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

Country Summary

The Republic of Croatia is affected by landmines and, to a much lesser extent, explosive remnants of war (ERW), as a legacy of four years of conflict after the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Cluster munition remnants contamination was fully cleared in 2020.

Croatia has requested two extensions to its Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance deadline. Croatia’s current deadline to clear all known mined areas is 1 March 2026. Croatia has considerably reduced the number of hazardous areas—which previously affected 14 of its 21 counties, but affected only eight counties as of the end of 2020. Clearance of remaining contamination is challenging as much of it is in mountainous forested areas, where the terrain and conditions hamper demining work.

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Croatia had an obligation to clear all areas contaminated with cluster munition remnants by 1 August 2020. On 31 July 2020, Croatia reported that it had completed the clearance of all cluster munition contaminated areas under its jurisdiction and control, complying with its Article 4 obligations.[1] Between 2010 and 2020, Croatia reported the release of 5.3km² and destruction of more than 3,100 cluster munition remnants.[2]

The Civil Protection Directorate (CPD) has estimated that there were 2,009 mine/ERW casualties in Croatia between 1991 and the end of 2020, with 523 people killed.[3] Since 1998, and particularly after 2007, the annual number of mine/ERW victims in Croatia has significantly reduced.[4] Public awareness campaigns, and the marking of contaminated areas with warning signs, have contributed to reducing casualties. Croatia’s last recorded unexploded submunition casualties were in 2013.

Victim assistance services in Croatia function primarily with national funding but were not always available on an equal basis to all mine/ERW survivors. Social insurance covers most healthcare costs, yet employment opportunities and psychosocial support are not always adequate. Croatia needs stronger implementation of disability legislation. Since 2012, a decrease in victim assistance funding has led to a reduction in services provided by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The 2010–2014 Action Plan to Help Victims of Mines and Unexploded Ordnance has expired and has not yet been updated or replaced. A needs assessment survey of landmine survivors, as part of a four-year Swiss-Croatian cooperation program, was delayed but eventually started in 2020.

Treaty Status

Treaty status overview

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance deadline

Croatia has submitted two Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline extension requests: one in 2008 and one in 2018. Failure to meet past clearance targets was attributed primarily to insufficient funding, especially in 2010–2014 after the global economic crisis, but also due to overly ambitious targets on the release of forested areas, insufficient Croatian Mine Action Center (CROMAC) capacity to implement non-technical and technical survey, restriction of certain demining methods in national parks or “Natura 2000” protected areas for environmental reasons, and insufficient quality control capacity after the 2015 Law on Mine Action. From 2008–2017, 91.3km² of new mine contaminated area was also identified in Croatia.[5]

In its 2018 extension request, Croatia prioritized the remaining mined areas according to those that affect safety, restrict socio-economic development, and impact ecology. Croatia’s goal was to clear all areas intended for agriculture by the end of 2018, and to clear all known minefields by the end of 2024.[6] As of the end of 2020, 98.75% of land that remained contaminated with mines was forest areas, while 1.08% was agricultural land and 0.17% were areas such as swamps or rocky soils.[7]

Croatia has developed annual timelines for land release, which will provide a benchmark for it to report to States Parties about progress made in implementing its Article 5 commitments.[8]

While Croatia’s deadline for mine clearance is 1 March 2026, it foresees that survey and clearance operations will be completed by the end of 2025, leaving only administrative and paperwork issues to be settled in early 2026.[9]

Croatia reported that it was on track to meet its 2026 clearance deadline,[10] and that it has sufficient capacity to clear the remaining mined areas by 2026.[11] Croatia intends to use state and European Union (EU) funds, which it is confident that it will secure as planned.[12]

Management and Coordination

Mine action

Mine action management and coordination overview[13]

The CPD, within the Ministry of the Interior, is responsible for mine action operations in Croatia including information management, quality control, and planning. In March 2017, amendments to the “By-law on the Method of Conducting Demining Operations, Quality Control, General and Technical Survey, and Marking of Suspected Hazardous Areas” gave the Ministry of the Interior responsibility for quality assurance, supervision of commercial operations, and investigation of demining accidents. These roles were previously undertaken by CROMAC.[14]

