Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline: 1 March 2019
(Not on track to meet deadline)

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 deadline: 1 August 2020
(On track to meet deadline)

Recommendations for action

• Croatia should secure the initial promises of European Union (EU) funds and maintain or increase the level of Croatian government funding.
• Croatia should pass the new mine action law as soon as possible and use it to develop and implement new land release standards.
• Croatia should better regulate the commercial tendering process to discourage fragmentation of the demining market.
• Croatia should adopt and present a strategic plan for completion of its clearance obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. 

Contamination

The Republic of Croatia is affected by mines and—to a much lesser extent—explosive remnants of war (ERW), including cluster munition remnants, a legacy of four years of armed conflict associated with the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.

Mine contamination

At the end of 2014, 79 municipalities in 10 counties were suspected to be contaminated by mines; records indicate “more than 70,000 mines and unknown number of UXO [unexploded ordinance] remaining in the ground, mainly along the former lines of confrontation.” The suspected hazardous area (SHA) is marked with 12,409 mine warning signs.[1]

Contamination at the end of 2014 by county (km²)

In 2014, Croatia conducted new general (non-technical) and technical survey on military facilities, resulting in suspected mined area of 32.4km². Almost 31.4km² of the area is on military training sites. This is a much higher figure than the previously reported figure of 2.5km² and is not included in its overall reported SHA.[2] Croatia has also identified areas on its border with Hungary to be cleared as part of a cross-border cooperation program.[3] The total SHA for this area has not been publicly reported.

Two-thirds of contaminated area (67%) is in forests, 19% in agricultural land, and 14% is in karst (rocky limestone areas) and macchia (shrubland).[4] Priorities for clearance are agricultural land, forests with economic potential, and national parks.[5]

As expected, Croatia completed clearance in two counties—Dubrovnik-Neretva and Virovitica-Podravina—in 2014.[6] The remaining SHA is in 10 counties and 79 municipalities and towns; 85% is in forests.[7] Some of this is open for economic use, but the larger area is under protection either as a National Park “Park of Nature” or a Natura 2000 area. The remaining 15% is agricultural land that the Croatian Mine Action Centre (CROMAC) describes as a “socio-economic priority.”[8]

Croatia was affected by the Balkan flood disaster in May 2014. However, only 2.2 km² of SHAs in Croatia were affected by the floods, in three municipalities in Vukovar-Srijem County. According to CROMAC, “there was no record of changes in the contamination of the area” because the “breach of the river bank was downstream of the SHA.”[9] After the floods, CROMAC prioritized demining of the flooded areas. The “most critical” SHA, between the river bank and railway line in Gunja municipality, “started immediately after the withdrawal of the water” funded by the “in-kind donation” of services by Croatian demining companies.[10]

According to CROMAC, some 2km² of remaining SHA in two areas along the flood-affected border with Serbia, located in Vrbanja and Nijemci municipalities, would be released by the end of 2015, through clearing 0.74km² with European Union (EU) funds and the rest through “additional analysis and technical survey.”[11]

A UNDP Mine Action Recovery Needs Assessment for Flooded Areas in Eastern Croatia, completed in late 2014, found “no evidence of mine migration or indication that the boundaries of the SHAs have changed that will pose any immediate threat to local populations in Croatia.” It praised CROMAC’s “good cooperation and coordination” in an “effective mine risk education, survey and marking response during and after the flooding.” Nevertheless, it warned that, “Had the problem been larger, there would not be capacity to respond in such a timely and effective way.”[12] It recommended better integration of mine action into disaster response planning and vice versa.[13]

Cluster munition contamination

Croatia is contaminated with cluster munition remnants. Five areas covering more than 2.8km² across five counties are confirmed to be contaminated (see table below).[14] CROMAC reports that this contamination has a socioeconomic impact as many of these areas “are used for cattle breeding and are close to settlements.”[15]

Cluster munition remnants contamination as of end 2014

Croatia has calculated that 4,776 unexploded submunitions remain in these areas.[16] 

According to CROMAC, 2014 saw a “slight increase in the size of certain suspected cluster-munition-contaminated areas” compared with the previous year. During clearance in the Krka National Park, operators spotted “bomblets outside of the project borders.” This additional contamination was cleared in the same year. CROMAC prepared an additional clearance project in the extended boundaries, resulting in the destruction of 39 submunitions and one item of UXO.[17] 

