ITALY

Key developments since May 2001: As of May 2002, only 460,000 antipersonnel mines from an original stockpile of 7.1 million remained to be destroyed.  Italy provided about  €5.6 million ($5 million) to mine action in 2001, an increase from 2000.  The implementation regulation for the new Trust Fund for Humanitarian Demining was adopted on 17 December 2001. The National Committee for Humanitarian Mine Action was reconvened in March 2002.

Mine Ban Policy

Italy signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 23 April 1999, becoming a State Party on 1 October 1999.[1]  National mine ban legislation (Law 374/97) was approved on 29 October 1997, and amended by the Mine Ban Treaty ratification law (Law 106/99), which was approved on 26 March 1999.

Italy participated in the Third Meeting of States Parties in September 2001 in Managua, Nicaragua.[2]  It made interventions regarding stockpile destruction, mines retained for training and development purposes, and antivehicle mines with antihandling devices, among other things (see below for details).  Italy continued to participate actively in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings, including in January and May 2002.[3] 

In the May intersessional meeting, the delegation commented on the issue of joint military operations, noting that cooperation in military activities with non-States Parties is permitted by Italy’s national legislation only if this cooperation is compatible with Article 1 of the Mine Ban Treaty.  Italian troops in Afghanistan have been given written instructions to abstain from any activity contrary to the Mine Ban Treaty.[4]  Similarly, a December 2001 government report stated that Italian law requires the Mine Ban Treaty prohibitions to be observed by Italian armed forces in operations even when performed in a multinational context, with the participation of States not party to the Mine Ban Treaty.[5] 

On 29 November 2001, Italy co-sponsored and voted in favor of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 56/24M in support of the Mine Ban Treaty.

Italy submitted its annual Article 7 transparency report on 2 May 2002, for the period 17 October 1998-31 December 2001.  The report includes the voluntary Form J summarizing funding of mine action in 2001.[6] 

Italy is a State Party to Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), and submitted its annual report required by Article 13 of the protocol on 5 December 2001.  This notes the technical assistance provided for mine action, which was not included in previous Article 13 reports.[7]  Italy participated in the Third Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II and the Second CCW Review Conference in December 2001.  A statement was delivered on behalf of European Union (EU) countries by Belgium.[8]

On 14 December 2001, Italy submitted its report on landmines to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), including details of mine action funding and other assistance in 2001.[9]

Production and Transfer

Italy was formerly a major producer and exporter of antipersonnel mines.[10]  Information on the conversion or de-commissioning of two production facilities (Tecnovar and Valsella) has been included in Article 7 Reports, but not for a third former producer (Misar/SEI).[11]

Regarding the issue of transit of foreign antipersonnel mines, Italy has stated that the national legislation forbids activities not compatible with the Mine Ban Treaty, and transit is allowed only for the purpose of destruction of mines.[12]

Stockpiling and Destruction

Destruction of the stockpile of more than 7.1 million antipersonnel mines began in February 1999.  National legislation requires that destruction be completed by 29 October 2002, in advance of the 1 October 2003 deadline set by the Mine Ban Treaty.[13]

At the Third Meeting of States Parties, and at the Standing Committee meetings in January and May 2002, updates of the progress of stockpile destruction were given.  There were about 1.1 million mines left to destroy in September 2001, about 500,000 left in January 2002, and about 380,000 left in May 2002.[14]

More precisely, as of 15 May 2002, Italy had destroyed a total of 6,661,861 antipersonnel mines, and 460,928 remained to be destroyed, including 386,789 “warfare” mines and 74,139 “practice” or “training” mines.[15]  Last year’s Landmine Monitor noted 4,086,057 mines had been destroyed as of March 2001.  Thus, more than 2.57 million mines were destroyed from March 2001 to May 2002.    

