Serbia

Mine Action

Last updated: 03 November 2018

 

Treaty status

Mine Ban Treaty

State Party
Article 5 deadline: 1 March 2019
Extension request submitted

Convention on Cluster Munitions

Non-signatory

Mine action management

National mine action management actors

Sector for Emergency Management, under the Ministry of Interior, acts at the national mine action authority
Serbian Mine Action Center (SMAC)

Mine action strategic plan

Workplan to completion provided in the extension request submitted in 2018

Mine action legislation

Government Decree on Protection against Unexploded Ordnance, 1 January 2014

Mine action standards

International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) are used

Operators in 2017

Survey is conducted by SMAC
Saturnia D.O.O. Belgrade
An EOD department within the Sector for Emergency Management responds to call-outs for individual items of ERW discovered, and is responsible for the demolition of items found by SMAC

Extent of contamination as of end 2017

Landmines

2.35km2 SHA
Scale of contamination: light

Cluster munition remnants

0.64km2 CHA and 1.9kmSHA
Scale of contamination: light

Other ERW contamination

Scale unknown; includes aircraft bombs, both on land and in its internal waterways

Land release in 2017

Landmines

0.28kmreleased through technical survey, resulting in 3 antipersonnel mines destroyed

Cluster munition remnants

0.18km2 cleared, resulting in 76 submunitions destroyed

Other ERW

No available data on spot tasks
2 items destroyed during mine and cluster munition clearance

Progress

Landmines

Serbia’s second extension request, submitted in March 2018, seeks a further four years to complete its remaining challenge

Cluster munition remnant

Any funding secured will be used to prioritize survey and clearance of antipersonnel mines. However, if adequate funding is secured, cluster munition clearance could be finished in three years

Note: ERW = explosive remnants of war; SHA = suspected hazardous area; CHA = confirmed hazardous area; EOD = explosive ordnance disposal.

Contamination

In the Republic of Serbia, as of March 2018, 12 areas in Bujanovac municipality, covering more than 2.35km2, were suspected to contain antipersonnel mines (see table below).[1] This is a slight decrease from the 2.63kmof mined area as of April 2017.[2]

Bujanovac is the only municipality in Serbia still affected by mines. According to SMAC, the contamination is from mines of an unknown origin and type, which have not been emplaced to follow a pattern, and for which there are no minefield records.[3]

Antipersonnel mine contamination by village (as of April 2018)[4]

Municipality

Village

SHAs

Area (m2)

Bujanovac

Ravno Bučje

3

575,020

Končulj

5

1,181,820

Dobrosin

1

248,000

Djordjevac

1

145,100

Lučane

1

73,200

Turija

1

131,400

Total

 

12

2,354,540

 

Historically, mine contamination in Serbia can be divided into two phases. The first was a legacy of the armed conflicts associated with the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. The second concerned use of mines in 2000–2001 in the municipalities of Bujanovac and Preševo by a non-state armed group, the Liberation Army of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medvedja (OVPBM). The contamination remaining in Serbia is a result of this later phase.[5] Contamination also exists within Kosovo (see separate profile).

The remaining mine contamination are said to have a “severe” socio-economic impact on Bujanovac, which is Serbia’s most underdeveloped municipality.The affected areas are mainly mountainous, but are close to population centers.Mined areas are said to impede safe access to forest products, cattle, and mushroom picking, which represent primary sources of income. In addition, mined areas block access to local roads, affect the environment, increase the risk of fire, and prevent the construction of solar plants and tobacco-processing facilities. Mined areas also negatively impact regional development by impeding the flow of people, goods, and services, and Serbia believes that demining could prevent locals moving out from the area.[6]

Cluster Munition Contamination

Cluster munition contamination by municipality (as of end of 2017 and unchanged as of March 2018)[7]

Municipality

Village

CHAs

Area (m2)

SHAs

Area (m2)

Bujanovac

Borovac

2

210,881

1

281,169

Niš

Medoševac

0

0

1

119,344

Raška

Lisina

0

0

1

190,359

Sjenica

Čedovo

2

89,450

2

74,474

Sjenica

Vapa

1

338,416

2

94,496

Tutin

Istočni Mojstir

0

0

1

514,682

Užice

Bioska

0

0

1

585,268

Total

 

5

638,747

9

1,859,792

Note: CHA = confirmed hazardous area; SHA = suspected hazardous area.

