Summary: Kosovo cannot accede to, or attend meetings of, the Convention on Cluster Munitions due to its political status. Its officials have expressed support for the convention’s objectives.

Background

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, but its international status is disputed.[1] Kosovo is not able to become a UN member state and thus is not eligible to adhere formally to international instruments such as the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Policy

Kosovo last made a statement regarding the ban on cluster munitions in March 2010 when a spokesperson for the self-declared Republic of Kosovo told the Monitor, “In principle, as a country that has been through war, Kosovo supports the initiatives to reduce and ban arms, including the policy to ban cluster ammunition.” He stated that Kosovo does not possess any cluster munitions.[2]

Forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia used cluster munitions during the 1998–1999 conflict in Kosovo.[3] Additionally, aircraft from the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the United States dropped cluster bombs in Kosovo during the 1999 NATO air campaign.[4]

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

Country Summary

Antipersonnel mines and antivehicle mines were laid during the Kosovo conflict in 1998–1999. These included both blast and fragmentation antipersonnel mines, including bounding fragmentation mines, as well as blast antivehicle mines.[1] Many of these mines contained minimal metal content and were laid in defensive, protective, as well as nuisance minefields.[2] Kosovo’s cluster munition contamination is a consequence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Operation Allied Force involving cluster munition attacks in at least 333 locations.[3]

A survey completed in 2013 by the Kosovo Mine Action Centre (KMAC) and The HALO Trust identified 130 confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs) covering 10.36km² of land.[4] In 2018, a socioeconomic baseline assessment of the impact of explosive remnants of war (ERW) on affected communities was completed. This resulted in a framework for prioritizing clearance of remaining contamination, which has been adopted by KMAC and has been used to shape Kosovo’s Multiyear Strategic Plan 2019–2024.[5]

Kosovo reported that it expects to clear all known hazardous areas by the end of 2024.[6]

Risk education is implemented in primary schools by the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF).

There is no victim assistance program in Kosovo, but the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare is responsible for disability rights. While Kosovo has a Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2013–2023, implementation needs to be strengthened, particularly for those from marginalized minority groups.

Treaty status

The political status of Kosovo is disputed. It has no official representation in the United Nations (UN), which prevents formal accession to the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Management and coordination

Mine Action management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination overview

Strategies and policies

In 2018 a socioeconomic baseline assessment of the impact of ERW on affected communities was completed by KMAC with the support of The HALO Trust. This assessment also examined the extent to which mine action aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The assessment forms the foundation of Kosovo’s Mine Action Multiyear Strategic Plan 2019–2024, which contains a framework for prioritizing clearance of remaining contaminated areas.[7]

Legislation and standards

Kosovo has national mine action standards in place, which are said to conform to the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).[8]

Information management

KMAC uses the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA). KMAC categorizes each task in the national IMSMA database as high, medium, or low priority based on four main criteria, including the reduction of risk, the reduction of poverty, the promotion of development priorities, and the level of urgency.[9]

Victim assistance management and coordination

There is no victim assistance program in Kosovo.

Victim assistance management and coordination overview

Laws and policies

Article 24 of the Constitution of Kosovo explicitly prohibits discrimination based upon “disability,” while Article 51 states that “basic social insurance related to...disability shall be regulated by law.”

Kosovo has several laws concerning persons with disabilities, such as Law No.2003/23 on Disability Pensions which provides social protection for persons unable to provide for themselves due to disability. However, although existing legislation follows the most recent international standards, authorities are not always effectively implementing it.

A comprehensive new law on persons with disabilities had not yet been adopted as of December 2020.[10]

Impact

Contamination

Contamination overview (as of December 2019)[11]

Note: CHA=Confirmed Hazardous Area.

* This includes: 0.93km² over 31 areas comprising landmine contamination, and 0.42km² over four areas, comprising of mixed mines and cluster munitions.

Landmine contamination

Kosovo has 35 mine affected areas totaling 1.35km². KMAC considers Kosovo’s existing antipersonnel mine baseline survey to be correct, though it acknowledges that there is a possibility of additional contaminated areas being added if reported by members of the public.[12] The multitude of actors engaged in laying mines in Kosovo during the war resulted in locations of minefields laid by actors other than the Yugoslav Army remaining unknown prior to survey.

