Moldova
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
Five-Year Summary: State Party Moldova was among the first 30 ratifications to trigger the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010. It has reported existing legislation under national implementation measures. Moldova has participated in most of the convention’s meetings.
In its initial transparency report for the convention provided in January 2011, Moldova confirmed it has not produced or used cluster munitions. Moldova completed the destruction of a stockpile of 1,385 cluster munitions and 27,050 submunitions on 29 July 2010, two days before the convention’s entry into force. It is not retaining any live cluster munitions for research and training.
Policy
The Republic of Moldova signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified on 16 February 2010. It was among the first 30 ratifications to trigger the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010.
Moldova has reported its ratification legislation under national implementation measures and also states that the Criminal Code “envisages penal sanctions for the storage, purchase, selling and use of weapons and ammunitions.”[1]
Moldova submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 27 January 2011 and provided annual updated reports in 2012 and 2013 indicating no change.[2]
Moldova participated in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[3]
Moldova engages in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It participated in the convention’s Meetings of States Parties in 2010, 2011, 2012, and the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in San Jose, Costa Rica in September 2014. Moldova participated in the convention’s intersessional meetings in Geneva in 2012 and 2013, but did not attend the meetings held in 2014 or 2015.
Moldova voted in favor of two UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions in 2013 that condemned the use of cluster munitions in Syria.[4]
Moldova has yet to elaborate its views on several important issues relating to the interpretation and implementation of the convention, such as the prohibitions on transit, foreign stockpiling, assistance with prohibited acts in joint military operations, and investment in cluster munition production. In a 2011 statement, Moldova highlighted the importance of a “uniform understanding of those provisions that raise problems of interpretation, including on the interpretation of the relationship between Articles 1 and 21.”[5]
Moldova is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Use, production, and transfer
In 2009, Moldova stated, “The Republic of Moldova has never produced, used, nor does it plan to use, stockpile or transfer cluster munitions.”[6] In its 2011 Article 7 report, Moldova declared that it has no production facilities for antipersonnel landmines. Moldova also declared that it “did not use or abandon cluster munitions on the territory of other states.”[7] In 2001, Moldova reported the transfer of 860 9M27K rockets to Guinea during the previous year.[8]
Moldovan authorities have stated that they have no information about possible use, transfer, or stockpiling of cluster munitions by the military forces of the breakaway region of Transnistria or by Russian military forces still stationed there.[9] Moldovan authorities have repeatedly called for a fact-finding mission to be sent in Transnistria to gather information on stockpiled weapons and ensure their removal and destruction.[10] In its Article 7 report, Moldova stated that if cluster munitions were identified in the Transnistrian region, support and financial assistance could be needed to ensure implementation of Moldova’s stockpile destruction obligations under the convention.[11]
Stockpile destruction
Moldova inherited a stockpile of cluster munitions from the former Soviet Union.[12] In its initial Article 7 report, it declared a stockpile of 1,385 cluster munitions and 27,050 submunitions.[13] This included 473 9M27K Uragan 220mm surface-to-surface rockets containing a total of 14,190 9N210 fragmentation submunitions that were destroyed by the Moldovan National Army in 2006.[14]
When Moldova signed the convention in December 2008, it possessed 78 air-delivered cluster bombs produced by the Soviet Union from 1961–1987 and 834 3-O-13 152mm cluster munition artillery projectiles.[15]
Moldova completed the destruction of its stockpile of cluster munitions on 29 July 2010, two days before the convention’s entry into force.[16] Moldovan Army engineers carried out the stockpile destruction at the Bulboaca destruction site near Chisinau, using a combination of methods including dismantling, burning, and detonation.[17]
Retention
Moldova has stated that it will not acquire or retain any live cluster munitions for training and research purposes.[18] It has declared the retention of 19 submunitions that have been rendered free from explosives for training and display purposes.[19]
[1] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form A, 27 January 2011. In March 2010, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official indicated that Moldova believes existing laws are sufficient to sanction any violations of the convention. Interview with Dorin Panfil, Director, NATO and Political-Military Cooperation Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, 18 March 2010.
[2] There is no reporting period for the initial report, which is described as “initial,” while the April 2012 report is for the period from 30 April 2011 to 30 April 2012; and the April 2013 report is for calendar year 2012. As of 12 June 2015, Moldova had not provided the annual updated report due by 30 April 2013 and 2014.