This is a reduction from the reported contamination as of the end of 2016; 10 CHAs over a total of 0.83km2, and 13 SHAs over 2.0km2.[8] 

Cluster munition contamination results from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) air strikes in 1999. According to Serbia, NATO cluster munitions struck 16 municipalities: Brus, Bujanovac, Cacak, Gadžin Han, Knic, Kraljevo, Kuršumlija, Leposavic, Niš city-Crveni Krst, Niš city-Medijana, Preševo, Raška, Sjenica, Sopot, Stara Pazova, and Vladimirci.[9] In late 2014, a suspected area was newly identified in Tutin, a municipality not previously thought to be contaminated by cluster munition remnants.[10]

Contamination in Serbia has a socio-economic impact, impeding safe access to forest products, cattle, and mushroom picking. These represent main sources of income in some of the most underdeveloped municipalities, including Bujanovac, Sjenica, and Tutin. In addition, cluster munition contamination impacts transport infrastructure, as well as the development of tourism.[11]

Program Management

According to a Government Decree on Protection against Unexploded Ordnance, the Sector for Emergency Management, under the Ministry of Interior, acts as the national mineaction authority (NMAA).[12] The NMAA is responsible for developing standard operating procedures (SOPs), accrediting deminers, and supervising the work of SMAC.[13] 

SMAC is responsible for coordinating demining, collecting and managing mine action information (including casualty data), and surveying SHAs. It also has a mandate to plan demining projects, conduct quality control (QC) and monitor operations, ensure implementation of international standards, and conduct risk education.[14] 

Strategic planning

The government of Serbia adopts SMAC’s workplan, as well as the Annual Report on its work.[15] 

Serbia prioritizes the demining of areas that directly affect the local population, such as those close to settlements where local people have abandoned their houses and stopped cultivating land due to the fear of landmines. SMAC also noted that donors themselves sometimes also influence the choice of the areas that will be demined first, depending on availability and amount of their funds.[16]

Legislation and standards 

According to SMAC, survey and clearance operationsin Serbia are conducted in accordance with the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).[17] 

As of April 2018, national mine action standards were still under development.[18] The process, which began in 2015, has been hindered due to lack of capacity.[19]

Serbia uses land release methodologies: non-technical survey, technical survey, and clearance. However, it expresses a preference for manual clearance. This is due, firstly, to the unregistered nature of the remaining mined areas. Secondly, most of the remaining suspected mined areas are mountainous with challenging terrain and thick vegetation. As they have not been accessed since the end of the conflict, in 2000–2001, the land is unmanaged, and therefore less accessible. For these reasons, the SMAC believes that most of the above areas are not appropriate for the use of machinery or mine detection dogs.[20] 

However, for 2017 and 2018, the SMAC prepared technical survey projects, in a form adjusted to the context of Serbia, in response to the stated preference of international donors for technical survey above clearance.[21]

Quality management 

Due to limited SMAC quality management capacity, as of April 2018, the total project area to be sampled by SMAC had been reduced from between 5%–11%, to 3%.[22]

Operators

SMAC conducts survey of areas suspected to contain mines, cluster munition remnants, or other ERW. Clearance is conducted by commercial companies and NGOs, which are selected through public tender procedures executed by ITF Enhancing Human Security (ITF), through international donors.[23]

The Ministry of Interior issues accreditation valid for a period of one year. In 2018, 14 companies/organizations were accredited for demining: seven from Serbia, four from Bosnia and Herzegovina, two from Croatia, and one from Russia.[24]


In 2017, 26 deminers were deployed for the execution of one technical survey project, which was completed. No machinery or mine detection dogs were deployed as the terrain was unsuitable.[25]

The Serbian armed forces maintain a capability to survey, search for, detect, clear, and destroy landmines. This capability includes many types of detection equipment, mechanical clearance assets, disposal experts, and specialist search and clearance teams.[26] An explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) department within the Sector for Emergency Management, in the Ministry of Interior, responds to call-outs for individual items of ERW discovered, and is also responsible for the demolition of items found by SMAC.[27] 

Land Release (mines)

In 2017, 275,800mwas released by technical survey, during which three antipersonnel mines and one other item of UXO were found and destroyed. No mined area was released through full clearance. This represents an increase in output compared to 2016, when no mined area was released through technical survey or clearance.[28] 

Survey in 2017 (mines)

In 2017, a total of 275,800mwas released through manual technical survey in the village of Breznica, Bujanovac municipality, during which three antipersonnel mines and one item of UXO were found and destroyed.[29] The technical survey was undertaken by Saturnia d.o.o. Belgrade.[30]

SMAC reported that during the elaboration of technical survey and clearance projects in 2017, it used data obtained by an unmanned aerial vehicle.[31]

Clearance in 2017 (mines) 

No mine clearance was conducted in 2017, due to lack of available funding.[32] 

SMAC did not know whether any antipersonnel mines were destroyed in 2017 by the EOD department of the Sector for Emergency Management.[33] 

Progress in 2018 (mines) 

A technical survey project totaling 113,600min Ravno Bučje village was completed in May 2018, with five antipersonnel mines and two items of UXO found and safely destroyed. Demining of two areas in Djordjevic village has been granted funding. It is expected that field operations might commence by the end of 2018, once tender procedures for the selection of a contractor have been completed.[34]

