Summary

Non-signatory Armenia says it cannot accede to the convention until its dispute with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh and other territories is resolved. Armenia has participated in meetings of the convention, most recently in November 2020. It voted in favor of a key annual United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention for the first time in December 2020.

Armenia reported in 2012 that it does not produce, export, stockpile, or use cluster munitions, and has no intent to do so. Armenian forces used or supplied cluster munitions to Nagorno-Karabakh forces who used them in attacks on Azerbaijan during the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020.

Policy

The Republic of Armenia has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Armenia says it cannot consider joining the convention until its conflict with Azerbaijan is resolved, including the status of the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.[1] Nagorno-Karabakh is claimed by Azerbaijan but under the control of a breakaway governing authority.

Armenia did not participate in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[2]

Armenia has participated as an observer in several meetings of the convention, most recently the first part of the convention’s Second Review Conference held virtually in November 2020. This marked Armenia’s first participation in a meeting of the convention since 2014.[3] Armenia did not elaborate its views on the convention but draw attention to Azerbaijan’s use of cluster munitions in October 2020.[4]

In December 2020, Armenia for the first time voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution that calls on states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.”[5] Previously, it abstained from voting on this annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention in 2015–2019.

Armenia has not joined the Mine Ban Treaty or the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

In the past, Armenia has stated several times that it does not produce, export, stockpile, or use cluster munitions, and had no interest in doing so.[6] Recent use in 2020 indicates that there is compelling evidence that Armenia possesses and uses cluster munitions. According to independent arms trade research organizations and local media, Armenia acquired six BM-30 Smerch multi-barrel rocket launchers from Russia in 2016 and 2017, but it is not known if the deal included cluster munition rockets.[7]

Use in October 2020

Armenia’s use of cluster munitions during the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in September–October 2020 has been widely reported. There is compelling evidence that Armenian forces used or supplied 300mm Smerch cluster munition rockets, each containing 72 9N235 fragmentation submunitions, to Nagorno-Karabakh forces who used them in attacks on the following locations:[8]

• Gizilhajili on 3 October, killing one civilian and wounding three;
• Tapgaragoyunlu on 23 October;
• Kebirli on 24 October 2020, killing one civilian;
• Garayusifli on 27 October 2020, killing five civilians and wounding 15;
• Barda on 28 October, killing at least 21 civilians and wounding 70.

There’s no complete accounting of the use of cluster munitions by Azerbaijan and Armenian forces during the 2020 conflict as it has not been possible to investigate every reported or alleged attack.[9]

In a statement to the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 25 November 2020, Armenia did not deny possessing or using cluster munitions, but rather drew attention to Azerbaijan’s use of cluster munitions in October 2020.[10] A representative from Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Human Rights Watch (HRW) on 27 November that Armenia does not possess cluster munitions.[11] A representative from Armenia’s Ministry of Defense said on 28 October that reports allegations that Armenia used cluster munition in Barda were “groundless and false.”[12]

Cluster Munition Monitor could not conclusively determine if cluster munitions were used in either case. None of these countries have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Previous Use

There is evidence that at least two types of ground-fired cluster munition rockets were used in Nagorno-Karabakh in the first week of April 2016, during fighting across the line of contact separating local Armenian-backed separatists and Azerbaijani forces. Armenia’s Ministry of Defense published photographs showing the remnants of 300mm Smerch cluster munition rockets that it claimed were fired by Azerbaijan forces into Nagorno-Karabakh.[13] Cluster Munition Monitor was not able to conduct an independent investigation to make a conclusive determination about responsibility for this cluster munition use.

There is cluster munition contamination in Nagorno-Karabakh dating from the 1988–1994 conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.[14] There are also reports of cluster munition contamination in other parts of occupied Azerbaijan, adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh, which are under the control of Armenian forces.[15]

(See the separate profile on Nagorno-Karabakh.)

Policy

The Republic of Armenia has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty.

