OSCE/FSC: 2009 U.S. SUBMISSION ON ANTI-PERSONNEL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 STATE 052978

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OSCE PARM PREL
SUBJECT: OSCE/FSC: 2009 U.S. SUBMISSION ON ANTI-PERSONNEL
LANDMINES


1. (U) This is an action request.


2. (U) In 2004 the Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC)
agreed on FSC.DEC/7/04 on "Updating the OSCE Questionnaire on
Anti-Personnel Mines and Explosive Remnants of War," which
requested all participating States to submit their
questionnaire responses to other participating States and the
OSCE Conflict Prevention Center (CPC) by May 31 each year
beginning in 2005. In accordance with this decision,
Washington requests that Mission provide the following
submission to the OSCE in the appropriate format. Please
note that there is an accompanying report, "Protocol on
Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines,
Booby-Traps, and Other Devices," also known as the 2008
Amended Protocol II report, which should be submitted along
with the questionnaire responses.

--Begin Submission--


2009 Submission of the United States of America for the OSCE
Questionnaire on Anti-Personnel Mines

Part I


1. Is your country a State Party to the 1996 Amended Protocol
II on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines,
Booby-Traps and Other Devices annexed to the 1980 Convention
on Conventional Weapons (CCW)?

Yes, the United States ratified Amended Protocol II in May

1999.

If yes:


2. Please attach the most recent annual report submitted by
your country in accordance with Article 13 of the Amended
Protocol or give the appropriate electronic address for the
report.

The United States submitted an Annual Report on November 10,

2008. A copy is attached.

If no:


3. Is your country considering ratification/accession to The
Amended Protocol II?

Not applicable.


4. What measures have been taken to prevent the
indiscriminate use of mines, booby-traps and other devices?

United States landmine policies and practices prohibit the
indiscriminate use of all landmines (including APL),
booby-traps, and other devices. The United States requires
recording and accounting for all mines placed, and planning
for the removal of mines at the cessation of hostilities.
The United States requires that all of its minefields be
marked with internationally agreed upon signs and monitored
by military personnel at all times. All U.S. landmine
related procedures, practices, regulations and systems meet
or exceed the requirements of the CCW, Amended Protocol II.

Reporting relative to minefields requires a detailed report
of intention, a report of initiation, and a report of
completion. Reports of transfer (of control to another unit)
and reports of change are required as transfers or changes
occur. Reports include the number and types of mines as well
as their locations.

Minefield locations are recorded on a standardized form.
Hand emplaced mines are recorded individually. Scatterable
munition fields are recorded by their perimeter.

With respect to marking and fencing, munition fields that are
placed behind the forward line of own troops (FLOT) are
marked on all four sides. Forward of the FLOT, minefields

STATE 00052978 002 OF 005


are not generally marked before emplacement. Commanders are
instructed to make every attempt to mark these munition
fields as soon as the tactical situation allows.

The vast majority of U.S. mines have
self-destruct/self-deactivation features. After the year
2010, the U.S. will no longer use persistent mines of any
type, anti-personnel or anti-vehicle.


5. Would your country be interested in receiving assistance
related to the implementation of this Protocol?
If so, please describe.

No.


6. Does your country have the capacity to assist others
related to this Protocol? If so, please describe.

The United States is a strong supporter of international
humanitarian mine action efforts and mine action technology
exchanges. This highly successful program is but one
component of the U.S. Government's robust Humanitarian Mine
Action Program. The Department of Defense, USAID, and
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also work to
alleviate the humanitarian harm caused by the indiscriminate
and illicit use of landmines. The U.S. was one of the first
countries to support humanitarian mine action efforts,
beginning in 1988 in Afghanistan. Since then, the United
States consistently has been the world's strongest financial
supporter of humanitarian mine action, providing well over
$1.4 billion dollars to 54 countries or territories. U.S.
efforts include support for mine clearance operations, mine
risk education, survivors, assistance, research and
development, training, and a public-private partnership
program. The United States is also a leader in the
development and sharing of mine clearance technology,
techniques, and information.

The United States participates in a number of mine clearance
information sharing partnerships such as International Test
and Evaluation Program for Humanitarian Demining Equipment,
Processes, and Methods and the U.S. Department of Defense has
commissioned a number of ground-breaking mine clearance
studies such as the 2002 International Pilot Project for
Technology Cooperation report. More information can be found
at:

- U.S. Department of State, Office of Weapons Removal and
Abatement: www.state.gov/t/pm/wra
- U.S. Department of Defense Humanitarian Demining Training
Center: www.wood.army.mil/hdtc
- U.S. Department of Defense Humanitarian Demining Research
and Development Program: www.humanitarian-demining.org
- U.S. Agency for International Development Patrick J. Leahy
War Victims Fund: www.usaid.gov/ourwork/humanitarian
assistance/the funds/lwvf/

Part II


7. Has your country ratified or acceded to the 1997
Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling,
Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their
Destruction?

