SIGNATORIES

CYPRUS

Key developments since March 1999: In November 1999, the United Nations reported military construction along both sides of the cease-fire line, including minefield refurbishment.

Mine Ban Policy

When the Republic of Cyprus signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 in Ottawa, the Cypriot delegate linked this with his government's desire "to reduce tension and promote mutual confidence" on the divided and heavily mined island.²⁵² But the government has not yet ratified the treaty.

In December 1999, the government reported to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that it "fully subscribes to the principles enshrined in the [Mine Ban Treaty], the ratification of which will take place as soon as conditions relating to the implementation of its relevant provisions are fulfilled."²⁵³ Those conditions have not been specified, nor has an expected date of ratification has been indicated.²⁵⁴ More disturbingly, in May 2000, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Landmine Monitor that, for security reasons, it is the intention of the Cyprus to "keep landmines until we have to remove them."²⁵⁵

The United Nations reported in November 1999 that "military construction along the cease-fire lines continued on both sides, including minefield refurbishment...."⁰ It is not known if the refurbishment included both antitank and antipersonnel mines. A military official said that "the Greek Cypriot army do not have the armed forces to convert from a defensive to an offensive position. The doctrine of our armed forces is defensive, mines are part of our defensive weapons."¹ Likewise, a Turkish Cypriot leader stated that "security is a vital issue, landmines do not exist in a vacuum, they are a manifestation of conflict."²

Cyprus attended the First Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Maputo, Mozambique, in May 1999, but did not make a statement to the plenary. It has not participated in any of the intersessional Standing Committee of Experts meetings. It voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 54/54B in December 1999 supporting universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty, as it had with the other pro-ban UNGA resolutions in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Cyprus is a party to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons, but has not ratified the Amended Protocol II on landmines. Cyprus has applied to become a member of the Conference on Disarmament but is at present an observer, and is "...fully committed to all international efforts for disarmament ... including naturally anti-personnel land mines."³

Production, Transfer, Stockpiling and Use

The Republic of Cyprus has reported that it "neither produces nor transfers anti-personnel landmines. It has not however adopted legislation or taken any specific measures regarding the use, production, storage, transfer and destruction of anti-personnel landmines. No moratorium has been introduced."⁴ There appears to be no information on stockpiles of mines, other than an acknowledgement that Cyprus does currently possess stockpiles.⁵ The Turkish Cypriots will divulge no information on mine production, transfer, stockpiles or use.⁶

Use and Landmine Problem

The buffer zone created in 1974 along the cease-fire line extends approximately 180 kilometers across the island. Many parts of the buffer zone, as well as areas outside of the buffer zone on both sides, were mined by Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot forces. Unofficial sources within the Greek Cypriot army gave an informal estimate recently that there are approximately 10,000 landmines laid on the Greek Cypriot side of the buffer zone.⁷

The UN force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) monitors the cease-fire, maintains the buffer zone and has military responsibility for all activities inside it. Most information on minefields was gathered during the initial period following the conflict in 1974, and has been updated since then, based mainly on sightings by UN personnel. The first survey was not conducted until 1989 when Canada proposed clearance of most minefields inside the buffer zone. This project was stopped due to objections from the Turkish side.⁸

The UNFICYP Minefield Records Officer stated that "mine laying patterns and the exact number and types of mines in minefields inside the buffer zone are not known to UNFICYP as UNFICYP is not mandated to investigate the contents of minefields."⁹ However, UNIFYCP is carrying out a new administrative survey, analyzing all documents, statements, photographs, sketches and accident reports. Its intention is to have the most updated and accurate information on minefield location and layout inside the buffer zone as possible, so that if mine clearance is agreed in the future, UNFICYP will have all the necessary information.

It was recorded previously that there are thirty-eight known minefields inside the buffer zone, which has now been updated to forty-eight minefields; the previous total of seventy-three minefields within 400 meters of the buffer zone has now been updated to seventy-five.¹⁰ It is expected that this data will continue to change. The following types of antipersonnel mines have been recorded from sightings inside the buffer zone: U.S. M2, M2A4, M14, M16, and M16A2.¹¹

UNFICYP has military control of the buffer zone and maintains observation of it. Military personnel from either side who have entered the buffer zone are requested to leave. As a result, minefields inside the buffer zone are not believed to have been maintained or "refreshed" since being laid in 1974, and therefore are likely to be highly dangerous. They are clearly marked.

Outside the buffer zone, UNFICYP involvement with mine-related issues is dealt with by liaison officers who contact the Greek Cypriot National Guard and the Turkish Front. Maintenance and "refreshment" of minefields in Greek Cypriot territory has been observed, and may be assumed to have occurred also on the Turkish Cypriot side of the buffer zone. The UN reported in November 1999 that "military construction along the cease-fire lines continued on both sides, including minefield refurbishment and the construction of anti-tank ditches by the National Guard."¹²

The mandate of UNFICYP has to be renewed every six months, with the agreement of both parties, and results in biannual reports by the UN Secretary-General. In May/June 2000 the Republic of Cyprus initially refused to renew the UN mandate, but it has been renewed.

Minefield Marking/Awareness

UNFICYP follows NATO standard military procedure with regard to mine warning signs, and minefields within the buffer zone are adequately marked. During peacetime UNFICYP soldiers are mandated to stay 1,000 meters away from signs that indicate a minefield.¹³ Members of UNFICYP are trained in mine awareness before they begin their tour of duty in Cyprus. The following procedures apply: "Sometimes there is work carried out on minefields that are close to the buffer zone. When the work is to be carried out by either side close to the buffer zone the UN is to be advised and a 1,000-meter security zone (for anti-tank mines) is placed around the work areas to protect the UN soldier from an accident."¹⁴ All soldiers in the Greek Cypriot National Guard receive training in mine awareness.

Mine Clearance

In the Greek Cypriot National Guard one unit is trained in demining. Defense Minister Yiannakis Chrysostomis stated, "The methods used by the National Guard are those internationally recommended and used by most NATO countries."¹⁵ However, House Defense Committee member Marios Matsakis is quoted as saying that "the army did not have the specialised equipment to remove primitive mines and that, despite recommendations from the House, the National Guard had failed to purchase the necessary equipment to clear decades-old rusty land mines."¹⁶

Despite strong statements about the continuing necessity of landmines for defense, a military official has stated that Cyprus has dealt with the issue of demining from a humanitarian as well as military perspective: "Since 1973 the Greek Cypriot army have destroyed lots of mines from places where the army considers are not strategic to defense. The Greek Cypriot army are planning to begin procedures for demining certain areas for humanitarian reasons."¹⁷

Inside the buffer zone, "UNFICYP is the given authority.... Its task is among other things to maintain the status quo. Only with the consent of both parties will the status quo be changed, and only if it is beneficial to the reduction of tension/a solution to the Cyprus Problem. UNFICYP would like to see all mines lifted, but not if this means tension would rise."¹⁸ UNFICYP "does not itself undertake demining in the buffer zone, except where this is required to ensure the safety of its own troops, or in the event of a humanitarian emergency. In such cases, it would only be able to respond with demining resources obtained from organisations outside UNFICYP."¹⁹

The UN Security Council has made numerous resolutions on the demining of land inside the buffer zone. Requests made by UNFICYP to both sides regarding demining and responses to these requests are noted biannually in the Secretary General's reports to the Security Council; all references to date report a lack of progress on this issue. UNFICYP has also requested specific information from both sides on the location of minefields in and around the buffer zone, with the following result: The Greek Cypriot "National Guard has stated its readiness to hand over minefield records provided that the other side does the same. The military authorities in the north indicated that they would be ready to negotiate the minefield issue with UNFICYP immediately following agreement on the UNFICYP package of measures to reduce tension along the ceasefire lines."²⁰

In May 2000, the Turkish Cypriots repeated their earlier position that they will only deal with the issue of demining within the context of the 1996 further de-confrontation measures put forward by UNFICYP and "when this package is accepted we can discuss the issue of demining".²¹ In June 1999, the Security Council again called upon "both sides to take measures that will build trust and cooperation and reduce tensions between the two sides including demining along the buffer zone."²² The Secretary-General's report of 29 November 1999 noted no significant developments on demining.²³ However, recently the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it has been "re-examining the whole issue and will come up with new proposals for demining inside the buffer zone."²⁴

Mine Casualties

The UNFICYP Mine Fields Record Officer indicated that there have been no civilian or military casualties as a result of landmines in the buffer zone in the last year.²⁵ In Greek Cypriot territory there have been no civilian mine casualties in the last year, but one military casualty: a National Guardsman was killed instantly when an antitank mine exploded in front of him during a demining operation in Potamia village south of Nicosia.²⁶ A Turkish Cypriot official stated: "There are no and have been no civilian casualties as a result of mines in the north of Cyprus. Landmines are not a humanitarian risk, the issues of landmines are dealt with within the military context, not the humanitarian context."²⁷

GREECE

Mine Ban Policy

Greece signed the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) on 4 December 1997, but has yet to ratify it. In December 1999, in its report to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the government reiterated its position as outlined in Ottawa when signing the treaty: "[R]atification will take place as soon as conditions relating to the implementation of its relevant provisions are fulfilled."²⁸

In June 2000, when asked to indicate what the preconditions for ratification are and when they might be met, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that "efforts in that effect are taking place in all relevant fields.... [However] no timetable for the ratification has been announced."²⁹ The primary reasons for not ratifying the MBT were explained as threefold. The first is the technical difficulty of removing the landmines remaining after the civil war. The second is the cost and "priorities of the units working on the removal of mines." And the final concern was the "general situation in our area, adherence or not of other countries to the Ottawa Convention and to the Amended Protocol II to the CCW...."³⁰ The Ministry added that although it has not yet ratified the MBT, "Greece has taken adequate measures to refrain from acts [which might] undermine the scope of the Treaty...."³¹

The government attended the First Meeting of States Parties (FMSP) in May 1999 in Maputo, but did not make a statement. Greece simply associated itself with the statement of the European Union in the presentation by Mr. Athanassios Theodorakis, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission whose spoke on behalf of the Commission. Most of that statement was focused on the European Commission's contribution to humanitarian mine action.³² Greece has not participated in any of the intersessional meetings of the Standing Committees of Experts related to the treaty.

