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Cluster Munition Monitor 2012 • Lao PDR is the world’s most heavily cluster munition-contaminated country. The US dropped more than 270 million submunitions between 1964 and 1973. 20 There is no agreed estimate of the true extent of residual contamination from unexploded submunitions, but close to 70,000 cluster munition strikes have been identified, each with an average strike “footprint” of 125,000m2. In September 2011, Lao PDR claimed that a rough estimate of cluster munition contamination at the end of the war was of 8,750km 2 . 21 According to the National Regulatory Authority (NRA), 10 of Lao PDR’s 17 provinces are “severely contaminated.” The NRA is planning a district-level survey of cluster munition contamination with three operators (Handicap International (HI), Mines Advisory Group (MAG), and NPA) to try to get a more precise determination of the extent of the problem. The survey is being piloted in three districts before it is eventually extended to cover all 85 districts affected by unexploded ordnance (UXO). 22 • Lebanon’s cluster munition contamination originates primarily from the July–August 2006 conflict with Israel, but parts of the country remain affected from cluster munitions used in the 1980s. As of April 2012, 17.86km 2 was suspected to be contaminated by cluster munition remnants, across 449 SHAs. 23 This represents a small decrease on the estimate of 18.1km 2 as of May 2011. • Mauritania has at least five areas containing cluster munition remnants, which are all located some 30–35km north of the village of Bir Mogrein. 24 The first contaminated area to be identified covers approximately 6km 2 , although further survey is likely to reduce the size of the area. 25 The second area, which is located nearby, covers some 3km 2 . 26 As yet, there is no formal estimate of the size of the three other contaminated areas. • Montenegro did not declare any contaminated areas in its initial Article 7 report, but in July 2011, the director of the Regional Centre for Divers’ Training and Underwater Demining (RCUD) confirmed a possible threat from the presence of unexploded BLU-97 submunitions, mainly at Golubovci airfield near the capital Podgorica. 27 The contamination, which is estimated to cover 250,000m2, 28 is believed to affect four villages around the airport. 29 In April 2012, Montenegro informed States Parties that it was contaminated by cluster munition remnants left over from conflict in the 1990s and claimed that since 1999 clearance of “several locations” had not been conducted “fully according to humanitarian mine action standards.” Montenegro planned to conduct survey of the areas “in the coming period” to identify the size of the contaminated areas, but provided no further details. 30 • Norway reported in January 2011 that the Hjerkinn firing range is contaminated by an estimated 30 unexploded DM 1383/DM 1385 submunitions. 31 In June 2011, it stated that the affected area was 0.84km 2 . 32 In April 2012, Norway stated that clearance of the area is continuing and expected to be completed in 2013. 33 Signatories Three signatories are believed to be contaminated with cluster munition remnants: Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Iraq. • Chad is contaminated by cluster munition remnants, but the precise extent remains to be determined. In December 2008, Chad stated it had “vast swathes of territory” contaminated with “mines and UXO (munitions and submunitions).” 34 MAG found unexploded Soviet PTAB-1.5 submunitions close to Faya Largeau during a 2010–2011 re-survey of mine and ERW contamination. 35 • In DRC, cluster munition remnants have been found in the provinces of Equateur, Katanga, Maniema, and Orientale, while North Kivu province is also suspected to be contaminated. 36 In April 2011, the UN Mine Action Coordination Center, DRC (UNMACC) reported 18 sites in which submunitions had been found, most 20 “US bombing records in Laos, 1964–73, Congressional Record,” 14 May 1975. 21 Statement of Lao PDR, Convention on Cluster Munitions Second Meeting of States Parties, Beirut, 14 September 2011. 22 NRA, “National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action in Lao PDR,” www.nra.gov.la. 23 Presentation by Maj. Pierre Bou Maroun, Head of Regional Mine Action Center (RMAC), Nabatiye, 3 May 2012. 24 Observations during Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor field mission, Bir Mogrein, 26 April 2010. 25 Ibid. 26 Email from Alioune O. Mohamed El Hacen, PNDHD, 20 April 2011. 27 Telephone interviews with Veselin Mijajlovic, Director, RCUD, 19 and 25 July 2011. 28 “Field of Golubovac, Reconnaissance, Survey, and Removal of Cluster Bombs, Estimated Expenses,” Podgorica, 21 February 2009, received by email from Veselin Mijajlovic, RCUD, 26 March 2009. 29 Interview with Borislav Miskovic, Head of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team, Montenegro Police Force, Podgorica, 16 March 2008. 30 Statement of Montenegro, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Working Group on Clearance and Risk Reduction, Geneva, 17 April 2012. 31 Norway, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form F, 27 January 2011. 32 Statement of Norway, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Session on Clearance and Risk Reduction, Geneva, 28 June 2011. Notes by CMC. 33 Statement of Norway, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Working Group on Clearance and Risk Reduction, Geneva, 17 April 2012. Notes by CMC. 34 Statement of Chad, Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference, Oslo, 3 December 2008. 35 Email from Liebeschitz Rodolphe, Chief Technical Advisor, UNDP, 21 February 2011; and email from Bruno Bouchardy, Program Manager, MAG Chad, 11 March 2011. 36 Email from Charles Frisby, Chief of Staff, UNMACC, DRC, 30 March 2011. 44