None of the areas contaminated by cluster munition remnants were flooded in the 2014 Balkan floods.[18]

Program Management

CROMAC was established on 19 February 1998 as the umbrella organization for mine action coordination.[19] The CROMAC Board (formerly known as Council), an oversight and strategic planning body, consists of a president, appointed by the Prime Minister, and 10 members, appointed from the ministries of defense, finance, and interior, as well as eminent persons. The board, which used to meet at least four times a year,[20] is meeting on an almost monthly basis to discuss progress in implementing the annual workplan and other topical issues, such as the new law on mine action.[21]

In April 2012, the government created the Office for Mine Action (OMA), reporting to the Prime Minister’s office, to function as a focal point for mine action, strengthening coordination among stakeholders and funding agencies, and raising public awareness about mine and cluster munition hazards.[22]

A Law on Humanitarian Demining was adopted in 2005 and entered into force on 5 January 2006.[23] A 2007 amendment to the law elaborated responsibilities and human resource requirements, and a second amendment in 2008 clarified responsibilities for quality control.[24] The law assigns the Croatian army responsibility for clearing all military areas.[25] In 2014, Croatia was in the process of drafting a new demining law; a public draft was available in March 2015. CROMAC believes the new law will allow it more freedom in technical survey as considerable scope exists for releasing much SHA without the need for full clearance.[26]

A representative of OMA stated that the benefit of the process of drafting the new law was that “everyone was at the table” including governmental agencies, trade unions, and the Association of Demining Entrepreneurs (which represents commercial demining companies).[27] Nevertheless, an NGO representative called for greater attention to the voices of mine survivors in the drafting of the new law.[28] OMA stated that among the priorities is an attempt to align Croatia’s Law on Mine Action with EU Directives and international law. Similarly, UNDP’s flood needs assessment recommended involving the “UN and others in the international community” in “the public consultation…on the new demining law…”[29] However, an international consultant who has been advising Croatia’s mine action program was concerned that there had not been much engagement with international agencies like the UN and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) in the drafting of the law.[30]

Among the proposed provisions is the possibility of adopting new standards on land release; the establishment, within OMA, of a new database of every mine survivor; increased insurance for deminers; a stronger role for the Ministry of Interior; and stricter regulations governing the start-up of demining firms and the entry of international firms into Croatia buttressed by harsher penalties for operators that fail to meet standards.[31] UNDP praised the new law’s inclusion of provisions on “release of mine-free land.”[32] However, the draft circulated by the Ministry of Interior in March 2015 did face some criticism. It does not include provision for cluster munitions. An international consultant feared that the new land release provisions were not far reaching enough.[33] Similarly, UNDP stated that the “inclusion of a one percent technical check of areas subjected to non-technical (general) survey before they are released” would “imply that the…process is not trusted, thereby undermining the safety of…land…previously released through this method.”[34] UNDP’s needs assessment stated, to introduce this check “would be both time-consuming and costly…”[35] CROMAC estimated that the new law on mine action would be adopted by the Croatian Parliament in the “second half of 2015.”[36]

In April 2015, Croatia hosted its annual symposium on humanitarian demining, focusing on cluster munitions.[37] In September 2015, Croatia hosted the First Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Dubrovnik.

Safety

According to CROMAC, no accidents occurred during demining or explosive ordnance disposal in 2014.[38] 

Mines: planning, operators, and land release

Strategic planning (mines)

Croatia’s 2008 Article 5 deadline extension request set out annual demining targets and strategic goals, including elimination of any mine threat to housing and areas planned for the return of displaced people by 2010, to infrastructure by 2011, to agricultural land by 2013, and to forest areas by 2018.[39] While clearance of the mine threat to housing and infrastructure is now complete, Croatia missed its target on agricultural land; by the end of 2013, 19% of the total SHA was agricultural land.

