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Cluster Munition Monitor 2012 areas, farmland, pasture, rivers and streams, on hillsides, in desert areas, in and around former military barracks, on roads, in minefields, and in ammunition storage areas. 53 • Vietnam is contaminated as a result of an estimated 413,130 tons (4.1 million kg) of submunitions used by the US in 1965–1973. 54 Cluster munitions were used in 55 provinces and cities, including Haiphong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, and Vinh. Substantial amounts of cluster munitions were abandoned by the US military, notably at or around old US air bases, including eight underground bunkers found in 2009, one of them covering an area of 4,000m2 and containing some 25 tons of munitions. 55 In 2012, there were credible reports, but as yet unconfirmed, of new use of cluster munitions in Sudan and Syria. This included photographs of cluster munition remnants. Little is known about the precise extent of cluster munition contamination in other non-signatories: Azerbaijan, Georgia (South Ossetia), Russia (Chechnya), and Tajikistan. Other areas • Kosovo is affected by remnants of cluster munitions used by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia armed forces in 1998–1999 and by the 1999 NATO air campaign. After a UN coordinated demining operation from June 1999 to December 2001 it was reported that “the problems associated with landmines, cluster munitions and other items of unexploded ordnance in Kosovo have been virtually eliminated.” 56 However, further investigation subsequently revealed considerably more contamination. 57 In March 2011, the most recent date for which information is available, the Kosovo Mine Action Centre reported 48 areas with confirmed contamination by unexploded submunitions and a further six suspected areas. 58 • In Nagorno-Karabakh, HALO Trust has reported a significant problem with cluster munition remnants, particularly in the Askeran and Martakert regions. Large quantities of air-dropped cluster munitions were used in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict over a six-year period. Cluster munition sites run through villages and contaminate gardens and prime agricultural land. HALO initially conducted emergency surface clearance of cluster munition remnants, but in 2008 concluded there was also a significant subsurface threat and began to re-survey cluster munition strike sites. Subsurface clearance has consistently resulted in clearing more area than originally estimated to be contaminated and new surveys of previously unknown cluster munition strikes have added to the total SHA. 59 As of end July 2012, an estimated area of 70.9km 2 required battle area clearance (BAC). This is an increase on the figure of 69.5km 2 in March 2011, despite clearance of 8.5km 2 in 2011. 60 • Western Sahara has a significant but swiftly decreasing problem with cluster munition remnants, although previously unknown contaminated areas have continued to be identified, as recently as June 2012. 61 As of March 2011, a total of 85 cluster munition strike sites remained to be cleared from an estimated area of 32.74km 2 . 62 By mid-June 2012, following further clearance by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV, formerly Landmine Action), a total of 23 cluster munition strike sites remained to be cleared across an estimated area of 3.88km 2 . 63 A survery managed by Landmine Action which concluded at the end of 2008 determined that among the range of explosive ordnance contaminating Western Sahara, unexploded submunitions posed the greatest threat to people and animals. 64 Western Sahara is expected to be cleared of known cluster munition remnants outside the buffer zone with the Moroccan berm (sand wall) by the end of 2012. Clearance of Cluster Munition Remnants Reporting by states and operators on clearance of unexploded submunitions is incomplete and of widely varying quality. Based on available reporting and information gathered directly from programs, in 2011 at least 52,845 unexploded submunitions were destroyed during clearance operations of some 55km 2 of land contaminated with cluster munitions in 10 states and two other areas, as detailed in the table below. The bulk of the clearance in 2011 was reported in Lao PDR and may include a significant quantity of BAC not directly concerned with destruction of cluster munition remnants. 53 The locations are based on a review of cluster munition sites in the UN Mine Action Office database by the Monitor. 