Greece voted in favor of the pro-Mine Ban Treaty UN General Assembly resolution in December 1999, as it had in 1997 and 1998.

Greece attended both the Regional Conference on Landmines in Zagreb, Croatia, in June 1999 and in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in June 2000. At the latter conference, the Turkish delegation issued a statement referring to a proposal to Greece to demine the common border, to which (it said) Greece had not responded.³³ It has not been possible to verify this with the Greek government.

Greece ratified Amended Protocol II (Landmines) of the Convention on Conventional Weapons on 20 January 1999.³⁴ It attended the First Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in December 1999, and submitted its annual report as required under Article 13 on 3 December 1999, which provided only minimal information. ³⁵

While not a member of the Conference on Disarmament, Greece has submitted a request for membership, and participates as an observer. It continues to hold the position that "the Conference on Disarmament should deal with the issue of APLs."³⁶

Production, Transfer and Stockpile

Greece is known to have produced and exported at least one type of antipersonnel landmine, a copy of the U.S. M16A2.³⁷ The Foreign Ministry notes that, along with the other members of the European Union, it has observed an unlimited moratorium on the production and transfer of antipersonnel landmines.³⁸ Its report to the OSCE states that "Greece is neither a producing nor an APL exporting country."³⁹

There is no definitive information on the current size or composition of Greece's stockpile of antipersonnel mines, although one report indicated a stockpile of 1.5 million mines.⁴⁰ In addition to domestic production, Greece is known to have previously imported AP mines from the United States and Italy.⁴¹ In November 1999 the German Ministry of Defense confirmed that it planned to export twenty-three Skorpion mine delivery systems and 36,000 AT-2 antitank mines to Greece.⁴²

Use and Landmine Problem

Mines are not known to pose a danger to civilians in the country, although mines dating from the Greek civil war (1947-1949) are found along the northern border. The border with Turkey, in part along the Evros River, has also been mined for decades. The only publicly available information about these minefields comes from occasional press reports of civilian and military casualties occurring along the border, with newspaper maps of the mined area published occasionally as well. Also the border with Bulgaria is mined, although demining there is underway.

Mine Clearance

In November 1997, Greece and Bulgaria agreed to demine their common border.⁴³ Bulgaria's side of the border was declared landmine-free during fall 1999,⁴⁴ while Greece's demining efforts on this border are in progress. The Ministry of Defense estimates that it may take two to three years to complete the demining.⁴⁵ The predominant method of mine removal employed by Greece is manual, though canine detection is now being explored.⁴⁶

Regarding mines along the border with Turkey, the Greek position is unclear. In September 1997 Deputy Defense Minister Dimitris Apostolakis said "[T]he minefields will stay as long as we have a frontier on the Evros."⁴⁷ Then, after mine casualties on 31 October 1999, a government spokesman stated that "Greece would forge ahead with its policy on removing land mines...."⁴⁸ One month later, after twenty-one casualties occurred in one of the minefields on the border with Turkey, a government spokesman indicated that "minefields in Greece would be cleared as soon as a relevant agreement was ratified by the country's Parliament."⁴⁹ And in June 2000 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Greece has taken measures to improve and increase the markings and the perimeters of existing mine-fields...[and] incidents of illegal migrants, inadvertently entering mined areas no longer occur. No [mine] victims have been reported since 1998."⁵⁰

However, landmine casualties have continued to occur in Greek minefields. The details of marking and demining programs have not been reported (Greece's annual report to the CCW states no more than that demining started on the Bulgarian border in November 1997).⁵¹

Landmine Casualties and Victim Assistance

Landmine casualties have been reported in the Greek press, in most cases involving illegal immigrants entering the country from Turkey. There appears to be no central register of mine incidents and casualties that is publicly available.⁵² Press reports indicate a total of thirty-eight deaths and twenty-six injuries since 1993,⁵³ including the following:

· 15 September 1997: three Iraqi Kurds killed, eleven injured (four severely) in a minefield near Nea Vissa-Edirne (near border with Turkey) - reportedly entered "fenced-in minefield and set off two landmines."⁵⁴ Another report of the same incident stated that from 1 January to 15 September 1997, "more than 20 immigrants have died on the Nea Vissa minefields."⁵⁵

· 15 June 1998: two soldiers killed, one injured in a minefield near Yemisti Kipon Evrou near the border with Turkey - reportedly by an AP mine in one of the oldest minefields on the border.⁵⁶

· 31 October 1999: five Iraqi Kurds killed, sixteen injured in a minefield near Kipi border post (on border with Turkey).⁵⁷ According to other reports, the minefield was marked.⁵⁸

· 8 May 2000: one male illegal immigrant killed in a minefield along the Evros River, described as "clearly marked and fenced."⁵⁹

In most of the incidents occurring on the Turkish border, these reports quote officials as describing the minefields as marked and fenced. For example, the September 1997 incident occurred in a minefield described as surrounded with three layers of barbed wire and with clear signs ("phosphorescent") every fifteen meters.⁶⁰

Most if not all mine victims on the Turkish border receive emergency treatment in Alexandroupolis Hospital. No details of rehabilitation programs were given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when asked in June 2000,⁶¹ nor did Greece make any entry under the section provided for "Rehabilitation Programs" in its Protocol II report of 15 October 1999.⁶² It appears that survivors are discharged with minimal follow-up and, apparently, nothing that could be considered rehabilitation. In two known cases, mine victims were taken to prison on discharge from hospital. Because most victims are potential asylum-seekers, described and treated as illegal immigrants, many may well attempt to avoid attention, but those who do reach Athens often go to Sismanoglou Hospital as outpatients.

Mine Action Funding

Greece has donated $80,000 to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance.⁶³ It also takes part in the Joint Action of the EU Member States providing "financial and technical assistance to landmine victims and affected countries."⁶⁴

LITHUANIA

Mine Ban Policy

On signing the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) on 26 February 1999, Lithuania stated in a declaration at the time, "The Republic of Lithuania...declares that ratification of the Convention will take place as soon as relevant conditions relating to the implementation of the provisions of the Convention are fulfilled."⁶⁵

Lithuania participated in the First Meeting of States Parties (FMSP) to the MBT in Mozambique in May 1999. The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs told the plenary, "The entry into force of the anti-personnel mine ban convention was a milestone event. This convention is a successful chapter of the conventional disarmament process, but, first and foremost, this is a victory of humanitarian consideration over military doctrines.... It is true that military doctrines have to be adapted and APLs destroyed.... Having signed the Ottawa Treaty, Lithuania recognizes the obligation to put an end to the suffering caused by APLs and will work towards ratification of the Convention. Apparently, the ratification is not so distant future simply because we have never produced, used, imported, exported anti-personnel mines or traded in them."⁶⁶

In a report to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in December 1999, Lithuania said it "intends to accede...in the future, taking into account accession to and ratification by neighboring countries in the region."⁶⁷

As with other Baltic countries, the necessary preconditions for ratification of the MBT focus on the regional security context. As an official from the Ministry of Defense said, "Lithuania recognizes that AP mines are a barbaric arm and shall be eliminated from the arsenals.... The negative attitude of Lithuanian neighbors towards the ban is also to be taken into account." ⁶⁸

The Foreign Ministry adds that ratification would be more straightforward if there was more coordination between countries in the Baltic region.⁶⁹ Concerns about national security are based on the Baltic countries' shared history of recent invasion and occupation, and present-day uncertainty particularly with regard to Russia. It appears that the possession of antipersonnel mines provides a sense of security out of proportion to the numbers stockpiled.

At the same time, the Foreign Ministry states that it considers Lithuania to be bound (under Article 18 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties) to refrain from all acts that would defeat the object and purpose of the MBT.⁷⁰

Lithuania has not attended any of the MBT intersessional meetings in Geneva. In December 1999 it voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 54/54B urging full implementation of the MBT. The Foreign Ministry welcomed Landmine Monitor Report 1999 as a "notably valuable and comprehensive source of information on anti-APL policy, practise and plans world-wide. It is a credible source, open to broad general public. Most notably, LM Monitor has served its purpose, that is to stir up public attention and action on the issues that hitherto were confined to exclusively governmental establishment."⁷¹

Lithuania is a party to Amended Protocol II (Landmines) of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). The government attended the First Annual Conference of the States Parties to the Amended Protocol II in Geneva in December 1999, and has submitted its required Article 13 transparency report. It is not a member of the Conference on Disarmament.