Italy has stressed on a number of occasions that its experience has shown that the four-year deadline for the destruction of antipersonnel mine stockpiles is achievable even by States Parties with very large stockpiles. Italy has emphasized the need for political will in meeting the treaty deadline. Italy has also declared its willingness to share its expertise in stockpile destruction with other States, and has supported the creation of an informal contact group on stockpile destruction, to help ensure that all States Parties can meet this obligation.[16]

Stockpile destruction has been carried out at the Baiano di Spoleto (all types) and Noceto di Parma (Valmara 69) military plants.  Italy’s Article 7 Reports have stated that there has been “no transfer outside of Italian territory” for the purposes of destruction.[17]  However, in March 2002, the Ministry of Defense told Landmine Monitor that destruction of some Italian mines, particularly those held by the air force, had been assigned to private companies “in countries of the Western European Armaments Group,” with specific mention of a company based in Germany.[18]  However, Germany has not reported the transfer or destruction of any mines from Italy.[19]

Mines Retained Under Article 3

Italy’s May 2002 Article 7 Report states that 7,992 antipersonnel mines have been retained as permitted under Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty, including 811 “warfare” mines and 7,181 “practice” mines.  This is a reduction of eight warfare mines from the totals reported in the previous Article 7 Report.[20]  Italy noted in the May 2002 intersessional meeting that it had previously decided to reduce the number of mines retained from 10,000 to 8,000, and added that some of those retained were in fact only “parts” of mines, not functioning live mines.[21]

At the Third Meeting of States Parties in September 2001, Italy stated its view that no State Party should retain in excess of 10,000 antipersonnel mines, and agreed with the recommendation of the Standing Committee co-chairs that the precise purpose for which retained mines were used should be reported.[22]

Antivehicle Mines with Antihandling Devices

States Parties have discussed at some length the issue of antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices that may function as antipersonnel mines.  Italy has noted that the Italian national law does not permit antihandling devices and that Italy has no antivehicle mines with antihandling devices.[23]  Italy has encouraged other States Parties to follow the example of Italian legislation which defines an antipersonnel mine as “any device which … is designed or capable of being adapted to detonate as a consequence of the presence, proximity or contact of a person.”  Italy has said it attaches much importance to this issue and has called for States Parties to discuss the matter openly as transparency is essential.[24]

Mine Action Funding Policy

The legislation ratifying the Mine Ban Treaty required that a Trust Fund for Humanitarian Demining be created, and required specific funding for mine victim assistance.  After much parliamentary discussion which amended the amounts of funding, the Trust Fund was established on 7 March 2001 by Law 58/2001.  This law sets the goals of the Fund, provides guidelines for Italian mine action, and requires the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide for its implementation by means of a regulation.  The law also requires an annual report on implementation to be sent to Parliament.  The first report was sent on 5 April 2002.[25] 

The implementation regulation was adopted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 17 December 2001.  This states that activities undertaken are to be coherent with Italian foreign policy, harmonized with international community aid programs, linked to the objectives of Law 47/1997 on cooperation and aid to development, coordinated with the ministry’s other disarmament initiatives, and must promote universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty.  Within the ministry, the department dealing with multilateral political affairs and human rights is to set priorities for mine action projects.  The projects are to be managed by the department responsible for cooperation and development.   In the case of multilateral projects, the ministry will make agreements with the implementing organizations, requiring periodic reports of activity before further disbursement of funds. [26]

During scrutiny of the implementation regulation, the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defense Commissions both suggested in their written statements to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the amounts allocated to the Trust Fund after 2002 be increased from the proposed L15 billion (€7.5 million, $6.735 million);[27] that mine action funding for Afghanistan be increased; that formal recognition be given to the CNAUMA (Comitato Nazionale per l’Azione Umanitaria Contro le Mine, National Committee for Humanitarian Mine Action); and that funding of Italian NGOs should be accorded priority.  This last recommendation was partially rejected by the Ministry, because it is incompatible with other rules and principles.[28]

The CNAUMA was reconvened on 5 March 2002, under the presidency of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfredo Luigi Mantica, after last meeting in September 2000.[29]  The meeting was attended by a wide range of those involved in mine action, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Public Health, Industry, Education and Research, many NGOs, and MAS (Italian Enterprise for Demining).  It was agreed that the work of CNAUMA would be open to all interested parties and would be permanent, with twice-yearly plenary sessions and group meetings in four areas following the pattern of the Standing Committees, and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will act as the secretariat.

The meeting on 5 March 2002 set, as priorities, defining the strategies and areas of intervention for Italian mine action, promoting the exchange of information nationally and internationally, informing the public on mine issues, identifying research into demining technologies and equipment, and surgery/prosthetics, and monitoring the actual level of mine action funding from 2003.[30]  Law 58/2001 states that funding will decrease to L5 billion (€2.5 million, $2.245 million) in  2003 and thereafter the amount allocated for mine action must be set by the annual budget.  A CNAUMA group meeting took place on 9 April 2002, to discuss the objectives and funding of Italian mine action.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other participants tabled proposals, which remain in discussion.

