle area clearance and a second conducting manual mine clearance.^[77]

In 2008, the OKPCC repeated expectations first made in 2001 that, although most of the known minefields and cluster munition strike areas had been cleared, mines and ERW will continue to be reported and found in Kosovo for many years to come. It therefore considers it essential that a capability exists to deal safely and effectively with each item of ordnance or suspected area encountered.^[78]

Summary of Efforts to Comply with Article 5

Demining in 2003–2007

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. Previously, Kosovo was generally recognized as part of Serbia, which is required by the Mine Ban Treaty to destroy all antipersonnel mines in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2014. However, after Kosovo declared independence on 17 February 2008, OKPCC officials said it plans to accede separately to the treaty.^[79] If it becomes a State Party, it will have a different mine clearance deadline.

Lack of data on the area of contamination—and the OKPCC’s decision not to distinguish between mine clearance and battle area clearance—make it difficult to assess the progress of demining operations. In September 2007, HALO claimed that, at its existing capacity, the OKPCC would need 20 years to complete clearance. ^[80]

Landmine/ERW Casualties^[81]

In 2007, the OKPCC EOD Management Section and the Institute of Public Health (IPH) reported 14 new ERW casualties in five incidents; all were injured.^[82] One incident resulting in four casualties was caused by a submunition. Some of the explosions were erroneously reported in the media as having been caused by mines.^[83] Boys under 18 were involved in all incidents and are the largest casualty group (10); seven of them were aged between 13 and 17. In addition, two girls and two men were injured. All but one casualty occurred while tampering.

In 2006, 11 casualties were recorded in seven ERW incidents (one person killed and 10 injured).^[84] The increase in 2007 is mainly due to two incidents that caused multiple casualties.

The OKPCC/IPH reported no antipersonnel mine casualties in Kosovo from 2004 to 2007. Livestock mine casualties were reported in 2007.^[85]

Casualties continued to occur in 2008. Landmine Monitor identified one person killed and three injured by a submunition while collecting scrap metal in a field near Pristina airport in April.^[86]

More than half of 89 casualties since 2002 were children under 18; only six of them were girls. Since 2002, there have been no women casualties.

Data collection

IPH is responsible for collecting, maintaining, and sharing mine/ERW casualty data with the support of the OKPCC EOD Management Section.^[87] Data is collected through the media or KPC EOD teams.^[88] Mine/ERW incident reports are shared between IPH, the OKPCC, Ministry of Health (MoH) and Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MoLSW).^[89] IPH does not share information on recent casualties who may require prostheses with the National Ortho-Prosthetic Center (NOPC), which is on the same premises, or with other victim assistance service providers or disabled people’s organizations (DPOs). A lack of consultation, coordination, and basic information sharing is the main obstacle to comprehensively assessing survivors’ needs.^[90]

The OKPCC reported the need for complete casualty data and a mine/ERW survivor needs assessment that distinguishes between injured war veterans and civilians.^[91] The necessary information to start a needs assessment is stored at IPH; the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) verified casualties in 1999–2002. The IMSMA database is in poor condition, increasingly obsolete, and has not been used for victim assistance since 2001.^[92]

The UNMIK MYSP indicated that the MoH will be responsible for data collection through IPH and the OKPCC, and will investigate mine/ERW incidents causing casualties in cooperation with police.^[93]

According to IPH/OKPCC data and UNMIK-Mine Action Coordination Center (MACC) reports, 547 mine/ERW casualties were recorded (111 people killed, 436 injured) from June 1999 through the end of 2007. However, this data may not be complete. Between 1999 and the end of 2007, 175 casualties due to incidents involving submunitions were recorded (61 killed and 114 injured).^[94]

The disability NGO, HandiKos, maintains a database of persons with disabilities, which is shared with other service providers including the NOPC.^[95]

The Coalition of Organizations of People with Disability of Kosovo advocated for the government to integrate questions on disability in the census planned for November 2008.^[96]