Lithuania would like to cooperate more with Western countries in the search for alternatives to antipersonnel mines, which is considered too costly to engage in alone. There is some assistance provided by the Canadian Embassy in Vilnius. But any search for alternatives is said to be unconnected with ratification of the MBT.⁷²

Production, Transfer and Stockpile

Lithuania has stated on many occasions, including at the FMSP in May 1999, that it does not produce, use, import or export AP mines.⁷³ Production of all articles of military application is subject to license. No licenses for the import or export of AP mines have been granted or applied for since Lithuania's independence in 1990.⁷⁴ However, this statement appears to be qualified by the Ministry of Defense statement in early 1999 that existing stocks of AP mines were obtained in the early 1990s from the Soviet Union.⁷⁵

On 1 September 1998 a two-year moratorium on the export of AP mines was enacted, in order to contribute to the elimination of AP mines worldwide and harmonize Lithuania's position with that of the EU.⁷⁶ Lithuania borders Belarus and the heavily militarized Kaliningrad region of Russia (which is enclosed by Lithuania and Poland, therefore has to be accessed by land across Lithuanian territory). Earlier agreements to allow the transfer through Lithuania of Russian military equipment have been extended; checks are made and Lithuanian military accompany all such convoys; whether AP mines have formed part of these transfers has not been ascertained.⁷⁷

The Foreign Ministry says that the precise number of AP mines may not be disclosed under the Law on State Secrets which entered into force on 1 January 2000, but described the number as a mere fraction of what is deemed to be the minimum under the MBT, and kept in stockpiles exclusively for mine clearance training and demonstration purposes.⁷⁸

Landmine Problem and Mine Clearance

Lithuania is not facing very serious problems with landmines and UXO left from military operations during World War II, though these "remnants of war" from World War II are described as rather commonplace finds. There are no maps available showing contamination with explosives, and Lithuania does not have a national mine clearance plan.⁷⁹

In recent years special units have been formed, and deminers are equipped with Shebel, Valun (Austrian), MSG-75 (German), IMP and RVM (Russian) mine detectors. A military engineering school has been founded in Kaunas which will serve the demining and EOD (exoplosive ordnance disposal) needs of the Baltic region; in the initial phase Danish assistance is involved.⁸⁰ There has been international cooperation on mine clearance. Partners included the 871st U.S. Engineer Battalion, Swedish Mine Clearance Training Center, Danish Engineers and Chemical Defense School, German War Engineers School, ENTEC (NATO technical training center), and the 15^th Polish Mine Clearance Battalion. The Lithuanian armed forces have received technical assistance from Denmark, Sweden and Germany.⁸¹

Research and Development

In 1994, the Institutes of the Lithuanian Academy of Science and several private companies formed a technological base to create high-tech systems for underground investigations, including mine detection. In the former Soviet Union, Lithuania was one of the centers of R&D for high-speed electronics. The former Vilnius Scientific Research Institute of Radio-Measurement Devices was the main developer of radio-measurement techniques for the whole of the Soviet Union. Scientists formerly working at this Institute have formed private companies and continued the development of Ground Penetrating Radar; the products of these companies are presently exported to the United States, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, China and Russia.⁸²

Mine Casualties and Survivor Assistance

Landmine victims (mostly elderly people injured in World War II and a few from the Afghan war) receive social support as disabled persons.⁸³ There are some nongovernmental organizations, the Veterans Union, and the Charity Fund of Afghan Veterans, where war veterans can get assistance. There is active cooperation with similar organizations in Belarus, and joint meetings and rehabilitation in a special center in Vitebsk, Belarus. There are about 1,500 Afghanistan war veterans in Lithuania, including 824 in Vilnius, with fifty-eight injured veterans (including landmine victims) in Vilnius alone.⁸⁴

MALTA

Malta signed the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) on 4 December 1997. It has not yet ratified the treaty, though may do so by September 2000. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that Malta would ratify as soon as the legislation had passed through the Cabinet and Parliament.⁸⁵ Malta participated in the First Meeting of States Parties to the MBT in May 1999, where its ambassador to Mozambique, Miguel de Brangança, asserted that "the Sovereign Military Order of Malta is ready to be associated with any international action directed at obtaining legal and practical measures that can resolve the problem of landmines and that this work must constitute the first aim of this Conference."⁸⁶ Since then Malta has taken part in three intersessional meetings of the MBT: the Standing Committee of Experts on Mine Clearance, Victim Assistance, and General Status and Operation of the Convention.

Malta voted in favor of the United Nations General Assembly resolutions supporting the Mine Ban Treaty in 1996, 1997, and 1998, and co-sponsored and voted for the December 1999 pro-ban resolution. It does not possess, produce, transfer, or use antipersonnel landmines and is not mine-affected. As of September 1999, it had donated $1,952 to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance.⁸⁷ It is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons, but has not ratified the Amended Protocol II; it was an observer at the First Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol in December 1999.

MOLDOVA

Key developments since March 1999: The Parliament ratified the Mine Ban Treaty and the President signed the law. It awaits deposit at the UN. Progress was made in training deminers; clearance operations are expected to get underway.

Mine Ban Policy

Moldova signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997. Government officials had said that the treaty would not be ratified until the issues related to the status of the Pridnestrovie Moldavian Republic (PMR) are resolved,⁸⁸ and Russian troops withdrawn from its territory.⁸⁹ (For background on Moldova and PMR, see LM Report 1999, pp. 743-744.) However, on 27 April 2000, the Moldovan Parliament ratified the Mine Ban Treaty.⁹⁰ The President signed the law on 14 June 2000. According to an official of the Foreign Ministry, the instrument of ratification will be sent to the United Nations in September 2000.⁹¹

Moldova did not attend the First Meeting of States Parties in Maputo in May 1999, nor has it attended any intersessional Standing Committee of Experts meetings related to the treaty. The main reason is financial constraints. The government sent representatives to the second international conference on landmines in Russia and the CIS held in Tbilisi, Georgia in December 1999. Moldova voted for the December 1999 UN General Assembly resolution in support of the Mine Ban Treaty, as it had in 1997 and 1998.

On the same day that it ratified the MBT, the Moldovan Parliament also ratified the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and all of its protocols, including Amended Protocol II on landmines.⁹² The government did not participate in the First Annual Conference of State Parties to Amended Protocol II in Geneva in December 1999, though it did attend the preparatory meeting in May 1999.⁹³

Production, Transfer, Stockpiling, Use

The Moldovan government is not believed to produce landmines. The Moldovan government is not known to have imported or exported antipersonnel landmines, but does not have an export moratorium in place.

Moldova inherited mine stocks from the USSR. According to the government, Moldova's army has approximately 12,000 mines.⁹⁴ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that Moldova would be able to destroy 10,000 mines on its own, but will need international support for the other 2,000.⁹⁵

Types of antipersonnel mines thought to be in Moldovan arsenals include: PMN, PMN-2, PMN-4, OZM-72, MON-50, MON-90, MON-100, MON-200, KSF-ls, PFM-ls, and POM-2s.⁹⁶ (See LM Report 1999, pp. 745-746.)

According to Moldovan officials, there has been no new military use of mines. Criminal use of mines and other explosives stolen from storage or obtained during the conflict, however, is reported.⁹⁷

Mine Clearance

In an official ceremony Canada's Ambassador to Moldova handed over to Moldovan sappers ten sets of personal protective equipment for deminers, valued at U.S.$ 120,000. He indicated Canada would also be providing training courses on use of the equipment. Brigadier General Ion Coropchan, Chief of General Staff of the Moldovan Armed Forces has said the equipment would be used in the demining of 150 hectares near the village of Pogrebya in the Chishineu district, and also for clearance of UXO left after WWII.⁹⁸

In 1999, a group of the Moldovan police officers underwent a demining training course in the United States.⁹⁹ On 9 February 2000, U.S. military representatives provided equipment for detection and demining, valued at $104,000 dollars.¹⁰⁰ In February and March, deminers from the Second Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces were trained to use the equipment in demining operations at Moldova's Military Engineers Center.¹⁰¹

In early 1999, under the Joint Control Commission (see footnote 1), it was agreed to carry out demining operations of about eighty hectares of land near Pogrebya which lies in the security zone and under the auspices of peacekeeping troops. However, the operation did not move forward because of concerns as to where to locate the Moldovan sappers.¹⁰² Finally at an 18 April 2000 session of the Joint Control Commission, it was agreed to place forty-nine Moldovan sappers in the village of Koshnitsa, in the immediate proximity of the mined areas. Demining is scheduled to take place from 1 May through 1 September. ¹⁰³ The demining of the minefields near Pogrebya is a difficult exercise, plagued by an absence of maps, a high density of mines (said to be 150-200 mines/hectare), and dense vegetation.

Mine Awareness

There are no systematic mine awareness programs in Moldova. During mine clearance operations, deminers meet with the local population and give them information about what to do if they come upon mines or UXO. In 1999 representatives of Ukrainian Peacekeepers Veterans Association (UPVA) created the Ukrainian Mine Action Information Center (UMAIC), which has representatives in Moldova and PMR. UMAIC supports Ukrainian activity with Moldova / PMR, in organizing mine awareness activities with the population. The Center has also sought to educate the government and private sector about the needs of landmine victims.

Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance

Statistics on mine casualties are not public information. There is only sketchy information on mine incidents in local media. (See LM Report 1999, pp. 746-747.) On 14 April 2000, the parliament enacted laws to protect the rights of the disabled and war victims.

Pridnestrovie Moldavian Republic

The Transdniester region of Moldova declared independence from Moldova in 1990, and calls itself Pridnestrovie Moldavian Republic (PMR). It is not internationally recognized. Forces from Moldova and PMR battled in 1992, with both sides using landmines.