The landmines most commonly used in Kosovo were PMA-2 and PMA-3 antipersonnel blast mines, PMR-2A bounding fragmentation mines, and TMA-3 antivehicle mines. The PMA series antipersonnel mines and the TMA-3 antivehicle mine are all minimal metal content, thus making them harder to detect.

Cluster munition remnant contamination

The majority of cluster bombs dropped on Kosovo were BL-755s and CBU-87Bs. In addition, a smaller number of Rockeye IIs were also used.[13]

During 2019, an additional CHA of 0.06km² was added to KMAC’s database. At the end of 2019, KMAC reported a total of 45 CHAs affected by cluster munition remnants remaining, with KMAC and NPA planning to conduct a technical survey of 21 cluster munition remnants-contaminated tasks in the northern municipalities in 2020.[14]

ERW contamination

ERW remain an ongoing problem in Kosovo. The true extent of contamination is unknown. ERW was the sole cause of casualties in Kosovo during 2019.[15]

Casualties

Casualties overview[16]

* Under 18 years old.

Casualties in 2019—details

KMAC reported that five people were injured by ERW (hand grenades) in 2019. No casualties of antipersonnel mines or cluster munition remnants were recorded in 2019. No casualties were recorded in 2018.[17]

Addressing the impact

Mine Action

Operators and service providers

Clearance operators

Clearance

Land release overview[18]

Note: UXO=unexploded ordnance.

Land release: landmines

A total of 0.46km² of land previously contaminated by landmines was released during 2019.[19]

Land release: cluster munition remnants

A total of 1.26km² of land previously contaminated by cluster munitions was released during 2019.[20]

In 2019, the United States (US) pledged US$5 million to clear cluster munition remnants and ERW over 2020–2023, with the expectation that at least 4.2km² would be released. The clearance was to be undertaken by The HALO Trust and NPA with support from KMAC.[21]

The Kosovo government funds national clearance actors KMAC and the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF). In 2019, it contributed €990,000 (US$1.1 million) for mine and cluster munition remnants clearance.[22]

Risk Education

Operators and service providers

The KSF is the sole actor delivering risk education in Kosovo.

Risk education operators

Beneficiary numbers

The KSF reached a total of 2,500 children in primary schools in 2019.[23]

Implementation: target groups

The KSF targets primary school children as the sole beneficiaries of its risk education program.[24]

Victim Assistance

Victim assistance providers and activities

Health and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities are deemed insufficient in Kosovo. Physical access to public institutions remained a challenge. Increased financial support for community-based social and health services were needed, as were increased efforts to effectively integrate persons with disabilities into the educational system.[25]

The Ministry of Social Welfare is responsible for victim assistance programs. No specific victim assistance activities were reported in Kosovo, although disability rights activities are implemented by national non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Little People of Kosova and HANDIKOS.[26]

Kosovo needs to improve the integration of persons with disabilities through better implementation of its 2013–2023 Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, particularly if those with persons are also part of a marginalized minority group such as the Roma, Ashkali, or Egyptian community.[27] In its 2017–2021 Strategy for Inclusion of Roma and Ashkali Communities in the Kosovo Society, the Kosovan government recognizes that lack of registration of members of these communities—in terms of provision of national identification documents—is a significant obstacle to their access to health services.[28]

Background

The status of Kosovo is disputed. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. As of October 2019, the declaration of independence had been recognized by 100 states. However, Serbia considers the declaration illegal and still views Kosovo as its southern territory. Kosovo has not been able to become a UN member state and so is not eligible to adhere formally to international instruments such as the Mine Ban Treaty.

Policy

A spokesperson for the self-declared Republic of Kosovo told the Monitor in March 2010 that Kosovo strongly supports a policy of banning antipersonnel mines and other explosive and deadly devices. The spokesperson stated that there has been no initiative in the Kosovo Assembly to draft a law banning mines, but this did not preclude the possibility of such a law in the future.[1]

The spokesperson said that Kosovo does not possess antipersonnel mines.[2] Some possession and trafficking of mines by criminal groups has been reported in the media, but not since 2010.[3]

In 2019, three donors contributed a total of US$480,000 to mine action in Kosovo; half the level of international assistance provided in 2018.[1]

International contributions: 2019[2]

Note: N/A=not applicable. N/R=not reported.

In the five-year period from 2015–2019, international assistance to mine action in Kosovo totaled almost $2.5 million. No annual total has exceeded more than $1 million since 2012.

Summary of contributions: 2015–2019[3]