Key
developments since August 2001: Botswana submitted its first Article 7
transparency report, officially declaring that it does not have a stockpile of
antipersonnel mines, except for training purposes.
Botswana signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 1
March 2000. The treaty entered into force for Botswana on 1 September 2000.
In its report last year, Landmine Monitor noted that instructions had been
given to the Attorney General’s Chambers to prepare domestic
implementation legislation and assistance in incorporating the provisions of the
treaty into domestic law had been sought from the Zimbabwe office of the
International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC).[1] No progress has been
made as of July 2002. The ICRC “continues to assist the Government in the
march towards paving a smooth implementation of International Humanitarian Law
into our domestic
legislation.”[2]
Botswana submitted its first Article 7 Report on 28 September 2001. It had
been due on 28 February 2001. In this four-paragraph report, the government
stated, “Botswana joins the International Community in deploring the
irreparable harm that landmines inflict on populations. Botswana is therefore
committed to the Convention ... and to the full implementation of its
provisions. It will in this regard continue to actively participate in
international efforts aimed at the complete eradication of these
weapons.”[3]
Botswana did not attend the First, Second, or Third Meetings of States
Parties. It participated in its first intersessional Standing Committee
meetings in January 2002, though it did not attend in May
2002.[4] An official has
indicated that the reason for Botswana’s non-attendance at international
landmine meetings has simply been because it is not
mine-affected.[5] Botswana
cosponsored and voted in favor of UNGA Resolution 56/24M on 29 November 2001,
calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Botswana is not a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons
(CCW). It did not attend the third annual meeting of States Parties to Amended
Protocol II of the CCW, or the Second CCW Review Conference, both of which were
held in Geneva in December 2001.
Botswana has never produced or exported antipersonnel
landmines.[6] Botswana Defense
Force (BDF) officials state that the military has never laid any landmines in
Botswana or in any other
country.[7]
According to its Article 7 Report, “The Country does not have a
stockpile of mines but maintains a small quantity for training purposes.”
Details on numbers and types are not provided, though are required by Article 7.
The Botswana Defense Force has said it has a small number of inert mines for
training purposes, including seven inert antipersonnel directional mines and
three antivehicle mines.[8]
Botswana states that it needs the training mines “because in the past the
Botswana Defense Force soldiers have been deployed to mine-infested countries on
peace keeping assignments. Therefore there is need for the soldiers to be
trained in handling
landmines.”[9]
[1] Interview with Ms. Tshenolo Modise,
Deputy Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Botswana, 2 March 2001; interview
with Ms. Daphne Matlaka, Deputy Attorney General, Gaborone, 26 February
2001. [2] Presentation to the Southern
African Regional Seminar on International Humanitarian Law, Pretoria, South
Africa, 21-23 May 2002. [3] Article 7
Report, submitted on 28 September 2001. There are no dates noted for the
reporting period. [4] It was represented
by the Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Botswana to the United
Nations in Geneva. [5] Interview with Mr.
Sanoto, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President, Botswana, 6
February 2001. [6] Article 7 Report, 28
September 2001. [7] Ibid.; interview with
Colonel Tjatanga Moloi, Botswana Defense Force, Gaborone, 2 March
2001. [8] Interview with Colonel Tjatanga
Moloi, Botswana Defense Force, Gaborone, 2 March
2001. [9] Article 7 Report, 28 September
2001.
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