1. THE ALBANIA MINE ACTION PROGRAMME “ALBANIA FREE FROM THE EFFECT OF MINES AND UXO BY 2005”

2. MINE CONTAMINATED AREAS  The threat emanates from the Kosovo conflict:  120 km border  57 identified areas  15,250,000 m2  The Threat:  AP and AT mines laid by fRY forces  UXO and sub-munitions, including NATO  No records of minefields available to Albania  None of this has been caused by Albania, AAF were requested by NATO not to get involved in the conflict

3. SOCIO- ECONOMIC IMPACT  The population of the Kukes prefecture, almost 120,000 of which 75% are rural, are the poorest in Albania, if not in Europe  39 villages directly affected  Average size of farms are 1.5 ha  Main activities are: grazing, farming, gathering firewood, and other subsistence livelihoods.  Land pressure is exacerbated by 75% mountainous terrain and mines  27 people killed and 216 injured

4. SECURITY IMPACT  13 police officers have already been wounded or killed by mines and UXO in the execution of their duties.  Patrolling is almost impossible as it takes 1 to 2 hours to respond to a border incident due to mines and unexploded ordnance contamination. This is a weak point regarding integrated border management in SEE  The criminals have identified and cleared lanes through minefields, through which they pass unfettered to and from Kosovo, while police can not respond effectively A grave consequence of the mines is the added difficulty of patrolling the Albania/Kosovo border, where trafficking, and other crimes, take place on a cross-border basis:

5. ALBANIAN RESPONSE  Surface clearance, which drastically reduced civilian casualties (no areas certified cleared to humanitarian standards though)  Level 1 Survey, total border area indicated to be contaminated – had to be redone employing impact survey methodology  Ratification of all relevant international treaties  Adoption of international humanitarian mine action standards  Establishment of a national humanitarian mine action structure: AMAC and AMAE  Advocacy for demining and funding by ICRC

6. POLICY, STRATEGY AND ADVOCACY – PROGRESS 2002 & PLANNING 2003  Progress 2002:  National work shop June 2002, formulating vision, mission, priorities and 3-yr plan:  Vision - Albania free from mines and unexploded ordnance by 2010  Mission - Develop and implement a sustainable mine action programme in order to eliminate the effect of mines and unexploded ordnance in North- east Albania by 2005  Drafted MA Law  Stockpile Destruction Programme concluded, last APM of 1,683,860, was demilitarised on 4 April 2002  Planning 2003:  Regularise activities of AMAC  Ratification of MA Law, MA plan and priorities  Formulation and ratification of comprehensive MA Policy  Pass legislation in terms of Ottawa Treaty Art 9  Obligations ito Art 5 (1) to be achieved by 2010

7. CAPACITY BUILDING – PROGRESS 2002  UNDP 2-year capacity building programme commenced April 2002, funded for 1 yr by UNDP and DFID  Assisted AMAC with policy, strategy, legal structure and priorities of MA  Facilitated National Mine Action Planning  Established regional office with EU and ITF assistance  Established fully functional AMAE, including an integral QM Section  Drafted AMAE Tech & Safety Standards  Resource mobilisation

8. CAPACITY BUILDING – PLANNING 2003  Appointment of Swiss in-kind Ops Advisor, May 2003  Evaluate and revise TSS’s  Optimise Ops/IMSMA integration  In-service training of QM Team  Assist AMAE with Impact Survey, Tech Survey, clearance and training standards  Assist with QC tasks  Capacity building of AAF for humanitarian demining  Management trg of AMAE staff, incl middle management trg, exchange and study tours  Assist with resource mobilisation

9. DEMINING – PROGRESS 2002  DCA-ACT and FSD deployed for demining, mostly with EU, ITF and German funding.  ICRC and ARC assisted actively in creating an atmosphere conducive to demining.  Most impact surveys accurately redone and technical surveys initiated, by end of 2002, with internal resources.  With increased coordination and more efficient utilisation of demining assets, more than 7,000,000 m2 of formerly contaminated land released through survey and clearance during 2002.

