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Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Georgia, Country Profile
Georgia, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Since Georgia claimed independence in 1991 from the former USSR, periods of war and unrest have disrupted the country, particularly within the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. During these conflicts all sides emplaced mines in both regions. Landmines and other explosive remnants of war also remain following the withdrawal of Russian forces after the USSR dissolved.
Serbia And Montenegro, Country Profile
Serbia And Montenegro, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro has faced many political and social difficulties since the dissolution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On 18 September 2003, the then-unified country of Serbia and Montenegro acceded to the Ottawa Convention, becoming a State Party on 1 March 2004. In June 2006, Montenegro declared independence from Serbia. Montenegro subsequently acceded to the Convention as a separate country; Serbia remained bound by the original agreement. Both Serbia and Montenegro are party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, having assumed the obligation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Though a ratification bill was …
Bosnia And Herzegovina, Country Profile
Bosnia And Herzegovina, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Shortly after Bosnia and Herzegovina’s declaration of independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in March 1992, the country broke into conflict that lasted three years. A peace agreement ended the conflict in 1995, but the country had already become littered with landmines and unexploded ordnance. Today BiH is the most mine-affected country in Europe, with an estimated 1.3 million people, roughly one third of the population, living in 1,366 mine-impacted communities. The latest government statistics disclose that there are more than 12,000 locations requiring clearance. The country’s goal of being mine-free by 2009 set by the National Mine …
Ukraine, Country Profile
Ukraine, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Under the brutal control of the Soviet Union during World War II, the terrain of present-day Ukraine was littered with minefields and munitions depots. When the Soviet Union disbanded into independent states in August 1991, the newborn Ukraine inherited the burden of Soviet munitions and mines. In February 1999 Ukraine signed the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention but waited to ratify the law, seeking international assistance for the four-year stockpile destruction deadline. In May 2005 the parliament in Kiev unanimously ratified the decision, President Viktor Yushchenko immediately signed it and the United Nations approved Ukraine's membership to the Convention. Ukraine became …
Albania, Country Profile
Albania, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
For many citizens of Albania the current mine problem is a haunting reminder of the Kosovo Crisis of 1999. Upon returning home after an evacuation of the Albania- Kosovo border area, residents discovered the border polluted with mines and unexploded ordnance.
Croatia, Country Profile
Croatia, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
On 25 June 1991, Croatia became an independent nation. Serbian and Yugoslav forces soon invaded the country, with the area known as Slavonia being a major battleground changing hands frequently throughout the conflict. The Dayton Peace Accords in November 1995 ended the fighting and Slavonia returned to Croatia on 15 January 1998. In 2003 Croatia applied for European Union membership and in 2004 received official candidate status. Prime Minister Ivo Sanader stated that 2007 is a critical year if Croatia wishes to become an EU member. While not directly included in these discussions, Croatia’s substantial mine-affected areas are seen as …
Armenia, Country Profile
Armenia, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Armenia has been gaining strength since recovering from the 1988 Spitak earthquake, the collapse of the Soviet government and Turkey’s trade embargo. The country experienced economic depression in the 1990s but the government turned the economy around, creating positive growth rates from 1995 to 2006. As a member of 35 international organizations, Armenia is moving out of the post-Soviet era and onto the international stage. Part of becoming a modern nation is removing all possible threats to development. Landmines and unexploded ordnance are a threat to every aspect of development in Armenia.
Belarus, Country Profile
Belarus, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
An heir to massive Soviet stockpiles of anti-personnel mines and other munitions, Belarus has been actively facing its extensive explosive legacy through significant destruction of this explosive ordnance. Belarus is also affected by unexploded and abandoned ordnance left in large part from heavy fighting between German and Soviet troops during World War II and, to a lesser degree, minefields laid by both sides. Additional explosive remnants of war come from World War I and the 18th and 19th century's Napoleonic wars.
Azerbaijan, Country Profile
Azerbaijan, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
From 1988 to 1994, Azerbaijan was engaged in an armed conflict with its neighbor Armenia and armed forces of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. A ceasefire was negotiated in 1994, but a peace agreement is still underway. During the conflict, both sides used landmines. Forces from both Armenia and the self-declared Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh currently occupy about 20 percent of land within Azerbaijan, making demining difficult in those areas.
Chechnya, Country Profile
Chechnya, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
More than a decade of conflict between Russian armed forces and Chechen separatists has left Chechnya polluted with landmines, improvised explosive devices and unexploded bombs. Although clearance has been limited, organizations such as UNICEF have brought victim assistance and mine-risk education to Chechnya and its neighboring regions.
Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia, Country Profile
Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
<-Ten years after gaining independence, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia faced the uprising of an armed group of ethnic Albanians demanding greater civil rights. The hostility between the ethnic Albanians—who called themselves the National Liberation Army—and the Macedonian government lasted seven months and ended with the signing of the Framework Agreement in August 2001. This conflict, in addition to World Wars I and II, left Macedonia with contamination from landmines and other explosive remnants of war along the northern borders with Kosovo and Albania and the southern border with Greece. In September 2006, five years after the end of the internal conflict, Macedonia completed landmine clearance and continues to work towards clearance of other ERW.
Nagorno-Karabakh, Country Profile
Nagorno-Karabakh, Country Profile
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
On the border between the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, gunfire can be heard on a daily basis. These occurrences, along with the presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance, are reminders of the long-standing tensions between the populations of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and the country of Azerbaijan.