Contamination and Clearance in Katanga province. 37 The scale of residual contamination from unexploded submunitions has not yet been quantified. • Iraq’s contamination from cluster munition remnants is not known with any degree of precision, but is believed to be very large. During the 1991 Gulf War, the highway between Kuwait and Basra was heavily targeted by cluster bomb strikes. 38 In northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan), MAG has found cluster munition remnants from when Coalition forces launched cluster munition strikes around Dohuk in 1991. 39 Cluster munitions were used extensively during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, particularly around Basra, Nasiriyah, and the approaches to Baghdad. In 2004, Iraq’s National Mine Action Authority identified 2,200 sites of cluster munition contamination along the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys. 40 Cluster munition remnants are a feature of many of the clearance tasks being undertaken to open up access to oilfields, develop infrastructure and for humanitarian clearance. 41 In 2010, a MAG survey of Dibis, northwest of Kirkuk, identified 20 previously unknown cluster munition strikes with contamination from unexploded BLU-97 and BLU-63 submunitions. 42 Non-signatories Several of the 11 contaminated states that have not joined the convention have significant clearance programs in place, including Cambodia, Libya, Serbia, South Sudan, and Vietnam. • Cambodia, particularly its eastern and northeastern areas bordering Lao PDR and Vietnam, is affected by between 1.9 million and 5.8 million cluster munition remnants. During the Vietnam War, the US dropped some 26 million explosive submunitions in Cambodia. 43 In February 2011, Thailand’s use of cluster munitions in Cambodia’s northern province, Preah Vihear, resulted in additional submunition contamination. An assessment by the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) and NPA immediately after the shelling identified 12 strike sites and contamination by unexploded submunitions over an area of approximately 1.5km 2 , impacting four villages and affecting between 5,000 and 10,000 people. 44 As of early July 2012, an ongoing nationwide Baseline Survey of mine and ERW contamination had identified 708 suspect areas in terms of cluster munitions covering an area of 327.4km 2 . 45 • Libya was added to the list of contaminated states following use of cluster munitions by government forces in April 2011, but the precise extent of contamination from cluster munition remnants is not yet known. MAG conducted a rapid assessment of contamination in Misrata at the end of May 2011 and reported, “The presence of UXO and cluster munitions is extensive. … Conclusive evidence of cluster munition use was found at three sites, and the probability of finding additional contamination in other currently inaccessible areas of the city is very high.” 46 In June 2011, MAG reported that makeshift street “museums” in Misrata were displaying a large and dangerous range of munitions, including unexploded submunitions. 47 By March 2012, however, the Joint Mine Action Coordinating Team (JMACT) reported that all but one major street museum in Misrata had closed. 48 • Serbia’s significant problem with cluster munition remnants dates from NATO air strikes in 1999, which hit 16 municipalities across the country. 49 A survey initiated by NPA in 2010 is still in progress and as of June 2012 had confirmed 165 hazardous areas totaling 11.85km 2 and identified 221 SHAs totaling some 5.73km 2 . 50 On 29 April 2011, NPA initiated clearance operations in what was planned to be a three-year project. 51 • In South Sudan, a total of 449 sites containing cluster munition remnants have been identified in nine states since 2006. As of July 2012, the number of uncleared sites stood at 52, of which 43 (more than 80%) are located in Western and Eastern Equatoria states. 52 Cluster munition remnants have been found in residential 37 Email from Charles Frisby, UNMACC, 21 April 2011. 38 UNICEF/UNDP, “Overview of Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War in Iraq,” June 2009, p. 10. 39 Zana Kaka, “IRAQ: Saving lives of returnees in Dohuk,” MAG, 28 May 2010, www.maginternational.org. 40 Landmine Action, “Explosive remnants of war and mines other than anti-personnel mines,” London, March 2005, p. 86. 41 Telephone interview with Kent Paulusson, Senior Mine Action Advisor for Iraq, UNDP, 28 July 2011. 42 Cuts in funding resulted in MAG standing down these two teams in May 2011. Response to Monitor questionnaire by Mark Thompson, Country Programme Manager, MAG, 23 July 2011. 43 South East Asia Air Sortie Database, cited in Dave McCracken, “National Explosive Remnants of War Study, Cambodia,” NPA in collaboration with CMAA, Phnom Penh, March 2006, p. 15; Human Rights Watch, “Cluster Munitions in the Asia-Pacific Region,” April 2008; Handicap International (HI), Fatal Footprint: The Global Human Impact of Cluster Munitions (HI: Brussels, November 2006), p. 11. 44 Three kinds of submunitions were used: M42, M46, and M85. Aina Ostreng, “Norwegian People’s Aid clears cluster bombs after clash in Cambodia,” NPA, 19 May 2011. NPA said evidence in the area suggested about one in five of the submunitions had failed to detonate. Thomas Miller, “Banks tied to cluster bombs named,” Phnom Penh Post, 26 May 2011. 45 “BLS Statistics by Land Classification,” received by email from Eang Kamrang, Database Manager, Cambodia Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, Phnom Penh, 4 July 2012. 46 MAG, “Libya: Assessment mission shows need for urgent response in Misrata,” 1 June 2011. 47 MAG, “Libya: Remnants of conflict continue to pose huge threat to civilians,” 22 June 2011. 48 Email from Stefanie Carmichael, Communications Officer, JMACT, 20 March 2012. 49 Statement of Serbia, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 21 June 2011; and interview with Petar Mihajlović, Director, and Slađana Košutić, International Cooperation Advisor, SMAC, Belgrade, 25 March 2011. 50 Interview with Slađana Košutić, SMAC, in Geneva, 23 May 2012. 51 Email from Vanessa Finson, NPA, 16 August 2011. 52 Response to Monitor questionnaire by Robert Thompson, Chief of Operations, UNMACC, 13 July 2012. 45
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