10. DEMINING – PLANNING 2003  5 Manual Tech Survey Teams  2 - 3 Mini Flails  2 MDDT’s.  8 manual demining teams.  Complete Impact Surveys – release further 1,990,000 m2  Complete 86% of Technical Surveys – release further 1,496,000 m2  Clear 350,000 m2, 61% completed

11. DEMINING PLANNING 2003-2005

12. IMSMA – PROGRESS 2002 & PLANNING 2003  Progress 2002:  Fully functional IMSMA Cell and database established with ITF support  Database populated up to date  Albania maps georeferenced with EU and ITF support  Planning 2003:  Full integration of Ops/IMSMA  Appointment of IT Chief and database management training  Implement IMSMA TSS  Convert to IMSMA Vers 3 and Albanian format

13. MINE AWARENESS - PROGRESS 2002 AND PLANNING 2003  Most communities reached, but people were still dying  Strategy revised in the fall of 2002  Target groups readjusted: focus on economically active group 15-30 and remote villages  Raise awareness of MA problem nationally and internationally  Integrated structure:  AMAE – Coordination  UNICEF – Standards and funding  ICRC – Advocating and funding  ARC – Focal point and facilitating  VMA (LNGO) – Manage grassroots liaison  MCO’s – Limited implementation  AMC’s – Grassroots community liaison, implementation

14. VICTIM ASSISTANCE - PROGRESS  Tirana Orthopaedic Centre upgraded and operated by Government with EU and HI support  10 Prostheses technicians trained with Italian and ITF support  147 victims treated and prostheses fitted in Albania with ICRC assistance  62 victims received advanced treatment and fitment of prostheses at Slovenian Rehabilitation Institute with ITF assistance  12 victims assisted by ICRC to set up small enterprises  Several laws now afford the disabled special privileges  Monthly disability pension recently increased

15. VICTIM ASSISTANCE - PLANNING  Implement victim assistance strategy  Treatment of 30 Pri 1 and 3 sight impaired victims p/a abroad for 3 yrs  Provision of raw materials to Tirana Orthopedic Centre  Training of 3 doctors from NE Albania in advanced surgical procedures over 3 yrs  Improving surgical facilities in NE Albania  Training of 6 orthopedic technicians  Treatment of 50 Pri 2 victims in Albania p/a  Micro-finance to assist with reintegration of victims  Sustainable Albanian victim assistance capacity by 2005 BUDGET P/A Treatment of victimsUSD160,000 Capacity buildingUSD40,000 Reintegration of victimsUSD50,000

16. TRANSITION STRATEGY  Government responsibility to be phased in by 2004-2005  After 2005 – much reduced MA programme:  Leaner structure  Only low impact areas left to demine  Albanian capacity for demining and victim assistance fully established  Mine awareness objectives mostly reached  Solid resource mobilisation base established

17. FUNDING  Previous and current donors include UNDP, EU, DFID, ITF, Canadian, Danish, German, Swiss and US Governments. Total budget 2002 $  EU adopted resolution to fund MA in Albania “as far as possible” from CARDS programme.  Of the $4,74m budget for 2003, $1.556m has already been funded, leaving a shortfall of $3.254m.  Albania received promising indications of further EU and ITF funding. BUDGETSHORTFALL Capacity buildingUSD420,000USD150,000 (ITF 150 k pledge) Demining (technical survey and clearance) USD4,000,000USD2,600,000 (EU pledge) Mine awareness and victim assistanceUSD320,000USD305,000 (UNICEF 70k, ITF 235k pledge

18. CONCLUSIONS  There is a significant mines and UXO threat in NE Albania  There is increased awareness and commitment to solve problem  2002 was the turning point for the Albania MA program  2003 is a crucial year for the program  The focus will be on:  Accurately determining the extent of the mines and UXO problem (TS)  Initiating the transition strategy  Albania can set the pace in the region on issues such as stockpile destruction  Albania can be rendered free from the effect of mines and UXO by 2005 with a reasonable budget.