Since 2019, CROMAC and the Government Office for Mine Action (GOMA) have been integrated within the Ministry of the Interior, forming a CPD department. This was seen as an important step by Croatia in forming an integrated and functioning civil protection system.[15]

Strategies and policies

The Ministry of the Interior drafted a new Act on Mine Action, and a corresponding National Mine Action Program and Work Plan for 2020–2026, which were yet to be adopted as of March 2021.[16]

Gender equality is specified in the Government of Croatia’s 2016–2020 term of office as a separate objective. In Croatia, gender policies are duly implemented within the framework of mine action, and in particular with regard to risk education activities.[17]

Legislation and standards

The Mine Action Law was adopted by Croatia’s parliament on 21 October 2015 and incorporates updates from the latest International Mine Action Standards (IMAS), specifically those related to the use of technical survey to confirm the presence of contamination.[18]

Information management

Information about hazardous areas is recorded on the Mine Information System, which is the basis for the production of maps of these areas disseminated to local authorities and the public.[19]

National and global goals

The prioritization of clearance has shifted from areas crucial to economic growth and development, to targeting areas used for agricultural production and environmental protection, such as national parks. Clearance activities until 2026 will also integrate environmental and economic preservation, rehabilitation, and development of forest areas.[20]

The Swiss-Croatian cooperation program, “Demining and Socio-economic Integration,” combines demining efforts with the socio-economic inclusion of mine/ERW survivors.[21]

Risk education management and coordination

Risk education management and coordination overview[22]

Coordination

The risk education department within CROMAC was transferred to the National Education Center for Civil Protection (NECCP), which operates under the CPD. The awareness-raising activities of the Department for Prevention, and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Counter Explosives Department of the Police Directorate, are also coordinated under the Ministry of the Interior.[23]

Risk education is coordinated at the regional level in Croatia through five NECCP area offices and 15 smaller branch offices.[24] Risk education activities follow an annual Mine Risk Education and Information Plan.[25]

National standards and guidelines

Risk education is integrated into Croatia’s National Mine Action Strategy. The 2020–2026 strategy was being developed as of March 2021. There were no specific national risk education standards.[26]

Evaluation of risk education activities is conducted annually. The CPD reports that the decline in casualties, particularly since 2007, indicates the effectiveness of risk education in Croatia.[27]

Victim assistance management and coordination

Victim assistance management and coordination overview[28]

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war; UXO=unexploded ordnance; N/R=not reported.

Laws and policies

The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in Croatia, including in accessing education, employment, healthcare, buildings, transportation, and other state services; yet it is not always effectively enforced, as enforcement measures are lacking.[29] Every employer with at least 20 employees is required by law to fulfill an employment quota of persons with disabilities and to provide appropriate working conditions.[30]

Impact

Contamination

Contamination (as of December 2020)[31]

Note: CHA=confirmed hazardous area; SHA=suspected hazardous area; ERW=explosive remnants of war

* The total CHA includes 30.14km²under the control of the Ministry of Defence.

Croatia is affected by mines and, to a much lesser extent, ERW, as a legacy of four years of armed conflict after the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Croatia’s cluster munition remnants contamination was reported to have been fully cleared by 31 July 2020.

As of the end of 2020, eight of Croatia’s 21 counties were still contaminated by mines.[32] In those eight counties, 98.75% of remaining contamination was located in forest areas, while 1.08% was on agricultural land and 0.17% was in areas such as swamps or rocky soils.[33] Newly discovered contamination was identified in four counties in 2020–2021, covering 310,931m².[34]

Mine contamination prevents safe use of land for livestock and forestry-related activities. There is comprehensive hazard marking of mined areas, with at least 11,454 warning signs in place.[35]

Casualties

Casualties overview[36]

Casualties in 2020: details

One antipersonnel mine casualty was recorded in Croatia in 2020, in Karlovac county.

