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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