PMR officials have made no public statements about the Mine Ban Treaty. Officials have said they have received no official information about the treaty and Moldova and international landmine activity.¹⁰⁴

Moldova has said that PMR produces its own arms, including antipersonnel mines. Arms factories located in Ribnita, Tiraspol, and Tighina were part of the Soviet Union's military supply complex and are continuing to produce weapons, Moldovan officials claim, including production of the basic Russian-type mines. The PMR government admitted to producing arms in order "to maintain the same military footing with Moldova." ¹⁰⁵

The Russian 14th Army has allegedly provided PMR separatists with mines. The PMR may in turn have supplied mines to others; it has allegedly provided support to Abkhazia against Georgia, and the Krajina Serbs against Croatia.¹⁰⁶ Moldova has recently charged that mines manufactured in PMR are smuggled out of the country.¹⁰⁷ However PMR leaders and the head of Security Service of PMR General Vladimir Antufeev said that the allegations do not correspond to reality; the charges are an attempt to discredit the government of PMR. ¹⁰⁸

The number of mines in the PMR stockpile is unknown, but likely in the thousands. Types of antipersonnel mines thought to be in their arsenals include: PMN, PMN-2, PMN-4, OZM-72, MON-50, MON-90, MON-100, MON-200, KSF-ls, PFM-ls, and POM-2s.¹⁰⁹

According to PMR there has been no new military use of mines. However, mining of the territory is considered by the leadership of PMR as the main means of defense of PMR territories.¹¹⁰

PMR does not disclose data and information about mine incidents. However, the President of PMR Igor Smirnov said that eight PMR sappers have been killed by mines since the end of the conflict.¹¹¹

The PMR guarantees citizens free health care. In addition to its own citizens, its veterans' hospital accepts Moldovan citizens for free treatment.

POLAND

Mine Ban Policy

Although it signed the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) on 4 December 1997, Poland has said that it is not likely to ratify the treaty in the foreseeable future. At the First Meeting of States Parties to the MBT in May 1999, head of delegation Zbigniew Szymanski, Director of UN Political Affairs for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spelled out the reasons for this position. Noting Poland's "particular geostrategic situation," he said that while showing support for the MBT by signing it, states "can not neglect the other side of the anti-personnel landmines problem, the Convention has also considerable security implications."¹¹²

In February 2000, the government said "the treaty has not been ratified yet because neither the US, nor China, nor, what is more important, Russia or other of Poland's eastern neighbors has done so." ¹¹³ A distinction was made between the "humanitarian" rationale for signing the MBT and the "security" rationale for not ratifying it, stating that the security rationale will only be satisfied when these other states ratify the MBT.¹¹⁴ As an example of the security side, in March 2000 Bronislaw Komorowski, Chairman of the Sejm Commission for National Defense (a parliamentary committee) cited the conflict in Chechnya as a positive example of the utility of mines.¹¹⁵

In its report to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Poland also set out three conditions which must be fulfilled to make it possible to ratify the Convention: that all main producers and permanent members of the UN Security Council should join the Convention, that all neighboring countries of Poland should join the Convention, and that the Polish Army have alternatives for the weapon.¹¹⁶ One observer noted that according to some Polish diplomats this will remain the case until at least 2006, the year that the United States has proposed to join the MBT.¹¹⁷

Government representatives attended meetings of each of the Standing Committee of Experts (SCE), except for Mine Clearance. Poland also participated in the regional landmine conferences in Zagreb in June 1999 and Ljubljana in June 2000.

Poland voted in favor of United Nations General Assembly resolutions supporting a ban on landmines in 1996, 1997, and 1998, and co-sponsored and voted for the 1999 resolution supporting universalization of the MBT. During the 1999 debate in the UN First Committee, Poland associated itself with the European Union statement that "emphasized the importance of a full and speedy implementation of the Ottawa Convention."¹¹⁸

Poland is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons but has not ratified its Amended Protocol II (1996). It attended the First Conference of States Parties to the Amended Protocol II in December 1999 as an observer. In the same month Poland reported to the OSCE that all ministries and institutions supported ratification of Amended Protocol II, and expected formal ratification in early 2000."¹¹⁹

The government continues to view the Conference on Disarmament (CD) as the appropriate forum for dealing with landmines. In a statement before the Conference, Bronislaw Geremek, Minister of Foreign Affairs, indicated that "a global ban on transfers of anti-personnel landmines...would be a fitting theme for the Conference on Disarmament" and insisted that Poland regarded the CD "as the principle, indeed sole, multilateral disarmament negotiating body of the international community."¹²⁰ It has also argued that a transfer ban in the CD would contribute to keeping landmines out of the hands of "non-governmental forces and terrorist groups."¹²¹

Production, Transfer and Stockpile

Poland has produced at least one type of antipersonnel landmine, the PSM-1,¹²² but has stated on more than one occasion that its production stopped in the mid-1980s.¹²³ An export ban was first enacted in 1995 and has been extended indefinitely.¹²⁴ The size and composition of Poland's AP mine stockpile is unknown. In May 2000 a Foreign Ministry official stated that the stockpile of AP mines is small and kept solely for reasons of national security.¹²⁵

Mine Action

The government reported in 1998 that Poland is not mine-affected but may still have a problem with unexploded ordnance (UXO) from World War II.¹²⁶ By 1985 Poland had disposed of over eighty-eight million items of UXO, including fifteen million mines.¹²⁷

The Foreign Ministry reports that Poland has provided training and assistance for demining and rehabilitation of mine victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Lebanon.¹²⁸ Poland also sent specialists to demining training programs in Albania and Yemen, and granted $10,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1999, in support of victim assistance operations.¹²⁹ Poland has also played an active role in humanitarian demining via the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and NATO's Partnership for Peace.¹³⁰ It has not contributed to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Mine Action.

ROMANIA

Key developments since March 1999: A Romanian company offered antipersonnel mines for sale at an arms fair in the UK in September 1999; the government called the incident a "regrettable error."

Mine Ban Policy

When Romania signed the Mine Ban Treaty at the opening ceremony in Ottawa on 3 December 1997, Minister of Foreign Affairs Adrian Severin declared: "Our military experts have no reasons to consider that antipersonnel landmines are essential to guarantee the security of Romania."¹³¹ Yet, Romania has not yet ratified the MBT.

In November 1999, the Minister of Defense Victor Babiuc stated that "ratification started as a process and will finalize, probably in the first half of the year 2000."¹³² In the same month, the Foreign Ministry stated, "Romania is now in the process of identifying the financial resources for the destruction of stockpiles, in order to be able to ratify the Convention."¹³³ The Defense Minister, on 15 February 2000, noted that because "the process of ratification has been relatively recently released, there is no juridical act drawn up...."¹³⁴

In a meeting with the ICBL in October 1999, Romania's Ambassador to the UN, Mr. Ion Gorita, stated that even though ratification had not taken place, Romania was committed to respect the provisions of the treaty and was in effect already implementing the treaty: no use, no export, no production, beginning of destruction of AP mine stockpiles.¹³⁵

Romanian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) involved in the mine ban campaign note that there had been regular changes of personnel in charge of the signing and ratification process of the MBT, which may have simply resulted in loss of continuity in the process overall, or may indicate disagreements over the priority to be given to ratification of the MBT. Official responses to inquiries have not been forthcoming from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Officials at the Ministry of Defense said they were unable to assist in the research for Landmine Monitor. No clear and meaningful political support has been expressed for speedy ratification of the MBT in Romania.

Romania attended the First Meeting of States Parties (FMSP) to the MBT in Maputo, Mozambique, in May 1999, where the delegation commented on the financial implications of implementing the MBT. It has participated in most meetings of the intersessional meetings of the Standing Committees of Experts of the MBT, with the exception of those related to victim assistance.

Romania voted in favor of the UN General Assembly Resolution 54/54B urging full implementation of the MBT in December 1999, as it had with the previous pro-ban UNGA resolutions in 1996, 1997, and 1998.

It is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and in November 1999, it was announced that ratification was underway of the Amended Protocol II (1996). ¹³⁶ However, one month later, Romania's report to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) stated "Romania has not signed or started the formal adherence process to the Protocol II."¹³⁷ It attended as an observer the First Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in Geneva in December 1999.

Romania continues to support "complementary" negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament to ban the transfer of antipersonnel mines.¹³⁸

Production and Stockpiling

In its December 1999 report to the OSCE, Romania stated that it does not produce AP mines.¹³⁹ Officials have said that production stopped in 1990.¹⁴⁰ Concerning past production, the Ministry of Defense has confirmed the accuracy of the list of seven types of AP mines presented in the Landmine Monitor Report 1999¹⁴¹ and offered further data on their technical characteristics. The number of these AP mines currently in stockpiles is not known, but it is thought to be substantial.¹⁴²

The government has stated that the costs of stockpile destruction are a factor influencing MBT ratification and Romania has asked for financial assistance to destroy its stocks. ¹⁴³ In June 1999 the Chief of the Defense Staff arranged for Romanian experts to visit Austria to discuss stockpile destruction; the trip included a tour of "the premises of UXO-experts as well as a visit to an industrial destruction site at Radmer (private company)."¹⁴⁴ In October 1999, Romania's UN Ambassador told the ICBL that stockpile destruction began in 1998, but there has been no confirmation of or further information about this.¹⁴⁵

Transfer

A moratorium on the transfer of AP mines was declared on 1 July 1995. The export moratorium was extended until 15 September 2000, but plans for future extensions have not been reported.¹⁴⁶ This prohibition did not prevent the Romanian company Romtechnica from offering AP mines for sale in September 1999 at the Defence Systems and Equipment Exhibition International (DSEi) at Chertsey in the United Kingdom. Seven types of mine were being offered, three of which were AP mines: the MAI-75 pressure mine, the MS-3 "Surprise Mine" (formerly designated as the ML-3), and the Leaping Splinter Mine (MSS). Although no details are available to further identify this latter, previously unknown, device, it is considered likely to be a bounding fragmentation AP mine.

The Romtehnica sales representative made it clear to a researcher from the UK who attended the Exhibition that the items were for sale. A color brochure was available for the MS-3 Surprise Mine, which included its technical details. The brochure states that the mine has a dual purpose: it is an anti-lift device and a standard mine. Also available was a List of Romanian Defense Industry Products, which included the other two AP mines, the MSS and the MAI-75.

