This article outlines the demining steps taken by the United Nations and national authorities following Bosnia and Herzegovina’s war in the 1990s. The author further explores the shortcomings and successes of the demining projects and laws, with attention to preparations for the state’s next decade of mine action

Grujic, Zoran

English

James Madison University

Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction Volume 14 Issue 3 The Journal of ERW and Mine Action Article 13 October 2010 Bosnia and Herzegovina Demining 15 Years Later Zoran Grujic Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Centre (BHMAC) Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal  Part of the Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, and the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons Recommended Citation Grujic, Zoran (2010) "Bosnia and Herzegovina Demining 15 Years Later," The Journal of ERW and Mine Action : Vol. 14 : Iss. 3 , Article 13. Available at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol14/iss3/13 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction by an authorized editor of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact dc_admin@jmu.edu. 40         special report | the journal of erW and mine action | fall 2010 | 14.3 14.3 | fall 2010 | the journal of erW and mine action | special report         41Bosnia and Herzegovina    Demining 15 Years Laterby Zoran Grujić [ Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Information System ]This article outlines the demining steps taken by the United Nations and national au-thorities following the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s. The author further explores the shortcomings and successes of the demining projects and laws, with at-tention to preparations for the state’s next decade of mine action.In 1995, the Dayton Agreement put an end to three-and-a-half years of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) following the dis-solution of Yugoslavia. The first minefields in BiH were placed in late 1991 across the bor-der with Croatia in the north. At that time, the United Nations Protection Force1 was de-ploying in the country. Later, with a U.N.-insti-tuted no-fly zone,2 the Implementation Force3 helped significantly reduce pollution from air-craft submunitions. According to the Dayton Agreement (An-nex 1-a), former warring factions were obliged to submit war documentation to the Imple-mentation Force under the code name Op-eration Joint Endeavour. Initial information reported 16,500 minefields and enabled IFOR to begin clearance.As it was too complicated, logistically and politically, to involve the existing three armies—ABiH (Bosniac), HVO (Bosnian Croat Army) and VRS (Bosnian Serb Army)—in demining, the Dayton Agreement tasked local armies to remove all of the minefields within their area of responsibility, but results failed to assure that the land could be used safely afterward. Getting into the GameFollowing the conflict’s end, BiH had no re-sources to begin the arduous task of clearance. In January 1996, the Council of Ministers of BiH requested the assistance of the United Nations to start demining activities. As a result, during the same year, the United Nations Mine Action Centre was founded. The BiH demining project started in 1996 with the center taking responsi-a deminer in action.all Photos couresy of BhMacAnother part of the initial demining ef-forts was instituting mine awareness. Risk ed-ucation started as a joint venture between the International Committee of the Red Cross, UNMAC and UNICEF. The initial programs’ results were signifi-cant. The rate of more than 50 mine accidents per month in 1995 was reduced to fewer than 30 in 1998. BiH’s problem was that all of the available procedures at the time had been de-veloped for sandy areas such as Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf. In response to its unique situation, BiH modified procedures, shifting from a “retrace your footsteps” to a seven-step procedure, with the primary aim to avoid en-tering a dangerous zone. This procedure was later used worldwide. Close to the end of the U.N. demining pe-riod (August 1996–July 1998) in BiH, UNMAC had five regional offices in Tuzla, Banja Luka, Mostar, Pale and Bihac, and was employing close to 40 trained, local mine-action center staff to conduct mine-action activities on their own. UNMAC also had four fully equipped teams capable of demining approximately six square kilometers (2.3 square miles) per year. a deminer begins activities in a new lane.bility for mine-action coordination in July 1998. The following three “chapters” detail the U.N.-, in-ternational community- and state-led projects in BiH demining. Chapter One: U.N.-led ProjectThe United Nations Mine Action Center was established in Sarajevo in May 1996. RONCO, an American contracting company, was awarded a bid to equip, staff, train and start demining activi-ties. Its first task was to assess the problem. Some 16,600 minefield records were entered into a database. At that time, mine-action centers in Cambodia and Afghanistan had database sys-tems, but they were custom-tailored to suit their own needs. BiH’s situation was different: a small area dense with contamination. In the early days, the BiH demining effort was a U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Opera-tions program, and all activities were targeted to-ward establishing a mine-action-center structure. Nevertheless, the need for action was pressing as the landmine incident rate reached nearly 50 per month. Reporting procedures were still in their development phase, and demining reports from this time had to be resurveyed. 