Landmine/ERW Risk Education

While the population in Kosovo has been saturated with RE activities since 1999 to address the problem of sporadic incidents in disparate locations,^[97] messages remained basic. The key messages were “Don’t touch anything suspicious!” and “Report suspect items to KPC, KFOR or the Police.”^[98] These communications did not address the main at-risk groups: many of the casualties resulted from intentional handling or tampering, with people collecting, storing and then moving ERW to areas otherwise free of explosive ordnance.^[99]

In 2007, no major changes were reported in the risk profile: (teenage) boys deliberately handling explosive devices remained the greatest at-risk group. In 2007–2008, some efforts were undertaken to adapt RE better to the at-risk groups, but progress depended on financial and human resources. Some 43,000 people received RE in 2007, which is fewer than in 2006 (50,800 people) when coverage was increased by a one-off school RE competition,^[100] but it remained significantly higher than 2005 when some 22,000 people received RE.^[101]

The OKPCC EOD Management Section is mandated by UNMIK to coordinate RE activities and continued to use the same RE strategy with basic, un-adapted messages in 2007. However, based on recommendations from three separate GICHD and UNMAS assessments in 2006 and 2007, the MYSP aimed to strengthen RE.^[102]

A strategic goal of the MYSP was to maintain high levels of RE specifically targeting at-risk groups. This goal was to be achieved through five operational objectives: developing RE targeted at the primary at-risk groups and their behaviors (youths between 14 and 23 playing or tampering); developing an annual RE plan with the Ministry of Education; improving and maintaining coordination; engaging local media in RE dissemination; and increasing EOD teams’ RE capacity through training and materials. Planned activities included: developing a system for RE priority-setting and quality assurance by the end of 2008, and ensuring RE activities in the annual workplans are adapted to changes in geographical and at-risk groups.

OKPCC EOD Management Section reported that making significant changes to RE required increased financial support and greater staff capacity, even if there are fewer casualties than in the 1999–2002 emergency period.^[103]

The EOD Management Section liaises with implementing organizations and holds regular coordination meetings; it also accredits RE operators,^[104] and provides refresher training and field support to KFOR EOD teams and KPC community liaison staff.^[105]

KFOR and KPC use RE guidelines that are different from those used by NGOs; all operators receive training in RE standards and guidelines. RE partner organizations share information on RE activities through coordination meetings and OKPCC makes RE data available to other organizations, on request if appropriate.^[106] Demining operators use a standardized community liaison RE manual.^[107]

More than half of the 43,000 people who received RE in 2007 were children, including pupils in at-risk age groups from 320 schools. This is a slight decrease from 350 schools in 2006.^[108] It is unclear how many were teenage boys. The Red Cross of Kosovo reached 26,110 people (including 23,944 children);^[109] KFOR 11,291; MAT 1,200; KPC 1,745 (community liaison and RE in schools); and the EOD Management Section 2,654.^[110]

In September 2007, a project was initiated to include RE in psychosocial assistance seminars for at-risk children and their parents. The Center for Promotion of Education Kosovo and KPC conducted teacher training in 2007, and the first module was to be implemented in schools in 2008.^[111]

KPC and MAT conducted community liaison, including RE, in conjunction with clearance operations in 2007. Television, radio and print media messages targeted various at-risk groups. Farmers and forest workers were targeted separately with seasonal messages.^[112] In 2007, 13 community reports of suspicious objects were processed. Nine of the reports resulted in clearance, one was classified as a “future task,” and three were assigned for technical survey.^[113]

The EOD Management Section provided mine/ERW safety briefings to all new Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe staff.^[114]

Victim Assistance

There was no marked improvement in mine/ERW victim assistance (VA) implementation or coordination in 2007. Government service provision remained weak. NGOs remained the main service providers for persons with disabilities, but too few were effectively addressing survivors’ needs.^[115]