Three mine/ERW casualties were recorded in Croatia in 2019, while there were no casualties in 2018 or 2017.[37] Croatia reported that 2017 was the first year since it became contaminated with mines/ERW in the 1990s that no new casualties were recorded. The last child antipersonnel mine casualty in Croatia was reported in 2004.[38]

Since 1998, and particularly from 2007 onward, the number of mine/ERW victims in Croatia has reduced significantly, at least in part due to risk education programs.[39]

Based on CROMAC data, the Monitor has recorded 1,991 mine/ERW casualties in Croatia from 1991 up to the end of 2020, with 515 people killed and 1,445 injured. In 31 cases, the survival outcome was unknown. The CPD estimated that there have been 2,009 mine/ERW casualties in Croatia in total between 1991 and the end of 2020, with 523 killed. Croatia reported no significant challenges in collecting casualty data. A mine victim survey was being conducted as part of the Demining and Socio-economic Integration Project, which should provide a more accurate figure.[40]

Cluster munition remnant casualties

There have been at least 241 cluster munition remnant casualties in Croatia. The last of those were reported in September 2013, when three members of the Demining Battalion, within the Croatian Army’s Engineering Regiment, were involved in an accident in which one deminer was killed and two were injured. The accident occurred as the military deminers were clearing scattered ordnance, including submunitions, at the site of an ammunition storage explosion in Pađene.[41] From 1993–2013, 35 casualties from unexploded submunitions were reported; while from 1993–1995, at least 206 casualties occurred during cluster munition strikes in Croatia.[42]

Addressing the Impact

Mine action

Operators and service providers

The Demining Battalion of the Croatian Army’s Engineering Regiment is responsible for clearing military facilities, and the CPD conducts non-technical and technical survey of contaminated areas. In addition, 42 accredited commercial demining companies operate in Croatia.

As a result of conditions related to earlier World Bank funding, Croatia introduced a market model for its demining operations in 1998, and almost all civil clearance is conducted by local companies competing for tenders. NGOs are barred from competing for tenders.[43] In total, 42 companies were involved in demining in 2020.[44] These companies were reported to be certified, and are competent to perform manual and mechanical demining methods, including the use of mine detection dogs.[45]

Clearance

Land release overview[46]

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

* In 2016, a further 0.1km² of mixed landmine and cluster munition contamination in Croatia was cleared.

Land release

Landmines

In 1996, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) estimated that more than 13,000km² was potentially contaminated by mines in Croatia.

In 2003–2004, Croatia’s entire territory was surveyed, resulting in the identification of 1,174km² of hazardous areas. Re-survey was undertaken during 2005 and 2006, resulting in the reduction of the hazardous areas to a total of 1,044km² at the beginning of 2007.

Areas for priority clearance are determined by the national authorities, based on the list of priorities in each municipality, and polygons issued by counties. Priorities are determined based on safety, socio-economic, and environmental considerations. Operators do not take part in prioritization.[47]

From 2016–2020, more than 35km² of land previously suspected to be contaminated was released through survey.[48] As of the end of 2020, Croatia had reduced the total size of hazardous areas to 279.55km² through demining and survey.

Considering its current clearance capacity and the type of terrain in remaining mined areas, in 2018 Croatia expected to release approximately 56km² per year over its seven-year extension period, to clear the remaining 387.3km².[49] By comparison, in the seven-year period 2011–2017, a total of 440km² was released (238km² through clearance and 202km² though survey), including a significant amount of land that was cancelled in 2011–2015.[50] Survey is planned to take place between 2019 and 2025, and any resulting clearance is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the shutdown of all survey and clearance activities in Croatia from March–May 2020, 49.66km² was reported cleared in 2020. Of this total, 49.24km² was cleared by operators working under the direction of the CPD, and 0.42km² was cleared by the Croatian Army. In addition, 11.39km² was released through technical and non-technical survey.[51]

Cluster munition remnants

Croatia finished clearance of all known cluster munition contaminated areas under its jurisdiction and control in July 2020, before its deadline of 1 August 2020. The declaration of compliance was finalized as of 31 July 2020.[52]

In 2020, the remaining 33,000m² of land contaminated by cluster munition remnants was released through clearance.[53]

Police

As part of the “Fewer Arms, Fewer Tragedies” campaign, the Croatian Police, under the Ministry of the Interior, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), informs civilians about the dangers of unexploded weapons and encourages them to hand in all forms of ERW without any legal penalties or repercussions. The ordnance is then transferred to Croatian military facilities and destroyed.[54] In 2020, among a large arsenal of small arms and light weapons, the Ministry of the Interior collected 201 antipersonnel mines, 34 antivehicle mines, and 441,495 pieces of unexploded ordnance (UXO), including cluster munition remnants.[55]