1Grujic: Bosnia and Herzegovina Demining 15 Years LaterPublished by JMU Scholarly Commons, 201042         special report | the journal of erW and mine action | fall 2010 | 14.3 14.3 | fall 2010 | the journal of erW and mine action | special report         43Information systems successfully followed activities, and maps were produced accurately depicting minefields. The program was slowly moving toward chapter two.Chapter Two: State/International  Community-led ProjectOn 31 July 1998, UNMAC was transferred to BiH authorities. To achieve this, structur-al changes had to be made. Project financing for demining operations was conducted most-ly through the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victim Assistance and the United Nations Development Programme. The staff was increased to 63 local staff mem-bers and approximately 20 international advi-sors and consultants. The tripartite structure required strong co-ordination, which was lacking because resourc-es were not sufficient to support all demining activities. With a changed mandate, it was illog-ical for the MAC to maintain its own demining team, so these teams were reassigned to survey and quality-control tasks. A number of the de-miners, wishing to remain active with clear-ance, joined one of the three nongovernmental organizations that were established during this time—Pale’s Stop Mines, Sarajevo’s BH Demin-ing and Mostar’s Pro Vita. Further, to improve better territorial coverage, the regional offices in Sarajevo and Travnik opened. Information systems were refined and map-ping standards were established, increasing the MAC’s effectiveness. An emphasis was placed a deminer uses a metal detector in preparation for technical survey.on planning and coordination among the mem-bers of the Mine Awareness Working Group. As time passed, it became increasingly obvi-ous that the tripartite structure could not achieve the maximum efficiency. In February 2002, the state parliament adopted the first demining law, moving BiH demining to chapter three.Chapter Three: State-led ProjectBiH took responsibility for enacting the demining law and appointed the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Demining Commis-sion to be the national authority responsible for instituting the law. BHMAC's role was to coordinate and plan BiH mine-action activi-ties, including establishing a mine-detection dog center and conducting systematic land-mine impact surveys. With the new demining law, the former tripartite structure unified and former entity offices became operational offic-es within their territories. While UNDP origi-nally covered BHMAC’s operational costs, BiH eventually assumed responsibility for the costs, and donor countries continued to send funds through ITF.BHMAC decided to use Technical Survey to release demined areas rather than focusing solely on the complete clearance of demined areas; this resulted in an increase in produc-tivity. Rather than clearing 10 square kilome-ters (3.9 square miles) per year, figures went up to 150 square kilometers (57.9 square miles) cleared in 2009. Also, with the exception of 2008, there has been a decrease in landmine accidents. Estimated annual productivity has grown to 35–40 square kilometers (13.5–15.4 square miles) for area clearance and Technical Survey and 80 square kilometers (30.9 square miles) for General Survey area. The Way ForwardBHMAC has begun to revise the current demining law and create new legal documents that would enable greater involvement of local authorities in mine action. Having recognized the need to plan the next decade of mine action, the Council of Ministers evaluated the mine-action strategies employed from 2005–09 and drafted a new strategic document for 2009–19. With the new strategy, at the 9th Meeting of the States Parties of the Mine Ban Treaty, BiH sub-mitted an application for an extension to clear landmines; the extension was approved. With the adoption of the first demining law, BiH accepted responsibility for mine action and developed standard operating procedures and quality assurance procedures for mine-risk education. These actions enabled strict qual-ity control and allowed MRE field work to be evaluated. The law’s creation also resulted in an increase in mine-safe areas and a continual re-duction (with the exception of 2008) in land-mine incidents.   see endnotes page 81Zoran  Grujić has worked in mine action since 1996 when he became Data Management Offi-cer of the UNMAC for BiH. He is the founder and head program designer of the BiH Mine Action Information System. From 1998 to 2002 Grujić was Director of Information at BHMAC. Current-ly, he is the Chief of Information Technology at the BHMAC. He holds a Master of Science in me-chanical engineering, and is completing a post-graduate thesis in strategic management at the European Center for Peace and Development. Zoran GrujićChief ITBosnia and Herzegovina Mine     Action Center (BHMAC)Tvornika  Sarajevo 371000 / Bosnia and HerzegovinaTel: +387 33 253 858Fax: + 387 33 464 565E-mail: zoran_g@bhmac.orgWebsite: http://www.bhmac.org2Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Vol. 14, Iss. 3 [2010], Art. 13https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol14/iss3/13

Bosnia and Herzegovina Demining 15 Years Later

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Bosnia and Herzegovina Demining 15 Years Later

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