Bolivia
signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997, deposited its instrument of
ratification on 9 June 1998, and it entered into force on 1 March 1999. Bolivia
has not yet enacted any national implementation
legislation.[1]
Bolivia attended the Third Meeting of States Parties in Nicaragua in
September 2001. The Bolivian delegation reiterated Bolivia’s
“commitment to the principles of the Ottawa Convention,” commented
on the need for international cooperation in dealing with the issue of landmines
and urged States that have not yet ratified the ban treaty to do
so.[2]
Bolivia submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report on 8 November
1999 for the period from 1 January 1999 to 8 November
1999.[3] On 28 May 2002, it
submitted an Article 7 Report for calendar year
2001.[4] Bolivia reports that it
has never produced, exported, or used antipersonnel mines and it has no
stockpiles, including any mines retained for
training.[5]
Bolivia cosponsored and voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution
56/24M in November 2001.
On 21 September 2001, Bolivia joined the Convention on Conventional Weapons
(CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. It subsequently participated in
the third annual meeting of State Parties to Amended Protocol II of the CCW, as
well as the Second CCW Review Conference, in December 2001.
LANDMINE PROBLEM
Bolivian territory is not mine-affected, but the
border with Chile was mined by Chile in the 1970s, particularly in 1978 during a
territorial dispute. In 2001, Bolivia provided Landmine Monitor with detailed
information on the Chilean minefields near the
border.[6] Chile ratified the
Mine Ban Treaty in September 2001 and is currently taking steps to clear the
border areas of landmines.
In September 2001, Bolivia welcomed Chile’s ratification of the treaty
and the measures it has taken to deal with the landmine problem, but emphasized
there is still “a long road ahead before freeing this zone of
anti-personnel mines that put at risk the lives of indigenous people from both
countries who do not recognize borders in the mutual pursuit of food, grazing
land and economic
activities.”[7] It also
commented on the need for “serious safety measures such as clearly marking
mined areas with signs warning of the existing
danger.”[8]
Bolivia’s Ministry of Defense has indicated that the country lacks
detailed maps of mined areas on the border with Chile as these areas are in
Chilean territory.[9] In the past
Bolivia has stated that the local population knows the existence of mined areas
and avoids entering them.[10]
MINE ACTION AND LANDMINE SURVIVORS
Bolivia told Landmine Monitor that it has not
offered help to Chile in the demining of the border, and there are no contacts
on this issue between the Bolivian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces and
their Chilean counterparts.[11]
In 2001, it was reported that deputies from Bolivia and Chile met for two days
in Cochabamba, Bolivia to discuss demining of the border areas, and issued a
joint declaration on the
matter.[12] A second meeting on
the demining of the border was planned in Valparaíso, but as of June 2002
had still not taken place.
In 2002, Bolivia provided three military mine action supervisors to the
MARMINCA mine clearance efforts by the OAS in Central
America.[13] It provided two
supervisors in the year 2000.
While it is difficult to obtain information on landmine incidents,
authorities told Landmine Monitor that there were no landmine casualties along
the border in 2001 or first quarter of 2002. On 26 May 2000, the first recorded
Bolivian landmine casualty since 1997
occurred.[14]
Basic health services exist in the border area, while more specialized health
services, including surgery, are found in the capitals of departments such as La
Paz, Oruro, and Polosí.[15]
Bolivia has policies in place for people with disabilities, including Law 1678
of 15 December 1995, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Landmine Monitor
that no official records are kept to confirm whether landmine survivors receive
the benefits stipulated by this
law.[16]
[1] Ministry of Foreign Affairs response to
Landmine Monitor, faxed by Ambassador Fernando Rojas Alaiza, Vice Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 10 May
2002. [2] Statement by Bolivia to the
Third Meeting of States Parties, 18-21 September
2001. [3] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
has told Landmine Monitor that Bolivia also submitted an Article 7 Report for
the period from 8 November 1999 to 30 April 2001. It has not been posted on the
website of the UN Department of Disarmament Affairs. Ministry of Foreign
Affairs response to Landmine Monitor, 10 May
2002. [4] The report was still pending
input from the United Nations as Landmine Monitor Report 2002 went to print, so
Landmine Monitor did not have access to the
report. [5] Article 7 Report, 8 November
1999; Ministry of Defense Response to Landmine Monitor, faxed by Ambassador
Jorge Soruco Villanueva, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, 22 March
2001. [6] For further details see Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, p. 277; Article 7 Report, 8 November 1999; Ministry of
Defense Response to Landmine Monitor, 22 March
2001. [7] Statement by Bolivia to the
Third Meeting of States Parties, 18-21 September
2001. [8]
Ibid. [9] Ministry of Defense response to
Landmine Monitor, 10 May 2002. [10]
Article 7 Report, 8 November 1999; Ministry of Defense Response to Landmine
Monitor, 22 March 2001. [11] Ministry of
Defense response to Landmine Monitor, 10 May
2002. [12] “Chile y Bolivia
levantarán de su frontera minas antipersonales”, El Tribuno (Salta,
Argentina), 28 January 2001. [13]
“Contributing Countries (International Supervisors) to the OAS Program of
Demining in Central America,” Table provided in email to Landmine Monitor
(HRW) from Carl Case, OAS, 18 June
2002. [14] See Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 280. [15] Ministry of Defense
Response to Landmine Monitor, 22 March
2001. [16] Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Response to Landmine Monitor, 10 May 2002.
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