Borders

Hazardous areas have been reported along Croatia’s borders with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Hungary, and Serbia. Croatia has reported cooperation and information exchange with BiH related to hazardous areas along the border.[56]

Deminer safety

In 1998, 15 deminers were involved in mine/ERW accidents in Croatia. This number has decreased over the years, which is attributed to the increased use of machinery, better quality metal detectors and equipment, and more rigorous quality assurance processes.[57]

Since 1996, a total of 131 deminers have been involved in accidents in Croatia, of which 38 were killed.[58] The Act on Mine Action details the protection measures for deminers during operations, and the criminal and misdemeanor liabilities in the case of non-compliance.[59]

Residual hazards

Croatia reports that an important step was taken in 2019 to address residual contamination once its treaty obligations have been met, by integrating CROMAC within the Ministry of the Interior.

Residual risk will be handled by explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams of the General Police Directorate, and by the CPD.[60] The Ministry of the Interior will be the focal point for residual contamination issues, through its management of the Mine Information System database.[61]

Risk education

Risk education operators overview[62]

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Beneficiary numbers

In 2020, around 4,600 beneficiaries received risk education, through 47 sessions held across six counties. The sessions targeted schoolchildren, as well as local communities living near hazardous areas. The number of beneficiaries was far lower in 2020 than in 2019, when more than 20,000 beneficiaries were reached, due to restrictions in place to confront the COVID-19 pandemic.[63]

Implementation

Target groups

In order to reach a greater number of people, CROMAC has developed a mobile phone application that warns the user if they are approaching or entering a suspected hazardous area. The application includes a “call for help” option, and an option to report the discovery of ordnance. Through a database of known mine/ERW in Croatia, the application also serves as a risk education tool.[64]

Risk education is prioritized according to casualty and contamination data, and focuses on the most heavily contaminated areas. Risk education in Croatia is age-sensitive, and is tailored according to population movements, occupations, coping mechanisms, and risk behavior.[65]

Although risk education is not integrated into the school curriculum in Croatia, schoolchildren and college students living in affected counties are the primary target.[66] The mountain rescue service, firefighters, forestry workers, hunters, hikers, and farmers also received tailored risk education.[67]

Through the “Fewer Arms, Fewer Tragedies” campaign, citizens were informed about the dangers of unexploded weapons and encouraged to surrender any ERW left over from the conflict.[68]

Marking

Croatia marks suspected hazardous areas and logs them in its Mine Information System. Maps of hazardous areas are shared with local authorities, the police, and with the public through the Mine Information System web portal.[69]

Major developments in 2020

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, in-person risk education ceased in 2020. During the pandemic, risk education was provided online and through the distribution of printed leaflets and brochures.[70]

The Croatian Red Cross published a risk education handbook in 2020.[71]

Victim assistance

Victim assistance operators overview[72]

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Major Developments in 2020

A draft law on civilian war victims intends to create a specific status for civilians who acquired a disability due to the war, including disabilities caused by mines/ERW left behind after the conflict. This law will ensure that civilian war victims, including civilian victims of mines/ERW and their families, have the same rights as war veterans.[73]

Needs assessment

Data on 423 mine victims, and 473 family members of mine victims, was collected in 2020 as part of the four-year Demining and Socio-Economic Integration Project, funded by Switzerland. The data will be recorded in a comprehensive mine/ERW victim database. The project will also include the provision of training and other services aiming to increase the employability of victims.[74]

Medical care and rehabilitation

All mine/ERW survivors in Croatia were entitled to healthcare and social protection. The Croatian Institute for Health Insurance provides healthcare and covers the cost of basic orthopedic devices for mine/ERW survivors.[75] There are 21 institutes for emergency healthcare across Croatia,[76] while all general and clinical hospitals in the country have surgical capacity.[77] Croatian Army helicopters are deployed when urgent transport of patients to a medical facility is required.[78]

The Ombudsman for Persons with Disabilities noted the complexity and length of the procedure for obtaining orthopedic aids.[79]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

There are interdisciplinary psychosocial centers in all 21 counties of Croatia. Four of these centers are regional facilities providing psychological services.[80]