The UK Working Group on Landmines was informed, and police and customs officials contacted. The issue was widely reported in the press, both in Romania and in the UK. The Romanian authorities explained the incident as a simple error in documentation. Col. Florian Ionica, Romtechnica's General Manager, told a news conference that two marketing managers had been dismissed and the commercial manager disciplined over an "error of information.... The list, which is not a commercial offer, contained two types of anti-personnel mines produced in the past, but not in current production for either internal use or export.... The inclusion of these two models is a regrettable error for which Romtechnica assumes full responsibility."¹⁴⁷

In the UK, in a Written Answer to a Parliamentary Question, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces said:

Following allegations in the British media that a Romanian company was promoting anti-personnel landmines at DSEi, we instructed the MOD Police to investigate the matter. Separately, the Romanian authorities have contacted the MOD to explain that, in error, their company had on its stand literature, which mentioned an anti-personnel landmine. They have informed us that they stopped manufacturing this item in 1990, but that the company had not updated its equipment lists. We have received an apology from the Romanian authorities, but the MOD Police are still investigating the matter and will submit a file to the Crown Prosecution Service in due course.¹⁴⁸

At each stage of these official explanations, the incident changes: from three AP mines actually on sale, to two (Ionica's press conference), to one (Romanian explanation to the UK), and from a direct offer of sale to the "mere" inclusion in a list apparently not updated for almost ten years. The explanations are further called into question by a news report that quoted Romtechnica managers as saying that the sales list had been "conceived especially for this event."¹⁴⁹ Also, a mine clearance expert reports having seen AP mines listed in the Romtechnica sales catalogues at military exhibition in Delhi in March 1998.¹⁵⁰

NGO Activity

It was the Romtechnica incident that prompted the involvement of the NGO Sibienii Pacifisti (People of Sibiu for Peace) in the landmine issue. The NGO has called upon the authorities to prepare an Article 7 report, even before ratification, as demonstration of the government's serious commitment to the MBT, but this was ignored. Additionally, to try to speed up the process of ratification, Sibienii Pacifisti addressed two open letters to the Parliament to provide an opportunity for Members of Parliament to call for the ratification process to be prioritized. Although this caught the attention of the press for a few days, there was no clear response from the Government.¹⁵¹

To increase public pressure on this issue, a Working Group was formed, focusing on three tasks: to collect information on AP mines appearing in the Romanian press; to contact public officials and others who are involved in this issue; and to provide research for the Landmine Monitor Report 2000. A series of conferences and other activities were organized, especially for academics but also for all representatives of civil society to build public awareness. One particular effort is to find sponsors for its program of assistance to mine victims.

On 27 December 1999 a new Open Letter was addressed this time to the Presidency of Romania, Parliament, Government, Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, the Embassies of the accredited states in Bucharest, and to all media and press agencies in Romania. This letter called again for the speeding up of ratifying the MBT and requested approval to contact representatives of the Ministries, institutions and relevant companies. The response has been very poor, with the only positive response from the German Consulate in Sibiu. In general, the civilian population as well as politicians are not well informed about the effects of AP mines, perhaps partly because Romania has not been affected by mines.

Mine Action

Romania has made contributions to several mine action programs in recent years: to Angola, with one engineers platoon and vehicle from 1995 to 1997, to Bosnia-Herzegovina with one engineering platoon and associated vehicles and equipment, and to Albania with two engineer squads and vehicles in 1997. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania spent over $330,000 in 1996-1998 on mine clearance efforts.

UKRAINE

Key developments since March 1999: The start of Ukraine's stockpile destruction program has been delayed beyond the original target of the year 2000. Full destruction is now contemplated in 2007. In 1999, an International Demining Training Center was created, the Ministry of Defense formed a demining company for domestic and foreign demining operations, and the non-governmental Ukrainian Mine Action Information Center was established. Ukraine ratified CCW Amended Protocol II (Landmines) on 21 September 1999.

Mine Ban Policy

The key stumbling block to Ukraine's immediate and full embrace of the Treaty has been concern about its ability to bear the costs of destroying its significant mine stockpile within the required four years. After months of diplomatic and technical discussions, on 28 January 1999 Ukraine signed an agreement with Canada regarding cooperation in the destruction of the stockpiles.¹⁵² On the same day, President Leonid Kuchma declared that Ukraine would join the Mine Ban Treaty and in less than a month, on 24 February 1999, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada signed the treaty at the United Nations.

Although work has continued to be able to carry out the terms of the agreement on destruction of stocks, the Parliament has not made any move toward ratification of the treaty. As a first step, the Parliament must ratify the agreement between the government and Canada on stockpile destruction; technical questions and problems regarding the procedure for the destruction are yet to be resolved. The current position of the government is that ratification of the treaty itself will only be considered after the first stage of the bilateral program for stockpile destruction has been completed.¹⁵³

Ukraine continues to participate in relevant landmine meetings. The government delegation to the First Meeting of States Parties in Maputo in May 1999 was headed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. The government also participated in nearly every ban treaty intersessional meeting. Representatives from Ukraine attended regional conferences on landmines held in Zagreb in June of 1999, Tbilisi in December of 1999, and in Minsk in February of 2000.

Ukraine voted in favor of the December 1999 UN General Assembly resolution in support of the Mine Ban Treaty, as it had in 1997 and 1998.

Ukraine ratified Amended Protocol II (Landmines) to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons on 21 September 1999, and opted for the nine-year delay in implementation of key provisions. It took part in both the preparatory meeting in May 1999 and the First Annual Conference of State Parties to Amended Protocol II to the CCW in Geneva in December 1999.

The military determined that to be in compliance with Amended Protocol II, it would have to destroy 1.146 million PFM mines and 6 million PFM-1S mines, because they do not meet the technical requirements of the protocol. The military considers that the following mines, if adapted with Soviet-made manual control devices, would be in compliance: POMZ-2, POMZ-2М, OZM-4, OZM-72, and MON. The adapting devices (23,300 complete sets of a type VKPM and 42,300 complete sets of VKPM) would cost U.S. $2.7 million. Ministries responsible for carrying out the obligations under the Amended Protocol include the Ministries of Defense, Industrial Policy, and Foreign Affairs.¹⁵⁴

As a member of the Conference on Disarmament, Ukraine has supported its negotiation of a transfer ban.

Production and Transfer

Under the Soviet Union, Ukraine produced components for Soviet landmines.¹⁵⁵ Representatives of the Ukrainian government and military have repeatedly stated in a number of fora that the country does not manufacture landmines and has not since independence.¹⁵⁶

A 1993 U.S. State Department communiqué identified Ukraine as an exporter of antipersonnel mines, though Landmine Monitor is unaware of any documented cases of transfer since independence.¹⁵⁷ Ukraine enacted a moratorium on the export of antipersonnel mines from August 1995 to September 1999.¹⁵⁸ That moratorium was extended through 2003.¹⁵⁹ It is not believed that Ukraine has imported AP mines, having inherited such large stocks from the USSR.

Stockpiling

Ukraine has approximately 10.1 million AP mines in its stockpiles, inherited after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.¹⁶⁰ Weapons, including landmines, had been stored at the North (Kiev), South (Odessa) and West (Prikarpatskiy) Military Districts.¹⁶¹ The following types of AP mines have been reported in the Ukrainian stockpile: PMN, PMN-2, PMN-4, OZM-72, MON-50, MON-90, MON-100, MON-200, KSF-l cluster bomb with PFM-1 AP mines, KPOM-2 cluster bomb with POM-2 AP mines, PFM-lS, and the POM-2.¹⁶²

In March 1998, Ukraine destroyed 101,028 PFM-1 landmines from the Ukrainian Army arsenals on the proving ground near Kiev.¹⁶³ Based on experience destroying mines such as the PFM-1, Ukraine has concerns about environmental safety when destroying mines.¹⁶⁴ The preliminary information released by the Ministry of Ecological and Nuclear Safety of Ukraine after the destruction of landmines has shown that the pollution of the environment exceeds by hundreds or more times the permissible norms and standards of pollution. ¹⁶⁵ The main pollutants are oxide of aluminum, lead containing residues, and cyanide of hydrogen (cyanhydric acid). The range of area polluted by hazardous substances when burning one box with PFM -1 cassettes ranged from 0.3 up to 6.7 kilometers, for 10 boxes ranged from 1 up to 21.2 kilometers. ¹⁶⁶

Under the January 1999 agreement, Canada will be providing financial and technical support for destruction. Under the terms of the agreement, Canada and Ukraine are to choose a company to destroy the stockpiles and draft a contract to begin work. Environmental assessment and financial and technical verification mechanisms are also being developed. It had been hoped that a destruction plan would be announced in 1999, but this did not occur. The delay will push back the anticipated initiation of stock destruction beyond the original target of the year 2000. ¹⁶⁷

From the Ukrainian side, Sodruzhestvo Corporation, which carried out trial runs in 1999 to check the technology for the destruction of a sample of one type of PMN landmine,¹⁶⁸ agreed to participate, but a Canadian counterpart has not yet been selected. Ukraine created a special team headed by Lt. Gen. Vorobiyov, Commander of the Engineer Forces, to select the Canadian participant in the joint project. In the autumn - winter of 1999-2000 two Canadian companies, Taron, Inc., and Katridis, presented their proposals to representatives of the Ukrainian Interdepartmental Workgroup on salvaging mines in Kiev. ¹⁶⁹

Two main steps in the destruction process are contemplated. During the first stage, from 2000-2003, the technical plans for stock destruction would be developed and the industrial facilities for the destruction built. The cost of developing the technology and the industrial capacity for the destruction could reach U.S. $5.5 million. During the second stage, from 2003-2007, destruction of landmines would be carried out.¹⁷⁰ Estimates of cost of destruction cannot be confidently made until technology for destruction is clearly determined. But it seems that the cost of destroying the PFMs alone could be between U.S.$ 10-15 million.¹⁷¹ The Ministry of Industrial Policy is responsible for the development and implementation of the agreement for destruction of stocks.