Operators (mines) 

As a result of conditions for earlier World Bank funding, Croatia has an unusually commercialized mine action sector, with almost all civil clearance conducted by local companies competing for tenders. CROMAC believes this model of privatized clearance is “faster, cheaper and more efficient.”[40] Much of foreign donor funding is tendered by ITF Enhancing Security, while CROMAC manages tendering for government and EU money according to the Law on Public Procurement. Croatia without Mines, a trust fund, raises money from private sources.[41]

The exception to the commercial tendering system is the state-owned enterprise, MUNGOS, which is directly assigned enough tasks by CROMAC to keep it solvent while it slowly phases down operations.[42] CROMAC stated that recent restructuring had improved MUNGOS’s efficiency. CROMAC believes that when the new mine action law comes into force, MUNGOS will focus on technical survey, leaving clearance to commercial companies.[43] A representative of the Association of Demining Entrepreneurs expressed dissatisfaction with the ongoing privileged status of MUNGOS.[44] NGOs are barred from competing for commercial tenders as CROMAC sees their subsidy by other funds as “unfair.”[45]

At the end of 2014, there were 40 demining companies accredited in Croatia (an increase of two on the previous year), employing 650 deminers (an average of just over 16 deminers per company), using 30 Mine Detection Dog Teams (MDDs), 55 demining machines, and 685 detectors. This represents an increase in capacity from 2013; according to CROMAC this is the result of additional EU funding. An increased number of MDDs was, according to CROMAC, because of the greater number of tasks in “mountain and forest areas,” that are “not suitable for demining machines” and where “dogs can increase productivity.”[46] CROMAC expected these trends of increased capacity to continue in 2015, as they finalize EU pre-accession funds and new EU money for agricultural projects comes through.[47] 

There are relatively low barriers to entry in the mine clearance market and so there is considerable fragmentation. Of the 28 companies operational in 2014, 14 cleared less than a square kilometer and no company cleared more than 14% of the total area cleared. A director of a commercial demining company complained that the fragmentation of the market made it difficult to make money, leaving many companies in “pre-bankruptcy.”[48] The UNDP needs assessment observed that, “In recent years the number of demining companies in Croatia has grown but capacity overall has decreased.”[49]

The average net price of mine clearance did not change drastically in 2014, to HRK6.73 (approx. US$1.01) per square metre from HRK6.15 (approx. $1.10) in 2013, though was lower than HRK7.66 (approx. US$1.40) in 2012.[50] This makes it difficult for firms to make a profit on clearance. Larger firms claim they are hampered by earlier over-investment in mechanical assets and equipment based on assumptions that funding would match the levels outlined in the 2009–2019 mine action strategy.[51] Some companies have sought to diversify with operations outside Croatia, but given the relatively higher wages of Croatian deminers, their lack of international experience, and lack of brand recognition, they find it difficult to compete for tenders.[52] An NGO representative raised concerns that the “quality of demining” suffers when the price of “demining is low.”[53] A director of a commercial demining firm echoed this concern, saying that it is “hard to do [demining] safely” when the price is so low. “We are all under pressure,” he said, and “we are transferring the pressure to the deminers – they are aware that we can’t pay salaries without clearing 500 square meters a day.”[54]

In 2013, the OMA and trade unions raised concerns of “price dumping” by smaller and less established firms aiming to gain a market share by underbidding on tenders.[55] However, CROMAC reported that in 2014 it started letting “bigger tenders.” This, according to CROMAC, “allows companies to reduce their cost of operations” and provides an incentive for companies to do “better planning” and “cooperate” with each other. CROMAC also stated that “Bigger contracts stabilized prices” and that “there were no cases of ‘price-dumping’ in 2014.”[56] A representative of CROMAC stated that though prices were lower, the bigger tenders allowed “continuation of work,” resulted in fewer stoppages, and enabled companies to negotiate on better terms with hotels and services in their project areas.[57] Nevertheless, CROMAC acknowledged that bigger contracts mean disputes over allocation of funds between the companies that have to form consortiums to compete for the new tenders.[58] A representative of OMA said that the bigger projects were “more rational” but remained concerned about fragmentation of the market and possible price dumping.[59] A director of a commercial demining firm said “we wanted bigger tenders but these are too big,” requiring large consortia in which “some companies only get bad areas” to clear.[60]

The UNDP needs assessment recommended that CROMAC “consider doing longer term contracting to make maximum use of operational assets in Croatia for both technical survey and mine clearance. The current contracting of defined polygons is suitable for mine clearance but would not be conducive for effective technical survey and a new procedure should be drafted once the law is changed.”[61] 

An NGO representative raised concerns that though many women are involved in Croatian mine action, “few women are involved in demining.”[62]

Land Release (mines)

Croatia released a total of 83.80km² of mined area in 2014, more than in the previous three years (71.9km² in 2013; 67.3km² in 2012; 70.4km² in 2011). Land release was 97% of the amount foreseen for the year in the 2009–2019 mine action strategy; clearance was 113% of target, while survey was 89% of target.