54 Vietnam’s Military Engineering Command has recorded finding 15 types of US-made submunitions. “Vietnam mine/ERW (including cluster munitions) contamination, impacts and clearance requirements,” Presentation by Sr. Col. Phan Duc Tuan, People’s Army of Vietnam, in Geneva, 30 June 2011. 55 Interview with Sr. Col. Phan Duc Tuan, People’s Army of Vietnam, in Geneva, 30 June 2011. 56 “UNMIK Mine Action Programme Annual Report – 2001,” Mine Action Coordination Cell, Pristina, undated but 2002, p. 1. 57 HALO Trust, “Failing the Kosovars: The Hidden Impact and Threat from ERW,” 15 December 2006, p. 1. 58 Email from Ahmet Sallova, Ministry of the Kosovo Security Force, 3 March 2011. 59 Email from Andrew Moore, HALO, 28 April 2010. 60 Ibid., 9 March 2011 and 31 July 2012. 61 Emails from Karl Greenwood, Chief of Operations, AOAV/Mechem Western Sahara programme, AOAV, 20 June and 18 July 2012. 62 Email from Ginevra Cucinotta, Program Officer, Mine Action Coordination Center, UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO MACC), 25 March 2011. 63 Email from Karl Greenwood, AOAV, 18 June 2012. 64 Email from Melissa Fuerth, Operations Officer, Landmine Action, 20 February 2009. 46
Contamination and Clearance Clearance of cluster munition remnants in 2011 State/area Area cleared (km 2 ) No. of submunitions destroyed Afghanistan 0 4,800* BiH 0 59 Croatia 0.58 314 Iraq** Not reported 3,596 Lao PDR 40.85 31,302 Lebanon 2.51 4,888 Cambodia Not reported 57 Libya Not reported 180 Serbia 1.15 91 Thailand 0.32 76 Vietnam *** Not reported 3,798 Kosovo Not reported Not reported Nagorno-Karabakh 8.5 500 Western Sahara 1.05 3,148 Total 54.96 52,845 Note: Convention on Cluster Munition States Parties and signatories are indicated by bold and other areas by italics. * RONCO found 200 abandoned cluster munitions at Kabul International Airport in 2011. ** Incomplete data. *** Data from international NGOs only as no information on cluster munition clearance was provided by the Engineering Command of the Ministry of Defense In 2010, at least 59,978 unexploded submunitions were destroyed during clearance operations of some 18.5km 2 of land contaminated by cluster munitions in 18 states and three other areas. 65 Clearance obligations Under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, each State Party is obliged to clear and destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 10 years after its ratification. If unable to complete clearance in time, a state may request an extension of the deadline for periods of up to five years. Clearance deadlines for contaminated States Parties are shown below. In seeking to fulfill their clearance and destruction obligations, affected States Parties are required to: • survey, assess, and record the threat, making every effort to identify all contaminated areas under their jurisdiction or control; • assess and prioritize needs for marking, protection of civilians, clearance, and destruction; • take “all feasible steps” to perimeter-mark, monitor, and fence affected areas; • conduct risk reduction education to ensure awareness among civilians living in or around areas contaminated by cluster munitions; • take steps to mobilize the necessary resources (at national and international levels); and • develop a national plan, building upon existing structures, experiences, and methodologies. Article 4 clearance deadlines for States Parties State Party Clearance deadline Aganistan 1 March 2022 BiH 1 March 2021 Chile 1 June 2021 Croatia 1 August 2020 Germany 1 August 2020 Lao PDR 1 August 2020 Lebanon 1 May 2021 Mauritania 1 August 2022 Montenegro 1 August 2020 Norway 1 August 2020 Land release During the first intersessional meetings of the convention in June 2011, the CMC published Guiding Principles for Land Release of Cluster Munition-Affected Areas. According to the paper, a baseline assessment of the problem should be the first priority for affected States Parties, which are obliged to “make every effort” to identify cluster munition affected areas under their jurisdiction or control. A key lesson learned regarding implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty is that sufficient resources are needed to properly identify affected areas before clearance begins. 65 Afghanistan, Angola, BiH, Cambodia, Croatia, DRC, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Montenegro, Mozambique, Palau, Serbia, Tajikistan, UK, Vietnam, and Zambia. The three other areas were Kosovo, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Western Sahara. 47
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