On 28 October 1999, through NATO's "Partnership for Peace" (PfP) program, Canada proposed cooperation in the destruction of Ukrainian landmines. On 11 November 1999 in Brussels, during a session of the Political - Military Steering Committee of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), cooperation measures within the current PfP program were discussed, including information on location and safety of mines. Some NATO countries supported the proposals of Canada, but the USA did not support revealing locations and safety of stocks. ¹⁷²

Use

The Ukraine Ministry of Defense states that AP mines have not been used on Ukrainian territory since WWII. However, Ukrainian police have recorded individual cases of landmine use for criminal purposes. In 1999 there were 220 explosive incidents in Ukraine and the police confiscated more than 1,055 explosive devices.¹⁷³ According to Ukrainian experts, one half of all mines, manual explosive devices and other explosives confiscated were in the Odessa area, at the Moldova and Pridnestrovie borders.¹⁷⁴

Mine Clearance

Ukraine is still affected by mines and unexploded ordnance from World War II. The demining of Ukrainian territory is carried out by the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the Bombs Disposal Division of the Ministry of Interior's Special Police Demining Teams (SPDT). The Secret Service of Ukraine also has a demining unit.¹⁷⁵ (See also LM Report 1999, pp. 759-760.)

For clearance purposes, Ukrainian territory is divided into 497 areas of responsibility; of these, the Ministry of Defense is responsible for demining 442 areas, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations is responsible for demining in the remaining fifty-five areas.¹⁷⁶

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) has 135 demining teams, of which 12-13 teams work daily to clear mines and UXO. According to MoD reports, its teams cleared 13,436 mines and UXO in 1999. ¹⁷⁷ The Ministry of Emergency Situations Demining Teams collected 4,430 mines and UXO in 1999. The cost of maintaining one demining team is about U.S. $500.¹⁷⁸

Mine Awareness

There are no systematic mine awareness programs in Ukraine. During mine clearance operations, deminers meet with the local population and educate them on the rules of behavior when they come across a UXO. In the Kiev area in 1999, children discovered more than 600 air bombs, shells, mines and UXOs from WWII, all of which were immediately neutralized.¹⁷⁹

After a series of "terrorist acts" in Russia from 9-13 September 1999, the President of Ukraine issued a special directive to the police, Ministry of Defense and other central bodies to carry out preventive measures, directed at the strengthening of public safety and providing mine awareness education. Special Police Demining Teams (SPDT) of the Ministry of the Interior's Bomb Disposal Division made 734 mine awareness presentations in Ukrainian mass media.¹⁸⁰

In 1999 the Ukrainian Mine Action Information Center (UMAIC) was formed. It is composed of members of the Ukrainian Peacekeepers Veterans Association (UPVA), which has branches and representatives in Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk, Vinnitsa, Odessa, Ternopol, Zhitomir and other cites in Ukraine. The Center is to become a focal point for collecting, analyzing and disseminating information about victim assistance, refugee resettlement, and other landmine-related issues. Through conferences and seminars, UMAIC seeks to educate the government, military and general public about landmine related issues.¹⁸¹

International Demining Programs

In 1999 an International Demining Training Center was created in the town of Kamenets Podolsk, Ukraine. The main task of the Center is to train foreign personnel for demining operations.¹⁸² A group from Nigeria was trained at the Center in September/October 1999.¹⁸³ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a delegation on a working trip to West Africa. In meetings with Senegal, that government considered the possibility of cooperating with Ukraine in training of personnel in mine clearance.¹⁸⁴

The Ministry of Defense created a demining company, Podolskvzrivprom, for participation in domestic and foreign demining operations. The major Ukrainian state arms trader, Ukrspetsexport, has been working to support the demining company in creating joint demining programs in foreign countries.¹⁸⁵ In 1999, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explored with the EC, WEU, and others the possibility of participation in foreign demining operations. One of the main problems for Ukraine is that it adheres to old Soviet standards; UN standards for mine clearance are not followed in Ukraine. ¹⁸⁶

Ukraine is active in research and development of new mine detection technologies. In 1997 a joint Ukrainian - Turkish research laboratory, located in Marmara, Turkey, was created for this purpose. The laboratory is managed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Science and Education, and the Turkish Ministry of Defense.¹⁸⁷ Additionally, the Ukrainian Space Agency, Magellan, has a special project for research on the development of technology for the detection of mines from aircraft and helicopters.¹⁸⁸

Landmine Survivor Assistance

An estimated 1,500 civilians have been killed by mines and UXO since 1945.¹⁸⁹ There are an estimated 80,000 mine and UXO victims in Ukraine today.¹⁹⁰

The main institution for assistance to mine victims is the Social Rehabilitation Center in Kiev, which provides artificial upper and lower limb orthopedic goods, and works in close contact with the Otto Bock company in Germany.¹⁹¹ The country also has thirty hospitals for veterans and war victims.¹⁹²

Ukraine has enacted laws providing measures on social rehabilitation of disabled people and a Special Council for the disabled was created in May 1999.¹⁹³ The Council is made up of representatives of the main ministries along with representatives of the main non-governmental and veteran organizations of Ukraine, which are active on issues related to war victims and the disabled. (See also, LM Report 1999, p. 761.)

Of the estimated 80,000 mine victims in Ukraine, 20,000 need prosthetic devices.¹⁹⁴ Of the U.S. $20 million budgeted in 1999 for the Ukrainian State Fund for Social Protection of the Disabled, only 50% was available.¹⁹⁵ In the November 1999 meeting of the CIS in Kiev, Ukraine sought partners for joint cooperation to create national landmine victims support programs under the Mine Ban Treaty.¹⁹⁶

On 3 December 1999 President Leonid Kuchma took part in the annual activities marking the World Day of the Disabled, which also coincided with the anniversary of the signing of the Ottawa Convention. During his visit to the Ukrainian Campaign to Ban Landmines exhibit, the President stated that the country will make every effort to expand social protection for war victims and the disabled. The Landmine Monitor Report 1999 was presented to the President at that time.

During 1999 in Ukraine the Russian victims of war in the Chechen Republic have been given prosthetic assistance.

Ukraine has initiated the development of a program of humanitarian cooperation with Pakistan and Afghanistan for assistance and medical rehabilitation for mine victims. In late March 2000, a Ukrainian delegation led by the Maj. General Sergey Chervonopisky, Chairman of State Department for Veterans Affairs, visited Pakistan. Ukraine has offered to Pakistan and Afghanistan, pursuant to the Mine Ban Treaty, joint cooperation between government and non-governmental agencies for support to war victims and for prosthetic repair. Toward this end, Ukraine has planned to send to Pakistan mobile field medical groups, which have new technologies for prosthetic work and conduct workshops.¹⁹⁷

252 Statement by Ambassador Alecos Shambos, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the Mine Ban Treaty Signing Conference, Ottawa, Canada, 4 December 1997.

253 Report of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Cyprus to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), 9 December 1999, p. 2.

254 The OSCE report of 9 December contains no specific information on conditions; the information was not forthcoming when requested in May 2000 in an interview with Taffos Tzonis, Director of Political Affairs Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nicosia, 5 May 2000.

255 Interview with Taffos Tzonis, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 5 May 2000.

0 "Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operations in Cyprus for the period 10 June to 29 November 1999," document S/1999/1203, 29 November 1999, available at: www.un.org/Docs/sc/reports/1999.

1 Interview with unnamed army official, Greek Cypriot National Guard, Nicosia, 5 May 2000.

2 Interview with Osman Ertug, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense, TRNC, Nicosia, 4 May 2000.

3 Report to the OSCE, 9 December 1999, p. 2.

4 Ibid. The US government has identified Cyprus as a past producer. See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 704.

5 Interview with unnamed army official, Greek Cypriot National Guard, Nicosia, 5 May 2000.

6 Interview with Osman Ertug, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense, TRNC, 4 May 2000.

7 Interview with unnamed army official, Greek Cypriot National Guard, Nicosia, 5 May 2000. Landmine Monitor 1999, p. 705, reported 7,976 AP mines, and 16,942 total mines, citing UN sources.

8 "Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operations in Cyprus for the period for the period 1 June to 30 November 1991," document S/23263, 30 November 1991.

9 Interview with Captain J. J. Simon, Mine Fields Records Officer, UNFICYP, Nicosia, 3 May 2000.

10 Telephone interview with Captain Simon, 27 June 2000. Also, email from Minefield Records Officer, 26 July 2000.

11 Ibid. Landmine Monitor 1999, citing UN sources, also listed U.S. M2A3, British Mark 2, and Russian PMD-6 and PMD-7TS AP mines. P. 705.

12 "Report of the Secretary-General," document S/1999/1203, 29 November 1999.

13 Interview with Captain Simon, UNFICYP, 3 May 2000.

14 Letter from Jim Prudhomme, UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), 22 May 2000.

15 Charlie Charalambous, "Interview with Defense Minister Yiannakis Chrysostomis," Cyprus Mail, 24 March 1999.

16 Ibid.

17 Interview with unnamed army official, Greek Cypriot National Guard, Nicosia, 5 May 2000.

18 Email from Major Paul Kolken, Military Public Information Officer, UNFICYP, 16 May 2000.

19 Letter from Jim Prudhomme, UNMAS, 22 May 2000.

20 "Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in Cyprus, for the period 8 December 1997 to 8 June 1998," document S/1998/488, 10 June 1998; available at: www.un.org/documents/repsc.htm.

21 Interview with Osman Ertug, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense, TRNC, 4 May 2000.

22 UN Security Council Resolution 1251 (1999), 29 June 1999; available at: www.un.org/Docs/sc/resolutions/1999.htm.

23 "Report of the Secretary-General," document S/1999/1203, 29 November 1999.