According to its statements and government officials, Armenia cannot join the treaty until the territorial dispute with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has been resolved. In June 2021, Armenia told the president of the Mine Ban Treaty that it values the treaty, but has not signed as the decision is linked to “the security environment in our region” and the “principle of reciprocity.”[1]

In 2010, Armenia told the Monitor that it supports the treaty and values the idea of transparency and confidence-building measures, but “cannot become a member of the Mine Ban Treaty at this moment.”[2] Armenia participated in the 1996–1997 process that created the Mine Ban Treaty, but did not attend the Oslo negotiations. Armenia was present at the treaty’s signing conference as an observer.

Armenia has attended several meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty, most recently the June 2021 intersessional meetings in Geneva.[3]

In December 2020, Armenia voted in favor of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 75/52 promoting universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.[4] It has also voted in favor of previous annual resolutions on the treaty.

Armenia is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). It is also not party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Armenia has stated several times that it has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines.[5]

Armenia inherited a stockpile of mines from the break-up of the Soviet Union, but it has not provided information on the size or composition of this stockpile, as such information is regarded as sensitive.[6]

Use

Armenian officials have stated that Armenia last used antipersonnel mines during the 1992–1994 conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.[7] It regards landmines laid along its border with Azerbaijan as essential to its defense.[8] This presumably includes and applies to the occupation by Armenia of seven districts of Azerbaijan—outside of Nagorno-Karabakh but adjoining Armenia—until late 2020.

Azerbaijan alleges past use by Armenia, and also alleges that it used antipersonnel mines during fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied districts in September–November 2020. In April 2021, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement that found that “during almost three decades of occupation of the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan, Armenia deliberately laid mines in these territories, as a result of which there had been numerous casualties among the Azerbaijani military and civilians.” Moreover, it alleged that “Armenia also deliberately planted mines on a massive scale during its forced withdrawal following the counter-offensive operation of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan.”[9]

At the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in June 2021, Armenia denied using antipersonnel mines during the 2020 conflict—and stated that during their withdrawal, Armenian forces lacked the time possible to mine areas that subsequently came under Azerbaijan’s control.[10] According to Armenia, the majority of territory taken by Azerbaijan in 2020 was heavily mined by Azerbaijan when it previously controlled those areas in the early 1990s.

On 27 May 2021, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces captured six Armenian soldiers that it said were attempting to lay mines in the settlement of Yukhari Ayrim, in the Kalbajar border region.[11] Armenia’s Ministry of Defense said that the soldiers were detained while carrying out “engineering work.”[12] Armenia’s acting prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, told a government meeting that the Armenian soldiers emplaced mines along sections of the border to strengthen security and installed warning signs.[13] At the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings in June 2021, Armenia’s representative did not confirm or deny the alleged landmine use in the border area in May 2021.

On 12 June 2021, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that 15 detained Armenians had been handed back over to Armenia, in exchange for maps from Armenia showing the location of around 97,000 landmines laid in the Aghdam region, one of seven territories outside of Nagorno-Karabakh that Azerbaijan regained control over during the 2020 fighting.[14]

Jump to a specific section of the profile:

Treaty Status | Management & Coordination | Impact (contamination & casualties) | Addressing the Impact (land release, risk education, victim assistance)

Country summary

Mine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination in the Republic of Armenia is primarily the consequence of the armed conflict with Azerbaijan in 1988–1994 over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, in which both sides used mines, with the heaviest contamination along the borders with Azerbaijan.

In September 2020, tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the contested territory of Nagorno-Karabakh escalated and resulted in the use of cluster munitions by both sides in October of the same year. Armenia fired cluster munitions at the city of Barda in Azerbaijan, killing at least 21 civilians and wounding at least 70,[1] while Azerbaijan fired cluster munitions upon residential areas of Nagorno-Karabakh.[2] (See Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh impact profiles for further information).