Mine Action Funding

At the Standing Committee meetings in January 2002 Italy distributed an itemized list of mine action projects funded in 2001.  Mine action funding in 2001 totaled €5,628,386 ($5,054,291).[31]  This includes some commitments made in 2001 with disbursement of funds continuing in 2002.  Italy’s most recent Article 7 Report records similar funding data for calendar year 2001 on Form J, totaling €5,576,477 ($5,007,676).[32]   This compares to mine action funding of $2 million in 2000 and $6.5 million in 1999.[33]  Project funding in 2001 was as follows.[34]

Funded via the Trust Fund for Humanitarian Demining (€2,582,285, or $2,318,892):

·         Afghanistan – €1,570,030 to the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to support emergency demining by the NGO Intersos.  This was pledged at the Bonn conference on Afghanistan in November 2001.

·         Bosnia and Herzegovina – €224,142 to UNICEF for mine risk education.

·         Ethiopia –  €224,142 to UNICEF for mine risk education.

·         Yemen – €280,436 to UNMAS to support humanitarian demining programs implemented by the UN Development Program (UNDP), with other funding by Saudi Arabia, Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom.  The Yemeni government requested Italian support on the basis of a five-year action plan to free the country from landmines.

·         UNMAS – €100,709 to support the Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines, and €182,826 un-earmarked.

Funded via the International Cooperation Aid to Development and other funds from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (€3,046,101, or $2,735,398):

·         Afghanistan –  €1,032,920 to Emergency via UNDP for assistance and rehabilitation of victims of war and landmines.  This is additional funding of projects financed in 2000 and reported in last year’s Landmine Monitor.

·         Kosovo –  €258,000 to Intersos through the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), for mine clearance.  Funding of this project was completed in 2001.

·         Lebanon –  €25,822 for the supply of equipment for humanitarian demining.

·         Organization of American States – €114,000 to support humanitarian demining programs in Nicaragua and Honduras.

·         Bosnia and Herzegovina – €242,734 to Intersos for assistance and rehabilitation to victims of war and landmines.[35]

·         Libya –  €1,265,320 to support humanitarian demining programs, as a precondition to implementation of the bilateral agreement between Libya and Italy signed in 2000 for support in developing agricultural areas remaining heavily mined since World War II.  The terms of the larger program have not yet been agreed, so funds for demining have been allocated but not yet disbursed.

·         Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining – €67,305 for the sponsorship program for less developed countries to participate in Mine Ban Treaty activities, and €40,000 as a contribution to the Implementation Support Unit.  (In 2002, Italy donated a further €47,000 to the Unit.[36])

Within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs there are other sources of mine action funding, such as the geographic departments, but usually in small amounts.  Mine action projects are sometimes included in larger cooperation and development programs, or financed through un-earmarked funds allocated to UNMAS.

Research and Development[37]

Italy participates in two research projects on demining technology funded by the EU.  The Demand project involves an effort to field a prototype composed of a trolley carrying three different kind of sensors: a metal detector, a ground penetrating radar and a biological vapour sensor.  The five project partners, including the Italian Ingegneria dei Sistemi Spa, hope to develop a fully-engineered detector within one to one-and-a-half years after completion of the research project in June 2003.

The Diamine project is carried on by eight partners including the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare and is led by the Laben SPA (a private company within the partially state owned Finmeccanica).  It aims to devolop a prototype hand-held mine detector using the neutron backscattering technique, integrated with a metal detector, in order to detect plastic mines.  Diamine started in January 2001 and will continue for three years.

Several smaller research and development activities on mine detection technologies have started at research laboratories and universities in Italy.

