The mine/UXO problem
1. Reports available from UN experts
in the field, NATO forces, and other sources indicate that landmines and
UXO pose a serious obstacle to the deployment of an international mission
in Kosovo, to the safe return of refugees and IDPs, and to relief assistance.
About 16 mine/UXO incidents have already been reported, with two Italian
soldiers wounded by landmines becoming the first casualties of the KFOR
mission.
Legislative basis for UN involvement in mine action in Kosovo
2. UN assistance in mine action in Kosovo is based on Resolution 1244 adopted by the UN Security Council on 10 June 1999. The resolution decides on the deployment of an international civil presence, the responsibilities of which include -supporting, in coordination with international humanitarian organizations, humanitarian and disaster relief aid- (OP 11(h)), and -assuring the safe and unimpeded return of all refugees and displaced persons to their homes in Kosovo- (OP 11(k)).
3. Resolution 1244 also provides for temporary assistance in mine action by KFOR. The international security presence is responsible for -establishing a secure environment in which refugees and displaced persons can return home in safety, the international civil presence can operate, a transitional administration can be established, and humanitarian aid can be delivered- (OP 9(c)), and for -supervising demining until the international civil presence can, as appropriate, take over responsibility for this task- (OP 9(e)).
Deployment of an advance UNMAS team
4. In order to liaise with UN agencies, NGOs and KFOR in the field, to gather additional information on the landmine/UXO threat, and to support the establishment of a Mine Action Coordination Centre (MACC) in Pristina, UNMAS, in its capacity as UN focal point for mine action, has already sent four mine-action specialists in the South Balkans:
a. Evelyn Viehboeck, UNMAS Associate Mine-Awareness Officer, has been tasked to support and coordinate as required mine awareness and risk-reduction education in the refugee camps in collaboration with UNICEF and UNHCR. Initially based in Skopje with the UN Regional Coordinator, she subsequently moved to Albania. She is now expected to return to Skopje and support mine awareness for UN personnel and aid workers entering Kosovo.
b. Jim Prudhomme, UNMAS Programme Officer, has been tasked to liaise with UN agencies, NGOs and NATO, and prepare the ground for the establishment of a Mine Action Coordination Centre (MACC). He joined the first humanitarian convoy deployed into Kosovo with Mr. McNamara.
c. Vladimir Jankola, UNMAS Programme Officer, has been tasked to participate in the DPKO core team sent into Kosovo, and to ensure the integration of all mine-action activities with the international civil presence being developed by the UN.
d. Finally, J.J. van der Merwe, UNOPS Mine Action Advisor, has been sent to Skopje on a short-term mission to identify the logistical requirements associated with the establishment of a MACC.
Development of a database and of an information management system
5. With the support of NATO, the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GIC), and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), UNMAS is coordinating the development of a database and of an information management system for mine action in Kosovo.
6. The information system will be based on the existing GIC' field module software, and will be operated by NATO until an operational UN MACC can take it over. Equipment for the project is provided by DFID, while GIC will train the necessary personnel in the field. The GIC team and the equipment is expected to reach Skopje on June 19.
Establishment of a Mine Action Coordination Centre
7. UNOPS has been mandated by UNMAS to initiate the establishment of a MACC in Kosovo. John Flanagan, a former UNMAS Programme Officer, will be in charge of the project in the field. He is expected to reach Skopje during the course of next week.
8. An initial $330,000 had been made available from the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Mine Action for this purpose. In addition, a first set of equipment for the project, made available free of charge by DFID, is expected to reach Skopje on June 19.
9. Staffing of the MACC becomes a pressing issue. A NATO Liaison Officer seconded by Canada is expected to be in the field during the course of next week. In addition, the UK has indicated that it was willing to provide two Database Officers. UNMAS is now working with UNOPS to recruit as a matter of priority a Chief of Operations and a Finance/logistics/administration Officer.
Emergency mine-action activities
10. The negotiated political settlement for Kosovo provides that FRY forces will be responsible for mine clearance in Kosovo.
a. According to Annex 2, para. 6, of SC Resolution 1244, after withdrawal, an agreed number of Yugoslav and Serbian personnel will be permitted to return to Kosovo for, inter alia, -marking/clearing minefields.
b. The Military Technical Agreement between KFOR and the FRY also states that -FRY Forces will mark and clear minefields, booby traps and obstacles. As they withdraw, FRY forces will clear all lines of communication by removing all mines, demolitions, booby traps, obstacles and charges. They will also mark all sides of all minefields- (art. II, para. 2).
11. These agreements notwithstanding, the international community must be prepared to provide assistance in mine clearance to guarantee the safe return of refugees and IDPs and to allow for the timely delivery of relief aid. NATO has indicated that it would not be in a position to provide such assistance. Hence, both in the field and at headquarters, UNMAS is in contact with all mine-action partners involved to identify capacities available for emergency mine-action operations in Kosovo.
a. HELP, a German NGO operating in Bosnia, has been contracted by UNHCR to support emergency operations. HELP staff escorted the first UNHCR convoy into Kosovo.
b. The Halo Trust has been funded by DFID to deploy a small assessment team with limited EOD capacity in Kosovo under the overall coordination of UNMAS and the yet-to-be-established MACC.
c. Handicap International is similarly deploying a small team with limited clearance capacity.
d. Norwegian People's Aid has received NK5,000,000 from Norway to also deploy in Kosovo. NPA has indicated to UNMAS that it had a team of 30 staff with dogs on stand-by in Bosnia and Herzegovina ready to move to Skopje.
e. Mine Advisory Group has also decided to fly 19 deminers from Cambodia at the end of this week for emergency clearance in Kosovo over a six week period.
f. RONCO, a US demining company, has been contracted by the US Department of State to provide demining assistance for four months in Kosovo with six fully trained and equipped teams supported by mine detection dogs and handlers.
g. Last, the Government of Finland has indicated that it could make available 2 flails with operators .
12. Emergency risk-reduction education is another priority being addressed. Information received from the field suggest that the needs are great. Significant resources have already been deployed to address them, both by UN agencies (UNICEF and UNHCR) and by ICRC and NGOs, but more is required. It is necessary in particular to deal with the requirement for mine awareness in Skopje, targeting the flow of UN personnel and aid workers moving into Kosovo.
Challenges
13. The mine-action tasks to which the international community is confronted in Kosovo are daunting. Important steps have already been taken by UNMAS to ensure that priorities are addressed in accordance with the needs of relief agencies and that appropriate coordination mechanisms are in place.
15. The main challenge today is to mobilise and support appropriately the teams required to verify, and if required mark and clear, on an urgent basis, areas to be used by returning refugees and IDPs and by humanitarian agencies. To meet this challenge UNMAS needs funding (no funds for emergency clearance are currently available in the VTF) and full information and cooperation from all partners.