No.

8.(a) If yes, please attach the most recent report submitted
by your country in accordance with Article 7 of the
Convention or give the appropriate electronic address for the
report.

Not applicable.

(b) If no, is your country considering
ratification/accession to the Convention?

No. The terms of the Ottawa Convention were not reconciled
with critical U.S. national interests; therefore the United
States decided not to become a state party. The United
States is committed to reducing the humanitarian effects of
anti-vehicle mines as well as anti-personnel mines.



STATE 00052978 003 OF 005


(c) Has your country adopted legislation to address the
humanitarian objectives of the convention, or taken any
specific measures regarding the use, production, storage,
transfer and destruction of anti-personnel landmines? In case
a moratorium has been introduced, what is its scope and
duration and when was it introduced?

United States policy on landmines aims to ensure protection
for both military forces and civilians alike, and continues
U.S. leadership in humanitarian mine action ) those
activities that contribute most directly toward eliminating
the landmine problem and mitigating its effects on landmine
survivors.

Further information about the United States policy may be
found at: www.state.gov/t/pm/wra/c11735.htm

The United States has appropriate laws in force to fulfill
its obligations under the CCW Amended Mines Protocol. Over
the past two decades, the United States has converted its APL
stockpile so that the overwhelming majority of its APL are
self-destructing and self-deactivating types that meet or
exceed CCW specifications for use outside marked and
monitored minefields. These self-destructing and
self-deactivating types of APL do not pose the humanitarian
concerns that persistent APL do.

In 1996, the Department of Defense began the demilitarization
and disposal of all stocks of non-self-destructing (NSD) APL
except those needed for the defense of the Republic of Korea
and training purposes. By June 1998, the United States had
met this goal, destroying approximately 3.3 million of its
NSD APL.

Additionally, the U.S. has an active program to develop
alternatives to persistent anti-personnel landmines. The
programs will incorporate improvements to our
self-destructing/self-deactivation technology to provide more
operational flexibility while addressing humanitarian
concerns.

Since 1992, the United States has maintained legislation
imposing a moratorium on the export and transfer of APL under
the U.S. Arms Export Control Act or the Foreign Assistance
Act. On January 17, 1997, the United States announced that
this moratorium would include the export and transfer of APL
components and technology. In December 2007, the U.S.
Congress amended the law, which was to expire in 2008,
extending the moratorium until October 23, 2014.


9. Does your country have any specific measures in place to
provide assistance to victims?

The U.S. Humanitarian Mine Action Program has succeeded in
helping to reduce the rate of landmine casualties, broaden
the reach of mine awareness programs, increase the amount of
land cleared and restored to productive use, accelerate the
number of people returned to their homes and expand the
number of landmine survivors receiving assistance.

The Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund, managed by the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID, has been in
operation in post-conflict and conflict-affected developing
countries since 1989. The Fund was established to provide a
dedicated source of financial and technical assistance for
civilian victims of war who suffer from mobility-related
injuries, including people who suffer from polio as a result
of interrupted immunization services. This includes, but is
not limited to, mine and UXO survivors. In the past decade,
the Fund has devoted the majority of its resources to the
establishment and improvement of accessible and appropriate
prosthetic and orthotic services, including physical and
occupational rehabilitation services. In Fiscal Year 2008,
the Fund contributed to or maintained support to projects in
Afghanistan, Albania, Cambodia, Colombia, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon,
Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Uganda, and Vietnam, as
well as various regional and global initiatives spanning
multiple countries. To date, the Fund has provided over
US$150 million to more than 40 countries.


10. Does your country require assistance in mine clearance,
stockpile destruction, mine awareness and/or victim

STATE 00052978 004 OF 005


assistance? If so, please describe.

No.


11. Does your country have the capacity to assist others in
mine action? If so, please describe.

In Fiscal Year 2008, the United States provided humanitarian
mine action assistance that totaled approximately $109
million, including $13.8 million from USAID's Leahy War
Victims Fund for survivor assistance. Thirty mine-afflicted
countries, on a total of four continents, benefited. Fiscal
Year 2009 funding is expected to be at a similar level. The
United States also notes that with our contributions for
Fiscal Year 2008, total U.S. contributions to humanitarian
mine action equal over $1.4 billion. These funds have
provided assistance in 61 countries.