A total of 37.75km² was released through clearance, considerably higher than in previous years (see table below); 46.05km² was cancelled through general/non-technical survey (39.56km² in 2013; 36.79km² in 2012; 42.69km² in 2011). Clearance operations destroyed 1,842 antipersonnel mines and 1,507 antivehicle mines.[63] 

Mine Clearance in 2010–2014

Survey in 2014 (mines) 

In total, 12 SHAs were cancelled by non-technical survey in 2014, covering 46,048,489m².[64]

Clearance in 2014 (mines)

Clearance operations released 37.75km² and a total of 110 mined areas in 2014, as set out in the table below. Some 2.1km² of clearance in 2014 resulted in no mines being found, higher than the 1.5km² in 2013.[65] According to CROMAC, no demining or explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) accidents were reported in 2014.[66] 

Mine Clearance in 2014[67]

Note: CROMAC states the data in this table is from its database of contracts. Some of the accredited companies were working as subcontractors and as a result are not listed in this table.

 

Cluster munition remnants: planning, operators, land release, and treaty compliance

Strategic Planning (cluster munition remnants) 

There is no strategic plan for the release of all areas containing cluster munition remnants. According to Miljenko Vahtarić, CROMAC’s Assistant Director for International Cooperation and Education, “All these areas are cleared in accordance with the county and state priorities, of course taking in consideration obligations in accordance with signed conventions.”[68]

Operators (cluster munition remnants)

The majority of clearance was conducted by MUNGOS, a state-owned company. Other tasks were conducted by commercial demining companies.

Land Release (cluster munition remnants) 

Croatia released 0.66km² of area containing cluster munition remnants in 2014, all through clearance, destroying 306 submunitions and 11 other items of UXO (see table below). A further 341 KB-1 submunitions were found and destroyed in the course of mine clearance tasks during 2014.[69] Croatia released no land contaminated by cluster munition remnants through survey in 2014.

Clearance of cluster munition-contaminated areas in 2014[70]

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the 10-year extension request granted by States Parties in 2008), Croatia is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2019. It is not on track to meet the deadline. 

In previous years, Croatia had reported fears that falling donor funds posed a threat to its capacity to comply with Article 5. The Croatian government is now “cautiously optimistic” that if planned EU funding is received “Croatia will meet its Article 5 deadline.”[71] Nonetheless, there remains skepticism among operators who assert that the program is operating significantly below capacity.[72] UNDP stated that Croatia “is not currently on target” to fulfil its deadline.[73]

CROMAC has stated that the current demining law constrains use of technical survey. CROMAC hopes the new law will enable area reduction according to international standards. For instance, in early 2014, CROMAC estimated that the confirmed hazardous area could be reduced to 80km² with better survey techniques. However, in 2015, CROMAC stated more cautiously that “The figure of 80 km² is the approximate size of minefields for which we have minefield records.” There are areas that “are confirmed mined but without minefield records.” CROMAC stated that “one of our main goals is to reduce this area to the size of real problem. The new Law on Mine Action will allow us to use technical survey for the reduction purposes and to better define and confirm minefields for which we don’t have minefield records.”[74]

UNDP’s Mine Action Recovery Needs Assessment for Flooded Areas in Eastern Croatia stated that the “ability to release land through technical survey would enhance the capacity to more quickly recover” from disasters and “speed up ongoing land release, making resources go further and enable better targeting of the mine clearance assets…”[75] However, it raised concerns that CROMAC “does not have sufficient survey capacity to enable the release of land through technical survey once the demining law is changed “and so should “boost” this capacity “to fully implement land release methodology.”[76] 

Croatia’s priorities for 2015 include completely removing the mine threat from Vukovar-Srijem and Brod-Posavina counties; clearing the agricultural land in Karlovac, Požega-Slavonia, and Osijek-Baranja counties; starting removal of the mine threat from agricultural land from Zadar, Šibenik-Knin, and Split-Dalmatia counties; and reduce the SHA by 104.5km².[77]

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 Compliance

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Croatia is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants in areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 August 2020. It is on track to meet this deadline.

Croatia reported seeing “no obstacles” in meeting its Article 4 deadline; in fact, it has predicted, “that the problem will be solved by the end of 2018.”[78] CROMAC expected clearance capacity to increase in 2015 due to greater European Union funding for demining.[79]