Mine Clearance

During 2001, Italian armed forces in the three countries carried out mine risk education, training and clearance activities as part of their wider duties.  In Kosovo, this included destruction of 32 antipersonnel mines and 373 antivehicle mines.  In Bosnia, the Italian battle group organized mine risk education for two groups of Bosnian boy scouts, and other children in the Boracko Lake area, in June and July 2001.  Training in mine clearance was provided to the Bosnian armed forces.  Thirty-two antipersonnel mines were destroyed.[38]  In Afghanistan, the Italian armed forces supplied troops in February 2002 for security duties and mine clearance as part of the international forces deployed to Afghanistan.[39]

The Italian NGO Intersos[40] carried out clearance in Kosovo from August 2000 to December 2001.  It also trained local personnel, and conducted mine risk education.  The Intersos mine clearance project in Angola’s Huila province and Kanongondo area, which started in October 1999, ended in September 2001.  It also trained a local team of deminers and provided mine risk education.  From September 2001 to February 2002, Intersos demined near the city of Missombo in the province of Cuando Cubango. 

In Yugoslavia, during June-July 2001 Intersos carried out a general survey to assess the presence of UXO and cluster bombs.  In the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia from September 2001 to March 2002, Intersos carried out mine clearance of houses in support of an EC-funded housing-reconstruction program.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Intersos started a mine clearance project in January 2002 in Hrasnica, a suburb of Sarajevo.  In Afghanistan, Intersos created a rapid intervention unit in January 2002, in collaboration with the Afghan NGO Technical Consultants.  Intersos also provides training in clearance of cluster munitions and explosive ordnance disposal.

CESVI (Cooperazione E Sviluppo, Cooperation and Development) carried out demining operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afghanistan and Eritrea in 2001, using demining teams from other organizations.  In Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the municipalities of Drvar, Grahovo and Glamoc, CESVI worked with two demining teams from Help UDT, a German demining organization.  In Afghanistan, CESVI in cooperation with the Aiutare I Bambini foundation cleared mines and UXO from a high school in Taloqan, Takhar region.  In Eritrea, CESVI in cooperation with the UN mission organized a survey in the town of Omhajer.[41]

Mine Risk Education

In Kosovo, Intersos integrated mine/UXO clearance activities with a mine risk education program.  Working with the deminers, the Intersos Mine Awareness Support Team (MAST) informed the local population and received information from it.  With a private donation of €10,000 from BNP Paribas, a section of the MAST gave direct presentations to each family in 25 villages, contacting 4,658 people, during clearance operations from January to June 2001.  Mine risk education was also carried out in schools and villages near cleared areas, reaching an estimated 10,000 people in 2001.[42]

In the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, community liaison was carried out during survey and clearance operations by Intersos.[43] 

In 2001, the Italian National Committee for UNICEF collected funds from private donors (€1,500,000) for an emergency program in Afghanistan, which included mine risk education.[44]

Movimondo, which provided support to the demining program of the Nicaraguan army in agricultural areas, carried out a mine risk education project jointly with the army in the San Francisco Libre municipality, and helped collaboration between the local population and deminers.  The project is part of a food security project by Movimondo, funded by the European Union.[45]

Landmine/UXO Casualties and Survivor Assistance

In the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, an Italian soldier serving with NATO as part of the peacekeeping Operation Amber Fox was killed by an antivehicle mine near Tetovo on 8 May 2002.[46]

Several Italian NGOs support survivor assistance programs in mine-affected countries. Additional information on the programs can be found in the relevant Country report.

Intersos provided support to the orthopedic center for mine survivors in the Menongue-Cuando Cubango province of Angola from 1999 until March 2002.  The program cost from October 1999 to March 2001 was €800,000, provided by the EU (€430,000), Italy’s Cooperation Aid to Development fund (€300,000), and by Intersos with local NGO Mbwembwa (€70,000).  The cost from April 2001 to March 2002 was €382,870, provided by the EU (€295,000) and Intersos (€87,870).[47]

The NGO AVSI (Associazione Volontari per il Servizio Internazionale) started a three-year program in July 1998, providing medical rehabilitation for war victims in northern Uganda, with financial support from the EU ($105,676 per year).[48]

The Padua-based NGO CUAMM (Medici Per L’Africa) provides medical care in Angola which includes assistance to mine survivors.

The NGO, Emergency, carried out survivor assistance activities in Cambodia, northern Iraq and Afghanistan in 2001.[49]  Emergency provides its own funding for the project in Cambodia, while the program in northern Iraq is funded by Emergency and UNOPS within the UN oil for food program. In Afghanistan, activities are funded by Emergency and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the UNDP.