Risk education was conducted in Armenia by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).[3] The Armenian Red Cross also began a risk education program in conjunction with the Foundation for Demining and Demolition, in June 2020.[4]

There is a “mine victim’s rehabilitation and reintegration program” in Armenia which is overseen by the Armenian Center for Humanitarian Demining and Expertise (CHDE).[5]

Treaty status

Treaty status overview 

Management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination overview 

Management and coordination

The CHDE was established in 2011 and became the National Mine Action Centre in 2013.[6] It has an advisory board, represented by the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Territorial Administration, the Ministry of Education and Science, and the Ministry of Justice.[7]

Armenia manages and funds its mine action program independently. From 1993 to 2015, the United States reported contributing more than US$13.6 million to Armenia, primarily for training and capacity development. 2015 was the last year the United States provided funding to Armenia.[8] (See Armenia support for mine action profile for more information).

In 2019 CHDE benefited from the GICHD regional cooperation program.[9]

Legislation and standards

In August 2018, a draft mine action law, developed with the support of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), had been submitted to the National Assembly for review.[10] In 2019, the CHDE was expected to submit the draft law to the new Parliament of Armenia for government approval and adoption but no further progress has been reported.

National Mine Action Standards (NMAS) have been in place since 2014 and amended in 2018.

Strategies and policies

A draft National Strategic Plan on Mine Action included addressing antipersonnel mine contamination with a humanitarian impact, as well as integration of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into demining work.[11]

Information management

The CHDE maintains a mine victims database. In 2019, information regarding 70 individuals was uploaded.[12]

 Risk education management and coordination

Risk education management and coordination overview

Coordination

The ICRC is the main risk education provider in Armenia. While there is a risk education department within CHDE, it is underfunded and does not have capacity to run effective risk education campaigns itself. 

Standards

There are no national risk education standards in Armenia. The ICRC conducts its activities in accordance with IMAS and the “Risk Awareness and Safer Behaviour Guidelines.”[13]

Victim assistance management and coordination 

Victim Assistance management and coordination overview[14]

Coordination

Since the 2018 political transition, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has been in the process of internal restructuring to improve the use of resources to address the needs of persons with disabilities.[15] 

Impact

Contamination

Contamination overview (as of December 2019)

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Landmine contamination

Four out of 11 provinces in Armenia are contaminated by landmines.

The CHDE has identified three priority areas for clearance:[16]

• Baghanis community, a border village located in the north-eastern Tavush region. There were 282 households and 955 people living in the community. Two confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs), covering a total area of 8,100m², were identified during non-technical survey (NTS). Both CHAs are contaminated by TM-62 and TM-57 type antivehicle mines.
• Chakaten community, a border village located in the south-eastern Syunik region which borders Nagorno-Karabakh. There were 64 households and 118 people living in the community. Three CHAs were identified during NTS, covering a total area of 23,700m². The eastern and south-eastern parts of the community are contaminated by both antivehicle and antipersonnel mines (MON100, OZM-72, PMN-2, TM-62P3, and TM57) as well as ERW in the form of 100mm artillery shells. In August 2020, two landmines were found near a building in Sisian town, Syunik region.[17]
• Hartashen, a border village located in Syunik region. There were 157 households and 749 people living in the community. Three CHAs were identified in the community through NTS. These CHAs equate to a combined area of 233,800m². Contamination is by both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines (OZM-72, PMN-2, TM-62, and TM-57). Two of these CHAs run alongside a 2km-long section of highway. 

Cluster munition remnant contamination

Cluster munition contamination resulting from the September 2020 escalation in conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has affected Nagorno-Karabakh rather than the internationally recognized territory of Armenia (see Nagorno-Karabakh impact profile for more information).

Casualties

Casualties overview[18]

Casualties in 2019: details

Two casualties were recorded in 2019 during separate mine incidents. On 16 January 2019, a civilian man was injured in Barekamavan village, Tavush region, when he stepped on a landmine.[19] On 18 November 2019, an Armenian soldier was wounded after the explosion of a landmine on the frontline in Tavush region.[20]

Addressing the impact

Mine action

Operators and service providers

Clearance Operators

Clearance

Clearance overview (as of December 2019)[21]

Demining in Armenia has been slow with the amount of land cleared between 2015–2019 totaling 0.12km².[22] However, no target date has been set for completion of mine clearance in the country due to the uncertainty of future capacity and funding.

