Five-Year Review: State Party FYR Macedonia was among the first 30 ratifications to trigger the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010. It views existing legislation as sufficient to enforce its implementation of the convention. FYR Macedonia has participated in all of the convention’s meetings and has elaborated its views on several important issues concerning its interpretation and implementation of the convention.

In its initial transparency report for the convention provided in 2011, FYR Macedonia confirmed it has never produced cluster munitions. FYR Macedonia completed the destruction of a stockpile of 988 cluster munitions and 39,980 submunitions on 25 October 2013. It is not retaining any cluster munitions for training or research

Policy

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYR Macedonia) signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified on 8 October 2009. It was among the first 30 ratifications to trigger the convention’s entry into force on 1 August 2010.

FYR Macedonia has cited its ratification legislation under national implementation measures in its transparency reports.[1] It has stated in accordance with the Constitution, the Convention on Cluster Munitions became “an integral part of our domestic legislation” after ratification.[2]

FYR Macedonia submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 9 September 2011 and has provided updated reports ever since, most recently on 27 April 2015.[3]

FYR Macedonia participated in the Oslo Process that produced the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[4]

It has continued to actively engage in the work of the convention since 2008. FYR Macedonia has participated in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention, including the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in San José, Costa Rica in September 2014. It has attended all of the convention’s intersessional meetings in Geneva, most recently in June 2015. FYR Macedonia has participated in regional meetings on the convention and attended a mine action symposium in Biograd, Croatia on 27–29 April 2015, which included discussion on cluster munitions.

FYR Macedonia voted in favor of four Human Rights Council resolutions in 2014 and 2015 condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently on 2 July 2015.[5] It has also voted in favor of UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, including Resolution 69/189 on 18 December 2014, which expressed “outrage” at the continued use.[6]

FYR Macedonia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Interpretative issues

During the negotiations of the convention, FYR Macedonia supported the inclusion of provisions on “interoperability” (joint military operations with states not party that may use cluster munitions), but said this was not an excuse for countries to continue to use, produce, and transfer cluster munitions.[7] In 2011, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Monitor that the provisions on interoperability were of particular importance to FYR Macedonia as a direct participant in international military operations. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FYR Macedonia will warn international military forces that it does not accept the use of cluster munitions in operations that it participates in.[8]

In 2011, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that in the event of the deployment of foreign military forces on the territory of FYR Macedonia, the government will inform them that it will not be possible to stockpile cluster munitions in FYR Macedonia.[9] In 2010, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told the Monitor that FYR Macedonia prohibits the transit of cluster munitions across its national territory.[10]

FYR Macedonia has yet to elaborate its views on the prohibition on investment in cluster munition production, another important issue for the interpretation and implementation of the convention.

Use, production, and transfer

FYR Macedonia reports that it has never produced cluster munitions.[11] FYR Macedonia has stated it has not used cluster munitions.[12]

Stockpile destruction

After initially reporting that it did not stockpile cluster munitions, FYR Macedonia in September 2011 announced the discovery of a stockpile of cluster munitions at a military storage site.[13] It subsequently reported a stockpile of 1,000 M93 120mm bombs and 40,376 submunitions of two kinds (23,000 KB-2 submunitions and 17,376 AO-2.5RT submunitions contained in BKF cartridges).[14]

Article 3 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions required that FYR Macedonia destroy all stockpiled cluster munitions under its jurisdiction and control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 August 2018.

FYR Macedonia destroyed the last of its stockpile of cluster munitions at a munitions disposal site in Krivolak on 25 October 2013, years in advance of the deadline.[15] A total of 988 M93 120mm bombs and 1,438 AO 2.5 PT shipping containers containing 39,980 submunitions (22,724 KB-2 and 17,256 AO-2.5 RT submunitions) were disassembled and destroyed.[16]

The stockpile was destroyed by the Ministry of Defence in cooperation with Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) over a nine-month project beginning in February 2013 with financial support provided by the Ministry of Defence and the governments of Germany and Norway.[17] The destruction process involved delaboration (disassembly) at the Erebrino military site and physical destruction through open burning and detonation at the Krivolak training area. FYR Macedonia reported that the destruction was performed in a way “not endangering the environment and to minimize the risk of contamination.”[18] In a presentation to the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2013, FYR Macedonia described the “self-help” process using an ammunition-destruction style of stockpile destruction, known as “SHADOW,” and offered to share its experience with other countries.[19]

FYR Macedonia is not retaining any cluster munitions for training or research purposes.[20]

Policy

North Macedonia (previously the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 9 September 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 March 1999. While it has not enacted new national implementation legislation, it has reported that prohibited activities are covered by existing criminal law.

North Macedonia has attended some meetings of the treaty, most recently the Fourteenth Meeting of States Parties in 2015. North Macedonia did not attend the Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014.

It was not present for the vote on UN General Assembly Resolution 73/61 on 5 December 2018, which promoted implementation of the convention.[1]

North Macedonia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and its Amended Protocol II on landmines and Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. It is also party to the convention on Cluster Munitions.

Production, transfer, stockpiling, and retention

North Macedonia has stated that it never produced or exported antipersonnel mines.[2] It completed destruction of its stockpile of 38,921 antipersonnel mines on 20 February 2003, just ahead of the deadline mandated by the treaty. On 10 July 2006, FYR Macedonia destroyed the 4,000 antipersonnel mines that it had been retaining for research and training.[3]

In May 2011, FYR Macedonian army specialists discovered a small stockpile consisting of eight containers containing a total of 1,248 PFM-1S antipersonnel mines during efforts to determine what munitions needed to be destroyed in accordance with FYR Macedonia’s obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. On 10 May 2011, the government of FYR Macedonia adopted Decision No. 48/3 which tasked the Ministry of Defense to destroy the munitions. At the request of the Ministry of Defense, the Geneva Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) visited the storage site to provide technical assistance in determining the most appropriate method of destruction.[4]

On 10 May 2012, Macedonian army specialists in cooperation with the GICHD completed the destruction of the 1,248 newly discovered mines during destruction activities near Skopje.[5]