Since 1998, the United States has supported the Slovenian
International Trust Fund (ITF) for Demining and Mine Victims
Assistance. To date, the ITF has raised over $270 million
for humanitarian mine action and victim assistance in the
Balkans and the Caucasus from over 100 donors, including
United States matching donations of $113.5 million and more
than $10.6 million in USG unilateral donations, which
addressed specific urgent requirements.

The U.S. Humanitarian Mine Action Program assists countries
that are experiencing the adverse effects of uncleared
persistent landmines, both anti-personnel and anti-vehicle,
regardless of the affected countries, stances on either of
the international landmine treaties. Consistent with the
U.S. philosophy of helping other countries to develop the
indigenous capacity to demine, the U.S. program also aids in
the development of leadership and organizational skills of
local personnel to sustain programs after U.S.-provided
training is complete.

In addition to the resources provided to the Humanitarian
Mine Action Program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
dedicated over $1.5 billion for the destruction, safe
storage, or demilitarization of explosive remnants of war in
Iraq.

The United States supports the consortium of international
NGOs working to produce standardized socio-economic landmine
impact surveys for a dozen heavily-mined countries. These
impact surveys provide a framework for planning and
prioritizing new strategies, minimizing the impact of
landmines, and establishing criteria for measuring the
success of mine action projects.

The United States also actively encourages private sector
support for humanitarian mine action through the development
of a network of public-private partnerships, which currently
numbers over 60. These public-private partners work in
concert with the U.S. Humanitarian Mine Action Program to
support one or more aspects of mine action: clearance, mine
risk education, and/or survivor assistance. A positive side
effect of this unique partnership initiative is to raise U.S.
public interest in and support for humanitarian mine action.

In addition, the United States is a member of the Mine Action
Support Group (MASG). The MASG is a group of donor states
that focuses on increasing the effectiveness of all
assistance for mine action.

2009 Submission of the United States of America to the OSCE
Questionnaire on Explosive Remnants of War

To be submitted on a voluntary basis along with the OSCE
Questionnaire on Anti-personnel Mines.


1. Has your country notified the Depositary of its consent to
be bound by the 2003 CCW Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of
War (ERW) once it enters into force? Is your country
considering doing so?

The United States deposited its instrument of ratification
for the 2003 CCW Protocol V on ERW at the UN on January 21,

2009.


2. If yes, at what stage is the process?

STATE 00052978 005 OF 005


Instrument of ratification deposited.


3. Would your country be interested in receiving assistance
in clearing or otherwise minimizing the risks and effects of
ERW? If so, please describe.

No.


4. Does your country have the capacity to assist others in
clearing and minimizing the risks and effects of ERW? If so,
please describe.

The United States takes a comprehensive approach to dealing
with post-conflict hazards and therefore provides support for
clearing ERW through both its Humanitarian Mine Action and
Small Arms and Light Weapons (SA/LW) Destruction Programs.
The U.S. program in Laos is a good example of a humanitarian
mine action program where the focus is more on ERW
(specifically, unexploded ordnance) than landmines. (Please
refer to the U.S. APL questionnaire for more information.)

In addition to funding the destruction of excess and obsolete
SA/LW and munitions from national holdings, the SA/LW
Destruction program also funds the clearance of weapons
caches left at the end of conflicts primarily in Sudan and
Afghanistan. The SA/LW program is funded at approximately
$44 million for U.S. Fiscal Year 2008; over a 270% increase
from FY 2007 funding.

In Iraq, the U.S. military has provided bomb strike
information to clearance NGOs through the Mine and Explosive
Ordnance Information Coordination Center.

In 2008, the U.S. State Department established a Quick
Reaction Force (QRF) for conventional weapons destruction,
giving the Department the capability to respond globally to
urgent humanitarian crises that require the removal or
mitigation of explosive hazards to protect civilian
populations. The QRF recently completed clean-up operations
in Chelopechene, Bulgaria, the site of a massive accidental
depot explosion in July 2008. The QRF safely cleared more
than 38,000 square meters and removed more than 110,000
pieces of unexploded ordnance that threatened civilian
populations.

After the cessation hostilities between Russia and Georgia in
August 2008, PM/WRA provided the HALO Trust with an
"Emergency Survey and Response Capacity" grant worth an
estimated $3.7 million. In addition, PM/WRA provided the
Information Management and Mine Action Programs (iMMAP) NGO
$1,500,000 to establish an ERW coordination capacity for
coordination of all ERW clearance operations.


--End Submission--
CLINTON