While many health facilities have been repaired since the end of armed conflict in 1999, the health sector remained under-developed and treatment was inadequate due to a lack of financial and human resources, poor management by the MoH, obsolete equipment, and insufficient supplies of medicines.^[116] In particular, access to specialist medical and psychological care for mine/ERW survivors and other persons with disabilities remained inadequate.^[117] The Emergency Centre of Pristina University Clinical Centre is the only medical facility with the capacity to deal with major trauma cases.^[118] In 2007, many referral cases for complex treatment were on a waiting list, due to lack of funds, though critical cases were prioritized to the extent possible.^[119] Community-based services were not sufficiently developed to function as an alternative. DPOs in Kosovo advocated for increased government responsibility for community-based services.^[120] Corruption in the health sector continued to be commonplace.^[121]

Facilities for physical rehabilitation remained insufficient and there was no occupational therapy capacity.^[122] The government-funded National Ortho-Prosthetic Center (NOPC) is the only facility in Kosovo producing and fitting lower limb prostheses; as a consequence, many patients access services in neighboring countries. Frequent interruption in the supply of materials due to funding shortages resulted in service delays.^[123] The quality of locally made prostheses is reportedly significantly below that of prostheses made in Slovenia.^[124] Kosovo has approximately 100 trained physiotherapists. According to a Handicap International (HI) estimate from 2000, Kosovo needed 600.^[125]

Some peer-to-peer psychosocial support was available through NGOs, as was professional psychological assistance.^[126] However, few resources were allocated and there was a lack of capacity in the mental health sector.^[127] As in previous years, no provision was made for the training or employment of persons with disabilities.^[128]

There is no legislation providing financial assistance to mine/ERW survivors injured after June 1999, but mine/ERW survivors can receive a small pension from the MoLSW.^[129] Pensions remained inadequate and discrepancies between war veterans’ benefits (six times higher) and civilian war victims had not been addressed.^[130]

Kosovo’s 2008 constitution includes provisions for upholding the rights of persons with disabilities in the areas of anti-discrimination and social insurance legislation,^[131] but existing laws were not implemented making persons with disabilities “highly excluded from society.”^[132] Legislation regarding the provision of social services contracted through the MoLSW was approved in April 2005, but had not been implemented by early 2008.^[133] Legislation concerning the employment of persons with disabilities and general services for children with disabilities was pending approval at the government level in early 2008.^[134]

Kosovo participated in international forums supporting the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The European Commission reported that, due to its status, Kosovo cannot sign the convention.^[135]

Victim assistance strategic framework

Kosovo did not have a strategic framework or action plan for VA in 2007. There was no centralized VA coordination. Some VA is reportedly discussed at the OKPCC EOD Management Section RE meetings. However, none of the key organizations which provide direct support to mine/ERW survivors or persons with disabilities attended RE meetings or were invited to participate.^[136] According to the MYSP, the MoLSW is responsible for rehabilitation, reintegration and support of mine/ERW survivors. The EOD Management Section is responsible for annual planning, reporting and stakeholder management, and local organizations are to implement VA and rehabilitation activities.^[137]

The Office of the Prime Minister is responsible for coordinating and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities through the Human Rights Coordinator. The MoLSW and the MoH, including its IPH, are the main public institutions with responsibilities for services for persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors and other people injured during conflict.

The National Council on Disabled People (NCDP), formed in 2006, is a high-level inter-ministerial decision-making committee consisting of the Deputy Prime Minister, five deputy ministers and nine representatives of national DPOs. In 2007, NCDP meetings resulted in the adoption of a plan of action for that year. The NCDP lacked an administrative body, including staff and a budget, to actually implement its plan.^[138]

Around 70 of the more than 400 known mine/ERW survivors in Kosovo^[139] were reported to have received services in 2007. Most of these services were provided by the NOPC and Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS), who coordinate service provision.