24 Interview with Taffos Tzonis, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 5 May 2000.

25 Interview with Captain Simon, UNFICYP, 3 May 2000.

26 Charlie Charalambous, "Officer killed in mine clearing operation," Cyprus Mail, 24 March 1999.

27 Interview with Osman Ertug, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense, TRNC, 4 May 2000; for details of past casualties, see Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 706.

28 Report of the Permanent Mission of Greece to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), 15 December 1999, p. 2.

29 Faxed statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2000; a revised version of this statement was given to an ICBL representative by a representative of Legal Office, General Staff, Hellenic National Defense, at the Regional Conference on Landmines, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 21-22 June 2000.

30 Ibid.

31 Ibid.

32 Statement by Mr. Athanassios Theodorakis, Deputy Director-General, European Commission, at First Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, Maputo, Mozambique, 3-7 May 1999.

33 Statement by the Turkish Delegation at the First Panel of the Regional Conference on Landmines, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 21-22 June 2000.

34 Law No. 2652; published in the Official Gazette (No. 249), 3 November 1998.

35 National Annual Report--Greece, 15 October 1999, to the First Conference of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II, 15-17 December 1999.

36 Report to the OSCE, 15 December 1999, p. 3.

37 U.S. Department of Defense, "Mine Facts," CD-ROM.

38 Fax from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2000; see also 97/817/CFSP: Joint Action of 28 November 1997, European Council, Document 497X0817, 28 November 1997; available at: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex.

39 Report to the OSCE, 15 December 1999, p. 3.

40 A Greek journalist cited a figure of 1.5 million at a Medicins du Monde press conference in Athens, 18 September 1997, according to an email from Mines Advisory Group (UK), 23 March 1999.

41 Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 710, 720-723.

42 This was widely reported and discussed in the German media: die tageszeitung, 3 and 4 November 1999, Associated Press, 3 November 1999, Handelsblatt, 3 November 1999, Frankfurter Rundschau, 4 November 1999, Südwest Presse, 4 November 1999, Rhein-Zeitung, 4 November 1999, Berliner Zeitung, 4 November 1999, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 4 November, Freitag, 5 November 1999. Concerns have been raised about the AT-2 mine because its sensitive fuse may make the mine function like an AP mine, and therefore banned by the MBT. One antivehicle mine produced by Greece, PYRKAL, has also been identified as a mine of concern. See, Human Rights Watch Fact Sheet, "Antivehicle Mines with Antihandling Devices," January 2000.

43 Ibid.

44 "Border Wiring Removed," PARI Daily from World Reporter, 14 October 1999; untitled note presented by Bulgarian representatives at the MBT Standing Committee of Experts, Geneva, 22-23 May 2000.

45 Fax from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2000; interview with Lt. Col Dinitrios Zafiropoulos, International Law Office, General Staff, Hellenic National Defense, Athens, 26 May 2000.

46 National Annual Report--Greece, Amended Protocol II, 15 October 1999.

47 "A River of Blood on the Evros," Eleftherotypia (daily newspaper), 1 November 1999.

48 "Greece Sticks to Policy on Removing Land Mines," Xinhua, 1 November 1999.

49 Ibid.

50 Fax from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2000.

51 National Annual Report--Greece, Protocol II, Form B, 15 October 1999.

52 Interview with Mr. Konstantinos Koutras, Attache, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 29 June 2000.

53 "Maimed and Seeking a Home, Kurds Languish in Pendeli," Athens News, 29 January 2000.

54 "Three Kurds Killed in Minefield After illegally Crossing Border," Athens News (daily), 16 September 1997.

55 Doukas Dimakas and Pavlos Alisanoglou, "Demetris Reppas Accuses the Turks," Ta Nea (daily newspaper), 16 September 1997.

56 Pavlos Alisanoglou, "Two Soldiers Were Killed and One Injured on a Mission Disabling Landmines," Ta Nea, 16 June 1998.

57 "5 Kurdish immigrants killed in Greece border minefield," Associated Press, 31 October 1999.

58 "Five illegal migrants die at Greek-Turkish Border," Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 31 October 1999.

59 "Immigrant Killed in Mine Field," Athens News, 9 May 2000.

60 Doukas Dimakas and Pavlos Alisanoglou, "Demetris Reppas Accuses the Turks," Ta Nea, 16 September 1997.

61 Fax from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2000; interview with Mr. Koutras, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 29 June 2000.

62 National Annual Report--Greece, Protocol II, Form B, 15 October 1999.

63 "Total Contributions by Donor, October 1994-September 1999," Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action; available at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/mine/vtfma.htm.

64 Report to the OSCE, 15 December 1999.

65 Interview with Dainius Baublys, Political Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vilnius, 18 February 2000.

66 Intervention by Dr. Rokas Bernotas, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the First Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, Maputo, 4 May 1999.

67 Report of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Lithuania to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, 1 December 1999.

68 Telephone conversation and interview with Andrius Krivas, Director of the Department of International Relations, Ministry of Defense, Vilnius, 20 January 1999.

69 Interview with Dainius Baublys, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vilnius, 18 February 2000.

70 Ibid.

71 Letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 12 January 2000.

72 Interview with Tomas Urbonas and Paulius Dranseika, Policy Planning Department, Ministry of Defense, Vilnius, 18 February 2000.

73 Letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 12 January 2000.

74 Ibid.

75 Telephone conversation and interview with Andrius Krivas, Ministry of Defense, Vilnius, 20 January 1999.

76 Joint Action of the EU 97/817/CFSP and EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports, 8 June 1998.

77 Interview with Dainius Baublys, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vilnius, January 1999; emails and telephone interview with Tomas Urbonas, Ministry of Defense, 18 February and 10 May 2000.

78 Letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 12 January 2000.

79 Ibid.

80 Interview with Tomas Urbonas, Ministry of Defense, Vilnius, 18 February 2000.

81 Lithuanian National Report under Article 13 of CCW Amended Protocol II, 25 October 1999.

82 Interview with Saulius Balevicius, Director of the Semiconductor Physics Institute, Vilnius, 18 February 2000; further information on these systems is available from the Landmine Monitor researcher: igors@latnet.lv or Igors.Tipans@rtu.lv.

83 Interview Dainius Baublys, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vilnius, 20 January 1999.

84 Telephone interview with Alexander Litvinenko, Head of the Charity Fund, 5 May 2000.

85 Interview with Tony Borg, Department of Multilateral Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Valletta, 2 June 1999.

86 Statement of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta by Ambassador Miguel de Brangança, Ambassador of Malta to Mozambique, First Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, Maputo, Mozambique, May 1999.

87 "Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action: Total Contributions By Donor, October 1994 to September 1999," Table, UN Mine Action Service.

88 On 8 May 1997, "The Memorandum on the Basis for Normalization of Relations between the Republic of Moldova and Trans-Dniester Moldavian Republic," was signed in Moscow. On 16 July 1999, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and PMR met in Kiev, under the auspices of the OSCE, where an agreement was signed on the fundamentals of a peace settlement of the conflict, pursuant to which a Joint Control Commission was formed with representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, PMR, and OSCE. Subsequently, issues related to withdrawal of Russian troops from PMR complicated progress.

89 Interview with Mr. Vladimir Lupan, Deputy Head, European Security Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, Chishineu, 17 February 2000.

90 Resolution of Parliament, #973/14, 27 April 2000.

91 Letter from Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ICBL-Ukraine, 23 June 2000.

92 Resolution of Parliament, #975/14, 27 April 2000.

93 Procedural Report, CCW//AP.II/CONF.1/PM/6, 2 June 1999, p. 2.

94 Statement of Vladimir Lupan, Foreign Ministry of Moldova, made at the First International Conference on Landmines in Russia and the CIS, Moscow, 27-28 May 1998.

95 Interview with Mr. Vladimir Lupan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 17 February 2000.

96 Annual Report, Ukrainian Peacekeepers Veterans Association, 1998.

97 Vladimir Shirochenko "The thieves are handing of arms to the thieves," Argumenti I Fakti (newspaper), 20 January 2000.

98 (http://www.cry.ru/crime.news/1999/08/09/19990809110610.html).

99 Data from the Police of Moldova, 17 February 2000.

100 "Soviet Mines will be destroy by American demining equipment," Narodna Armiya (newspaper), #31, 18 February 2000.

101 BASA - Press, 9 February 2000.

102 Interview of Mr. Georgiy Roman, Moldovan Co-chair, Joint Control Commission, Interlik, 9 November 1999.

103 BASA - Press, 9 February 2000.

104 Interview with President of PMR Mr. Igor Smirnov, 30 November 1999.

105 "Moldova: Speranta Bloc Claims Dniester Produces, Exports Arms," FBIS, FBIS-TAC-98-064, 5 March 1998. Also, Interview with Mr. Vladimir Lupan, 17 February 2000.

106 Moldova: Speranta Bloc Claims Dniester Produces, Exports Arms," FBIS, FBIS-TAC-98-064, 5 March 1998.

107 Interview with Mr. Vladimir Lupan, 17 February 2000.

108 Interview of Minister of State Security of PMR General Vladimir Antufeev, Olvia Press, 17 April 2000.

109 Annual Report, Ukrainian Peacekeepers Veterans Association, 1998.

110 Interview with President of PMR Mr. Igor Smirnov, 30 November 1999.

111 Ibid.

112 Statement by Mr. Zbigniew Szymanski, Director of UN Political Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at First Meeting of States Parties (FMSP) to the Mine Ban Treaty, Maputo, Mozambique, 3-7 May 1999.

113 Letter from Zbigniew Szymanski, Director of UN Political Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Piotr M. Hajac, 10 February 2000.