Land Release (cluster munition remnants) 

No cluster munition-contaminated area was released by survey.[35] In 2017, however, SMAC did report that it used data obtained from unmanned aerial vehicles during its process to develop cluster munition clearance and technical survey projects.[36] 

Clearance of cluster munition-contaminated areas in 2017[37]

Municipality

Operator

Areas cleared

Area cleared (m2)

Submunitions destroyed

Other UXO destroyed during cluster munition clearance

Sjenica

Saturnia D.O.O. Belgrade

1

177,120

76

1

Total

 

1

177,120

76

1

 

In 2016, 0.9kmwas reduced by technical survey.[38] Clearance results decreased from 2016, when 247,032mwas cleared.[39] 

Deminer safety

One deminer was injured in 2017, during the cluster munition clearance project in the municipality of Sjenica, when a BLU 97 A/B submunition exploded during excavation.[40]

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the five-year extension granted by States Parties in 2013), Serbia 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. Serbia will not meet this deadline.In March 2018, Serbia submitted a second extension request, seeking a further four-year extension to its Article 5 deadline, through to 1 March 2023.

As late as May 2012, Serbia had hoped to meet its original Article 5 deadline,[41] but in March 2013 it applied for a five-year extension. In granting the request, the Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties noted that “implementation could proceed much faster if Serbia was able to cover part of demining costs and thereby become more attractive for external funding.” States Parties further noted that the plan presented by Serbia was “workable, but it lacks ambition, particularly given the small amount of mined area in question.”[42]

Furthermore, Serbia’s claim to continued jurisdiction over Kosovo entails legal responsibility for remaining mined areas under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty. However, Serbia did not include such areas in either its first or second extension request estimates of remaining contamination or plans for the extension periods.

Serbia reported that it faced several challenges in complying with its Article 5 obligations, foremost of which was the unpredictability of securing financial resources and diminished donor funding through the years, in addition to a preference of donors to fund cluster munition and UXO clearance. Moreover, Serbia reported that the remaining mine contamination is of unrecorded mined areas/groups of mines, with mines having been emplaced with no particular pattern, which has complicated survey and clearance efforts. Furthermore, climatic conditions prevent access to some mined areas for parts of the year and Serbia considers that most of the suspected area is not appropriate for the use of mine detection dogs (MDDs) or machinery. Lastly, Serbia also highlighted challenges posed by contamination from cluster munition remnants and other UXO, which also block access to significant resources and hinder development and infrastructural projects.[43] In the last five years, Serbia has cleared less than one square kilometer of mined area (see table below).

Mine clearance in 2013–2017

Year

Area cleared (km2)

2017

0*

2016

0

2015

0.41

2014

0.27

2013

0

Total

0.68

Note: *0.28km2was reduced by technical survey, during which three antipersonnel mines and one item of UXO were destroyed.

Serbia has fallen well behind the clearance plan it set out in its 2013 Article 5 deadline extension request, which envisaged clearance of 489,276min 2013; 572,116m2in 2014; 414,668min 2015; 256,185min 2016; 247,000min 2017; 160,000min 2018; and 138,000min 2019.[44] Serbia subsequently adjusted its workplan in 2015, 2016, and 2017, but fell behind on land release output for each of the updated plans.[45]

In the draft of its latest Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline extension request, submitted on 14 March 2018, Serbia included a workplan for the completion of demining during the period 2018–2023.[46] If the funds for demining operations are available, Serbia intends to use non-technical survey, technical survey, manual clearance, mechanical demining (where applicable), and MDDs (where applicable) to complete clearance in Serbia before the 2023 deadline.[47]

Progress is, however, contingent on funding and Serbia has stated that if it cannot secure international funding for demining, its workplan will be directly affected. On the other hand, if more funds are provided, Serbia maintains it could implement its workplan in a shorter period.

As of June 2018, Serbia had not secured the national and international funds required for the requested second extension period.[48] 

Serbia has calculated that it requires an estimated €2.5 million to complete the release of all remaining mined areas, of which €900,000 is planned to come from the national budget and around €1.6 million from ITF and other sources of international funding.[49] In addition to approaching potential donors, SMAC will continue to raise awareness of the funding problem and seek funding from state authorities, public enterprises, and local authorities.[50] 

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) noted that as the first extension request was said to lack ambition by States Parties, and that as the second extension request is for a similar amount of land to be released in a similar amount of time (the first extension period was to clear 3.3km2 over five years), it believes that Serbia could be more ambitious in its targets in the second extension period.[51]

Progress towards completion of cluster munition clearance 

SMAC reports that, for the time being, any funding that is secured will be used to prioritize survey and clearance of antipersonnel mines, to contribute towards meeting its obligation under the Mine Ban Treaty. 