[3] For details on Moldova’s cluster munition policy and practice through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 120–121.
[4] Moldova voted in favor of UNGA resolutions on the situation in Syria on 15 May and 18 December 2013.
[5] Statement of Moldova, Convention on Cluster Munitions Second Meeting of States Parties, Beirut, 13 September 2011.
[6] Letter from the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Moldova to the UN in Geneva, 2 March 2009.
[7] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Forms D, E, and I, 27 January 2011.
[8] Submission of the Republic of Moldova, UN Register of Conventional Arms, Report for Calendar Year 2000, 30 May 2001. Moldova reported that it possessed 11 220mm Uragan multi-barrel rocket launchers. Submission of the Republic of Moldova, UN Register of Conventional Arms Report for Calendar Year 2002, 1 July 2003. Moldova also reported the transfer of 13 multi-barrel rocket launchers to Yemen in 1994 but it is not known if this included rockets containing submunitions. Submission of the Republic of Moldova, UN Register of Conventional Arms, Report for Calendar Year 1994, 28 April 1995.
[9] Interview with Dorin Panfil, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, 18 March 2010; letter from Col. Iurie Dominic, Chief ad-interim of General Staff, National Army, 17 March 2010; and Convention on Cluster Munitions Article Report, Form B, 27 January 2011.
[10] Statement by Amb. Alexandru Cujba, UN General Assembly First Committee, New York, 12 October 2010.
[11] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 27 January 2011.
[12] Letter from the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Moldova to the UN in Geneva, 2 March 2009.
[13] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 27 January 2011. Previously, in June 2010, the stockpile prior to destruction was reported as comprising 1,385 cluster munitions containing a total of 27,330 submunitions, a difference of 280 submunitions. Presentation by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) and the Ministry of Defense, “Concept and Current Activities in the Self-Help Project of Cluster Munitions Stockpile Destruction,” Zagreb, 8 February 2010; and email from Col. Andrei Sarban, Commander Logistic Command, Deputy Chief of the Main Staff, National Army, Ministry of Defense, 23 June 2010. See ICBL, Cluster Munition Monitor 2010 (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada: October 2010), pp. 90–92.
[14] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 27 January 2011.
[15] It reported the following air-delivered cluster munitions: 24 RBK-250-275 AO-1SCh, 14 RBK-250 PTAB-2.5M, 14 RBK-500 AO-2.5RT, 8 RBK-500-255 PTAB-10.5 and 16 RBK-500-255 PTAB-2.5. Presentation by NPA and the Ministry of Defense, “Concept and Current Activities in the Self-Help Project of Cluster Munitions Stockpile Destruction,” Zagreb, 8 February 2010; and email from Col. Sarban, Ministry of Defense, 23 June 2010.
[16] Moldova announced the completion of its destruction during the convention’s First Meeting of States Parties in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010. Statement of Moldova, Convention on Cluster Munitions First Meeting of States Parties, Vientiane, 11 November 2010. Notes by the CMC.
[17] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 27 January 2011.
[18] Statement of Moldova, Convention on Cluster Munitions First Meeting of States Parties, Vientiane, 11 November 2011. Notes by the CMC.
[19] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Forms B and C, 27 January 2011.
Mine Ban Policy
Policy
The Republic of Moldova signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified on 8 September 2000, becoming a State Party on 1 March 2001. Moldova has not enacted any legal measures to implement the treaty domestically as it believes that the 2002 Criminal Code covers all aspects necessary for adequate implementation of the treaty.[1]
Moldova has attended some meetings of the treaty, most recently the Fourteenth Meeting of States Parties in 2015. Moldova did not attend the Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014.