In 2007, 133 people received prostheses at the NOPC (122 in 2006). About half of the beneficiaries were mine/ERW survivors. A lack of funding and heating fuel continued to hamper service provision.^[140] The NOPC received €122,727 (US$168,271) through the hospital to which it belongs^[141] and Otto Bock prosthetic components were funded by the United States through the ITF.^[142] A technician from the NOPC attended the annual JRS summer camp for young mine/ERW survivors to repair the participants’ prostheses.^[143] Twelve specialists attended a prosthetics and orthotics course at the Institute for Rehabilitation of the Republic of Slovenia (IRRS) in 2007.^[144]

Physiotherapy was available in Prizren and survivors from northeast Albania also accessed these services.^[145] In 2007, a fully equipped rehabilitation center was opened in Pec, but it was not operational due to the lack of trained staff.^[146] The Physiotherapy and Hydrotherapy Department of the main health center in Mitrovica (north) is the primary physiotherapy provider for the ethnic Serbian community in Kosovo. In 2007, renovation of the department was completed with international funding.^[147]

The three-year diploma course in physiotherapy developed and handed over in 2004 by HI was said to be operating as planned under the responsibility of the MoH and Pristina University in 2007.^[148]

JRS continued to provide medical and logistical support, referral to NOPC, materials, school transport fees, and psychosocial assistance to its network of some 65 mine/ERW survivors. The number of beneficiaries decreased during the year as some relocated. JRS provided upper limb and eye prostheses produced outside Kosovo for beneficiaries. In July 2007, 29 young mine/ERW survivors attended the annual JRS summer camp held in FYR Macedonia. In late 2007, JRS extended its mandate to support financially disadvantaged amputee mine/ERW survivors of all ages (rather than children only).^[149]

The largest disability NGO in Kosovo, HandiKos, continued its advocacy and community-based rehabilitation activities.^[150]

ITF continued to support activities for mine/ERW survivors from Kosovo: three survivors from Kosovo attended the 7th Summer Workshop for Landmine/UXO Survivors from SE Europe in Croatia in July–August 2007 and four received prosthetics at the IRRS.^[151]

Support for Mine Action

Landmine Monitor is not aware of a comprehensive long-term cost estimate for fulfilling mine action needs (including RE and VA) in Kosovo. In the absence of a national mine action authority, the OKPCC assumes responsibility for mine action planning and programming. Kosovo’s government contributed to mine action by funding seven KPC EOD teams in 2007. The OKPCC reported the government would continue funding in 2008 but gave no details.^[152]

International cooperation and assistance

In 2007, three countries reported providing $495,117 (€361,109) to mine action in Kosovo. Reported mine action funding in 2007 was approximately 75% less than reported in 2006, and represents the lowest level of international support for mine action in Kosovo since 2003.^[153] The European Commission and the Netherlands made contributions totaling $1,608,480 in 2006, but did not make contributions in 2007. Funding at 2007 levels does not appear sufficient to meet mine action needs, and does not address many of Kosovo’s VA needs.

In 2007, the ITF allocated $273,590 (1.2%) of its funds to Kosovo.^[154] Funds were allocated as follows: $155,160 (57%) to demining, $50,232 (18%) to training, $32,207 (12%) to VA, $18,967 (7%) to provision of medical equipment to the Pristina University Clinical Center and National Ortho-Prosthetic Center and $17,023 (6%) to RE.^[155] The ITF allocated $2,552,291 (8.8%) of its funds in 2006 to mine action in Serbia, including Kosovo; funds for Kosovo were not differentiated.^[156]

2007 International Mine Action Funding to Kosovo: Monetary^[157]

2007 International Mine Action Support to Kosovo: In-Kind^[158]

The ITF reported receiving $221,150 from the US, $26,930 from Slovenia and $24,438 from the Czech Republic, as well as $1,072 from the IRRS for mine action in Kosovo in 2007.^[159] The Czech Republic did not report 2007 mine action funding to Landmine Monitor or in its Article 7 report for calendar year 2007.^[160]