114 Ibid.

115 Pawel Wronski, "Straight Face for Bad Mine," Gazeta Wyborcza, 7 March 2000.

116 Report of the Mission of Poland to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), 14 December 1999, p. 1.

117 Pawel Wronski, "Straight Face for Bad Mine," Gazeta Wyborcza, 7 March 2000.

118 Statement by the European Union and the Associated Countries, UN First Committee on Disarmament and International Security, 1999 General Debate, 11-20 October 1999; available at: http://www.acronym.org.uk/unfccomp.htm.

119 Report to the OSCE, 14 December 1999.

120 "`Security has to be a Common Commodity which is Assured to All,' Polish Foreign Minister Tells Conference on Disarmament," Press Release DCF/364, Conference on Disarmament, 23 March 1999.

121 Statement by Mr. Zbigniew Szymanski, FMSP, May 1999.

122 U.S. Department of Defense, "Mine Facts" CD ROM.

123 United Nations General Assembly, "Report of the Secretary-General: Moratorium on the export of antipersonnel landmines," A/50/701, 3 November 1995, p. 3; Statement by Mr. Zbigniew Szymanski, FMSP, May 1999.

124 "Report of the Secretary-General Moratorium on the export of antipersonnel landmines," A/50/701, 3 November 1995, p. 3; Report to the OSCE, 14 December 1999.

125 Telephone interview with Mr. Tomaszewski, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Warsaw, 18 May 2000. In addition to AP mines, Human Rights Watch has identified several antivehicle mines produced and stockpiled by Poland that may have antipersonnel capabilities, and thus may be prohibited by the MBT. These include the MN-111, MN-121, MN-123 and MPP-B antivehicle mines. See, Human Rights Watch Fact Sheet, "Antivehicle Mines with Antihandling Devices," January 2000.

126 Statement of Mr. Kazimierz Tomaszewki to Budapest Conference, 26-28 March 1998; available at: http:www.un.org.Depts/Landmines/index.html.

127 Arthur H. Westing, "Explosive Remnants of War: an Overview," in Arthur H. Westing, Ed., Explosive Remnants of War: Mitigating the Environmental Effects, (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and UN Environment Programme, 1985), p. 6.

128 Statement by Mr. Zbigniew Szymanski, FMSP, May 1999.

129 Report to the OSCE, 14 December 1999, p. 3.

130 Interview with Grzegorz Poznanski, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4 February 2000.

131 Adevarul (daily newspaper), 10 December 1997.

132 Adevarul (daily newspaper), 2 November 1999. See also, Victor Babiuc, Minister of State, Minister of National Defense, Letter to Elizabeth Bernstein, ICBL Coordinator, 3 November 1999.

133 "Romania's Integration into NATO," NATO, WEU and Strategic Issues Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, November 1999; available at: http://domino.kappa.ro/dosare.nsf

134 Letter from the Minister of Defense to Sibienii Pacifisti, No. SG 700, 15 March 2000.

135 Amb. Ion Gorita, Permanent Mission of Romania to the UN, meeting with Jody Williams and Steve Goose, ICBL, New York, 6 October 1999.

136 "Romania's Integration into NATO," Ministry of Foreign Affairs, November 1999.

137 Report of the Permanent Mission of Romania to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), 28 December 1999, p. 2.

138 "Romania's Integration into NATO," NATO, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, November 1999.

139 Report to the OSCE, 28 December 1999, p. 3.

140 Victor Babiuc, Minister of State, Minister of National Defense, Letter to Elizabeth Bernstein, ICBL Coordinator, 3 November 1999. The UN Ambassador cited a date of 1993. Amb. Ion Gorita, Permanent Mission of Romania to the UN, meeting with ICBL, New York, 6 October 1999.

141 Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 756.

142 The Mines Advisory Group has estimated that it could be several million, based on discussions with Romanian officials. See MAG Stockpile Fact Sheet, September 1998. In addition to AP mines, there are several Romanian produced antivehicle mines of concern. The MC-71 with a tilt rod fuze is likely prohibited by the MBT because of its AP mine-like effect. There are several other models that may also function as AP mines: MAT-46, MAT-62B, MAT-87; P-62.. See, Human Rights Watch Fact Sheet, "Antivehicle Mines with Antihandling Devices," January 2000.

143 Telephone interview with a Staff Officer, Ministry of Defense, 16 December 1999.

144 As reported in Austria's National Report required by Article 13 of Amended Protocol II, 11 October 1999.

145 Amb. Ion Gorita, Permanent Mission of Romania to the UN, meeting with ICBL, New York, 6 October 1999.

146 Report to the OSCE, Romania, 28 December 1999.

147 "Anti-personnel landmines on sale at the UK arms fair," UK Working Group on Landmines, November 1999, p. 2.

148 John Spellar MP, Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Written Answer, Hansard, 3 November 1999, cols. 213-214.

149 Radu Tudor, "The Leadership of Romtechnica Officially Proved Culpable for the Enormous Blunder Presenting Antipersonnel Mine Lists," Cotidianul, (daily newspaper), 22 September 1999, p. 3.

150 Personal communication to the UK Working Group on Landmines, 20 September 1999.

151 The Open Letter was published in the following newspapers: Dimineata, 21 September 1999; Cotidianul, 22 September 1999; Libertatea, 20 September 1999; Cronica Romana, 22 September 1999; and Ziua, 20 September 1999.

152 "Memorandum on Mutually Beneficial Cooperation Between the Government of Canada and the Government of Ukraine on Destruction of Antipersonnel Landmines Stockpiled by the Armed Forces of Udraine and Prohibited by the [Mine Ban Treaty]," 28 January 1999.

153 Interview with Mr. Yuri Polurez, Deputy of Head Disarmament Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 22 January 2000.

154 Ibid.

155 Annual Report, Ukrainian Peacekeepers Veterans Association (UPVA), 1999.

156 These have included statements by Ambassador Volodymyr Furkalo at the Treaty Signing Conference, Ottawa, Canada, 4 December 1997; by Mykhailo Osnach, Representative of Ukraine at the Budapest Regional Conference, 26-28 March 1998; and by Colonel M. Mikhailenko, Ukrainian Engineers Corps, Minsk Landmine Conference, 6-7 March 2000

157 U.S. Department of State, Outgoing Telegram, 7 December 1993.

158 United Nations, Country Report: Ukraine, at http://www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/country/ukraine.htm.

159 Order of PM, #426, 22 March 1999.

160 Mine Action Database, Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. While 10.1 million is the commonly accepted number of the stockpile, other Ukrainian sources have put the number at 9.6 million and Sergey Pashinskiy, Head of Ukrainian Mine Action Center, put it as high as 11 million speaking at the Minsk International landmines Conference in March 2000. Informal estimates have put the number of PFMs close to nine million and an additional one million for PMNs.

161 Statement by Sergey Pashinskiy, Head of Ukrainian Mine Action Center, Minsk International Landmine Conference, 6-7 March 2000.

162 Military Parade magazine.

163 General Volodymyr Vorobiov, Head of the Corps of Engineers, 28 April 1998.

164 Statement by Colonel M. Mikhailenko, Minsk Landmine Conference.

165 Ibid.

166 Ibid.

167 Government of Canada, DFAIT, "Safe Lane," #10, Winter 1999-2000; Statement by Sergey Pashinskiy, Head of Ukrainian Mine Action Center, Minsk, 6-7 March 2000.

168 Statement by Sergey Pashinskiy, Ukrainian Mine Action Center, Minsk, 6-7 March 2000.

169 Ibid.

170 Information provided to Landmine Monitor by Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

171 Ibid.

172 Report of joint meeting of the delegation of Ukraine to NATO and the Political-Military Steering Committee of Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Council, 11 November 1999.

173 "Vibuho-tehnichna sluzba," Militia of Ukraine, #4, April 2000, p. 12.

174 Vladimir Shirochenko, "The thieves are handing arms to the thieves,"Argumenti I Fakti (newspaper) 20 January 2000.

175 Report of General Volodymyr Vorobiov, Head of the Corps of Engineers, 28 April 1998.

176 Ibid.

177 Statement by Colonel M.Mikhailenko, Minsk Landmine Conference.

178 Demining Annual Report, The Ministry of Emergency Situations, 1999.

179 ElVisti analytic group, Doc. # 1084218, November 1999.

180 "Vibuho-tehnichna sluzba, " Militia of the Ukraine, # 4, April 2000, p. 12.

181 Statement by Sergey Pashinskiy, Minsk Landmine Conference.

182 Statement by Colonel M.Mikhailenko, Minsk Landmine Conference.

183 Ibid.

184 "INTERFAX -UKRAINE" news agency, 22. September 1999.

185 Statement by Colonel M. Mikhailenko, Conference Minsk, 6-7 March 2000.

186 Annual Report, UPVA, 1999.

187 Report of Alexey Vertiy, Head of Ukrainian - Turkish landmines scientific - research laboratory, 18 May 1999.

188 Alexander Koshchenko, "MAGELLAN" Annual Report, 1999.

189 See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 761, for more details on casualties.

190 "INTERFAX -UKRAINE"- news agency, 12 October 1999.

191 After a visit to a Ukrainian center for prosthetic repair for veterans of the war in Afghanistan, by Presidential order all state prosthetics plants should use Otto Bock technology. Tretiy Tost (newspaper), State Department for Veterans Affairs, February 1999.

192 Uryadoviy Currier (The Government Courier/newspaper), 10 February 2000.

193 Order of the Government of Ukraine, No. 925, 27 May 1999.

194 "INTERFAX -UKRAINE"- news agency, 12 October 1999.

195 Annual Report , Labor and Social Policy Ministry, 1999.

196 Report of the Ukrainian State Committee for Veterans Affairs, 15 November 1999.

197 The Order of the President of Ukraine, # 1-14/1736, December 1999.