In 2006, Moldova expressed its views on key issues of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2, and 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty, when it made strong statements in agreement with the positions of the ICBL and many States Parties.[2]
Moldova is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. Moldova is also party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Production, transfer, stockpiling, and mines retained
Moldova has stated that it has never produced, imported, or exported antipersonnel mines, but it inherited mine stocks from the Soviet Union.[3]
It destroyed its stockpile of 13,194 antipersonnel mines inherited from the Soviet Union (types PMN, PMN-2, MAI-75, OZM-72, MON-50, and MON-100) in 2002, as part of a destruction program managed by the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency.[4]
In 2002, Moldova declared it would retain 849 antipersonnel mines for training. It reported destroying a number of these during 2004, indicating that 249 were retained for training. In 2006, Moldova destroyed the remaining 249 antipersonnel mines.[5]
Transdniester Region
Since a 1992 military conflict, the Moldova government does not control the Transdniester region, which accounts for 11% of the territory of Moldova; the region declared independence on 2 September 1990 as the Pridnestrovie Moldavian Republic (Pridnestrovskaya Moldavskaya Respublika, PMR). It has not been recognized internationally. Both sides used landmines when fighting broke out between Moldova and the PMR in 1992.[6] PMR forces maintain control of the Transdniester region, while a July 1992 cease-fire agreement established a tripartite peacekeeping force comprised of Moldovan, Russian, and PMR units; negotiations to resolve the conflict continue. The Russian (formerly Soviet) 14th Army has been based in the Transdniester region of Moldova since 1956.
Since 2003, Moldova has continuously stated that the implementation of the convention is limited to a part of its national territory, as “the Government of the Republic of Moldova has no information concerning the implementation of the Convention in the Transnistrian Region of the Republic of Moldova currently controlled by an anti-constitutional regime of Tiraspol.” Additionally, “the Government of the Republic of Moldova also doesn't have any information concerning antipersonnel mines belonging to the Russian Federation that are presently stockpiled in the Transnistrian region.”[7]
[1] Interview with Dorin Panfil, Head, Division for Political-Military Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Chisinau, 31 March 2009; and interview with Emil Druc, Deputy Head, General Department for Multilateral Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Chisinau, 13 March 2007. See also, Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, 30 April 2006, which states “The Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova envisages penal sanctions for the storage, purchase, selling and use of weapons and ammunitions that also includes anti-personnel mines. Although there is not national legislation specifically related to the Convention, the existing one is sufficient to give effect to the Convention.”
[2] Statement of Moldova, “Statements on Articles 1, 2, and 3,” Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 12 May 2006.
[3] Statement by Vitalie Rusu, Head of Disarmament and Arms Control Section, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 6 February 2003.
[4] Types destroyed under this program included PMN, PMN-2 (Soviet origin), and MAI-75 (Romanian origin). Moldova’s reporting on its stockpiled mines, mines destroyed, and mines retained was inconsistent. See, Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 430–431.
[5] See, Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp. 349–350; Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 575; and Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 515.
[6] United States Department of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Background Note: Moldova (07-04), July 2004.
[7] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, paras. 10–11, 29 April 2004. Moldova has provided no updated information on the issue since 2004.
Mine Action
Contamination and Impact
Mines
Moldova believes that territory under its control is not mine-affected.[1] Moldova reported previously that it had completed the destruction of all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its control by August 2000.[2] Antipersonnel and antivehicle mines are occasionally found during clearance of explosive remnants of war (ERW) across the entire country.
The extent to which the breakaway region of Transnistria is mine-affected remains unclear. In its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2005, Moldova claimed that there were no mined areas containing antipersonnel mines on territory under its control, while acknowledging that it had no information on the situation in the breakaway region of Transnistria, which Moldova considers part of its territory.[3] Subsequent Article 7 reports have been marked “unchanged.”[4]
Cluster munition remnants
There is no evidence of cluster munition remnants on territory under the control of the government of Moldova. It is unclear whether the breakaway region of Transnistria is affected by cluster munition remnants, although there have been no reports of such contamination. Moldova became a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 1 August 2010. In its initial transparency report in accordance with Article 7 of the Convention, the section on cluster-munition-contaminated areas under its jurisdiction or control (Form F) was reported as “not applicable” and a note added to the effect that “The Republic of Moldova is not a CMC [Cluster Munition Contaminated] affected country.”[5]