The CHDE was forced to suspend many of its physical operations during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but did continue with clearance of two areas in the Syunik region throughout the year.[23] 

Land release: landmines

During 2018 a total of 25,000m² was released to municipal authorities.[24] The CHDE reported clearing 16,180m² in 2019.[25]

Risk education

Operators and service providers 

Risk education operators

Beneficiary numbers

In 2019 the CHDE delivered risk education sessions to 42 children and six adult volunteers at a summer camp alongside 11,024 children and teachers in schools across eight regions. No disaggregated data on risk education beneficiaries is publicly available.[26]

Implementation

Risk education is predominantly conducted in rural areas in Armenia. It focuses on the threat from landmines, antivehicle mines, unexploded submunitions, and other ERW, as well as safety from active shooting and shelling. Throughout 2019, the CHDE delivered risk education sessions to children in schools across the regions of Aragatsotn, Ararat, Gegharkunik, Kotayk, Lori, Tavush, and Syunik, and Yerevan.[27] The CHDE also delivered risk education messaging to children during a state-run summer camp for children from Shirak, Syunik, and Tavush regions.[28]

The ICRC focuses on delivering risk education in rural villages along the frontline between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Risk education messaging is typically delivered via face-to-face means, predominantly in schools and through house-to-house visits.[29] During 2018 and 2019, the ICRC conducted several sessions of a “forum theatre” project in schools, whereby pupils were trained for one week to put on a play with risk education messages.[30]

Target groups

The CHDE maintains casualty data that can be analyzed to target risk education.[31] It has also delivered risk education messaging to children through schools and summer camps.

The ICRC identified adult men as the demographic most at risk of mine/ERW accidents. Although they are also the hardest to reach as they are usually working at the time that risk education sessions are delivered.[32] In addition, children going to school in frontline areas are taught “safer classroom” drills as a response to shooting or shelling, while teachers and parents are also targeted to ensure they understand and support the messages given to children.

Major developments in risk education in 2019

In 2019 the ICRC in Armenia worked on the development of digital and interactive methods for an online education platform for students and teachers. This was still in development at the end of 2019.[33] Plans for 2020 included the training of teachers and parents in risk education.

In May 2020, the CHDE signed a project agreement with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Support and Procurement Agency for the delivery of a two-year risk education program to begin in June 2020. The program was expected to be implemented by the Armenian Red Cross Society and to target 35,000 residents of Armenia including: volunteers and instructors of the Armenian Red Cross Society, community leaders and representatives of the community administrations, teachers and students from target communities’ schools; women and children outside of the schools in those target areas, and herders and farmers.[34]

Victim assistance

Providers and activities

Victim assistance providers[35]

The CHDE, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs, runs the “Mine Victim’s Rehabilitation and Reintegration Program,” funded by the Armenian government.[36] The ARCS supported activities through the Gratsia International Rehabilitation Center in Yerevan. In 2020, some 860 persons with disabilities, five refugees, and 41 military personnel, including those wounded during the escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh, conflict were treated at the center. [37]

Persons with disabilities experienced discrimination in health care, social and psychological rehabilitation, education, transportation, communication, employment, social protection, cultural events, and use of the internet. Women with disabilities faced further discrimination, including in social acceptance and access to health and reproductive care, education, and employment.[38]

In 2015, the United States (US) awarded a grant of US$301,000 to the IFT Enhancing Human Security to support clearance efforts and build capacity of the Armenian Center for Humanitarian Demining and Expertise (CHDE).[1]

In the five-year period from 2011 to 2015, the US has been the sole donor to mine action activities in Armenia, with total contributions totaling some $2.7 million.

Summary of international contributions: 2011–2015[2]