SMAC reported that while it had prepared several cluster munition clearance projects, these could not be implemented due to lack of funding in 2017.[52] 

In the draft of its latest Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline extension request, dated 31 March 2018, Serbia includes a workplan for completion of cluster munition and UXO clearance by 2023, at a predicted total cost of €20 million, however cluster munition remnants are not disaggregated from other ERW.[53] Progress in cluster munition clearance is contingent on funding. Serbia predicts that if adequate funds for implementation of survey and clearance projects were secured, cluster munition clearance could be finished in three years.[54]

In 2010–2013, significant progress was made in clearing cluster munition-contaminated areas, but since then progress has stalled. Less than 4km2in total has been cleared in the last five years (see table below). 

Clearance of cluster munition remnants in 2014–2017[55]

Year

Area cleared (km2)

2017

0.18

2016

0.25

2015

0.18

2014

0.29

2013

2.40

Total

3.30

 

 

The Monitor acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review (www.mineactionreview.org), which has conducted the primary mine action research in 2018 and shared all its country-level landmine reports (from “Clearing the Mines 2018”) and country-level cluster munition reports (from “Clearing Cluster Munition Remnants 2018”) with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.

 



[1] Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, pp. 7, 8, 23, and 24; Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form C; and email from Slađana Košutić, Planning and International Cooperation Advisor, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[2] Email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 6 April 2017; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2016), Form D.

[3] Interview with Jovica Simonović, Director, SMAC, Belgrade, 16 May 2017; and Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, p. 7.

[4] Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, pp. 7, 8, 23, and 24; Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form C; and email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[5] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, March 2013, p. 5; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2014), Form C.

[6] Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, pp. 7, 11, 25, and 27; and email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[7] Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, p. 24; and email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[8] Email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 6 April 2017.

[9] Statement of Serbia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Geneva, 21 June 2011; interview with Petar Mihajlović, Director, and Slađana Košutic, SMAC, Belgrade, 25 March 2011; and SMAC, “About us,” undated.

[10] Email from Branislav Jovanović, SMAC, 4 May 2015.

[11] Ibid., 12 April 2018.

[12] Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 70/13.

[13] Emails from Darvin Lisica, then-NPA Regional Programme Manager, 6 May and 12 June 2016; and Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, p. 17.

[14] “Law of Alterations and Supplementations of the Law of Ministries,” Official Gazette, 84/04, August 2004; and Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, p. 17.

[15] Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, p. 16.

[16] Ibid., p. 30; and email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[17] Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, p. 19.

[18] Email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[19] Interview with Jovica Simonović, SMAC, Belgrade, 16 May 2017.

[20] Additional Information to Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, received 28 June 2018.

[21] Ibid.

[22] Email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[23] Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, p. 18.

[24] Ibid., p. 17.

[25] Email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[26] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form J.

[27] Interview with Jovica Simonović, SMAC, Belgrade, 16 May 2017.

[28] Email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 6 April 2017; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2016), Form D.

[29] Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, pp. 6 and 12; and email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[30] Email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[31] Ibid.

[32] Ibid.

[33] Ibid.

[34] Additional Information to Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, received 28 June 2018.

[35] Email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[36] Ibid.

[37] Ibid.

[38] Ibid., 6 April 2017.

[39] Ibid.

[40] Ibid., 12 April 2018.

[41] Statement of Serbia, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Standing Committee on Mine Action, Geneva, 23 May 2012.

[42] Analysis of Serbia’s Article 5 deadline Extension Request, submitted by the President of the 12th Meeting of States Parties on behalf of the States Parties mandated to analyze request for extensions, 2 December 2013.

[43] Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, pp. 6, 7, 25, and 27; Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year r2017), Form C; and email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[44] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, March 2013, p. 26.

[45] Preliminary observations of the Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 19–20 May 2016; and “Republic of Serbia Updated Detailed Work Plan for the Remaining Period Covered by the Extension,” submitted to the Implementation Support Unit (ISU), 3 March 2016, and provided to Mine Action Review by the ISU upon request; email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 6 April 2017; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2016), Form D.

[46] Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, pp. 8, 9, 31, and 32.

[47] Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, p. 28; and Additional Information to Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, received 28 June 2018; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form C.

[48] “Mine Action Programme of Serbia: Status and challenges in implementation of the obligations under the anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention,” SMAC presentation for the individualized approach side meeting, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 7 June 2018.

[49] Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, pp. 9 and 34.

[50] Ibid., p. 34.

[51] ICBL comments on Serbia’s extension request, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, 7–8 June 2018.

[52] Email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[53] SMAC, “About us,” undated; and Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 14 March 2018, pp. 16 and 33.

[54] Email from Slađana Košutić, SMAC, 12 April 2018.

[55] Data from Cluster Munition Monitor profiles.