Other explosive remnants of war
Moldova is affected by other ERW left over from World War II, as well as “some dumping from the former Soviet military bases.”[6] According to local press reports, ERW are said to be found two or three times a month in Transnistria. The most affected localities are said to be Bender, Parcani, and Slobozea.[7]
Mine Action Program
There is no national mine action authority or mine action center in Moldova. All demining in Moldova is the responsibility of the National Army.[8]
Land Release
Since completing major clearance operations in 2000, Moldova has primarily cleared ERW. While the number of detected and destroyed ERW is significant, only a very few mines have been found in territory under the control of the government of Moldova in recent years.[9]
Transnistria may be mine-affected. Local media in Transnistria occasionally report instances of significant quantities of ordnance, including mines, being found there. For example, in August 2008 it was reported that 510 antipersonnel mines dating back to World War II had been found near Bender,[10] and in September 2009 it was reported that 304 Soviet-era antivehicle mines had been found near Ribnitsa.[11] In the former conflict area along the Nistru river where there was fighting in 1990–1992, arms and ammunition are reportedly found on a regular basis; these are disposed of by sappers attached to the joint Russian/Moldovan/Transnistria peacekeeping force in the area.[12]
Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty
Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Moldova was required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2011. During the Intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2008, Moldova stated that in “carrying out in good faith the obligations which it assumed by the Ottawa Convention, the Republic of Moldova completed, inter alia, the destruction of all anti-personnel mines far ahead of the established deadlines under Articles 4 and 5.”[13]
According to Moldova, it is already in compliance with Article 5 since it already destroyed all antipersonnel mines in mined areas in the territory under its control. With regard to the Transnistria region, which Moldova considers part of its territory but which it does not currently control, Moldova claims that until de facto control by the central government is restored, it has no obligation in Transnistria.[14]
Further, in contrast to the position it has expressed previously, in 2008 an official from the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration declared that Moldova would need to request an extension to its Article 5 deadline.[15] In March 2009, however, an official from the same ministry contradicted this statement, stating that until the Moldovan government had restored its control over the territory of Transnistria, all discussions on this issue “would be irrelevant.”[16] The official repeated the statement in March 2010.[17] Moldova did not request an extension to its Article 5 deadline.
The Article 5 obligations, however, apply to all areas under a State Party’s jurisdiction as well as to areas under its control. Accordingly, the ICBL believes that should there remain any mined areas under Moldova’s jurisdiction but not its control, including in Transnistria, in order to be in compliance with the treaty, Moldova will need to have been granted an extension to its deadline.[18]
[1] Interview with Dorin Panfil, Head, NATO and Political-Military Cooperation Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, 18 March 2010; and letter from Col. Iurie Dominic, Chief ad-interim, General Staff of National Army, 17 March 2010.
[2] See, for example, Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form G.2, 8 April 2002; and Article 7 Report, para. 3, 6 May 2005.
[3] Article 7 Report, 30 April 2006.
[4] See, for example, Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2008), Form C.
[5] Convention on Cluster Munitions Initial Article 7 Report, Form F.
[6] See, for example, Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Protocol V Article 10 Reports, Form A, March 2010 and June 2009.
[7] See, for example, “Munitions discovered in Mereneshty,” Olvia Press, undated, www.olvia.idknet.com.
[8] See, for example, CCW Protocol V Article 10 Report (for the period 31 March 2011 to 31 March 2012), Form A.
[9] Letter from Col. Iurie Dominic, General Staff of National Army, 17 March 2010; and letter from Alexandru Oprea, Deputy Head, Emergency Situations and Civil Protection Service, 17 March 2010.
[10] “Personnel of the emergency response team of the Ministry of Internal Affairs discovered 510 antipersonnel landmines,” Olvia Press, 4 August 2008, www.olvia.idknet.com.
[11] “Antitank landmines have been found in Ribnitsa,” Olvia Press, 11 September 2009, www.olvia.idknet.com.
[12] Email from Kenneth Pickles, Political Military Mission Member, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Mission to Moldova, 11 February 2010.
[13] Statement of Moldova, “Universalization and the question of ‘Non-State Actors,’” Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 2 June 2008.
[14] Interview with Dorin Panfil, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Chisinau, 18 March 2010; and email from Victor Moraru, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Moldova to the UN in Geneva, 17 June 2008.
[15] Statement by Iurie Tabunicic, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Towards Global Coherence in Addressing the Problems caused by Landmines, Cluster Munitions, and Explosive Remnants of War, Druskininkai, Lithuania, 26–27 June 2008. Notes by the Monitor.
[16] Interview with Dorin Panfil, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Chisinau, 31 March 2009.
[17] Ibid., 18 March 2010.
[18] See, for example, Statement of ICBL, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 28 May 2009.