Key
developments since May 2001: Burkina Faso adopted a decree to incorporate
the Mine Ban Treaty into domestic law on 2 May 2001. Although Burkina Faso
possesses no stockpiles, it reserves the right to retain a maximum number of 500
antipersonnel mines.
MINE BAN POLICY
Burkina Faso signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3
December 1997 and ratified it on 16 September 1998, becoming the 40th
country to do so, and therefore triggering the treaty’s entry into force
on 1 March 1999. On 2 May 2001, the President of Burkina Faso, Blaise Campaore,
signed a decree on the ban of antipersonnel mines, incorporating the treaty into
domestic law. Violations of the decree are sanctioned with a one- to five-year
term of imprisonment and/or a fine of CFAF 300,000 to 1,500,000 (US$410 to
$2,050). The State is authorized to retain a maximum of 500 antipersonnel mines
for training purposes. The decree specifies the conditions for inspection as per
Article 8 of the Treaty. The same penal sanctions are applicable in the case of
preventing inspection operations. The Ministers of Security, of Defense, and of
Justice and Promotion of Human Rights, are responsible for the implementation of
the decree.[1]
Burkina Faso was scheduled to attend the Third Meeting of States Parties in
Managua, Nicaragua, in September 2001, but due to flight difficulties was unable
to do so.It attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in
Geneva in January and May 2002. Burkina Faso also participated in the regional
“Conference on Arms and International Humanitarian Law: the CCW and the
Ottawa Convention” in Abuja, Nigeria, organized by the ICRC in
collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on 10
and 11 October 2001.
In November 2001, Burkina Faso cosponsored and voted in favor of UN General
Assembly Resolution 56/24M, which calls for universalization and full
implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Burkina Faso submitted its third Article 7 transparency report on 14 March
2002, for calendar year 2001.[2]
As a follow-up to its commitment at the regional landmine conference held in
Bamako, Mali in February 2001, Burkina Faso co-chaired with Belgium a meeting of
the Article 7 Contact Group in Geneva on 30 January 2002. Burkina Faso has
since directly contacted a number of States Parties to encourage them to submit
their transparency reports.[3]
Burkina Faso 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.
PRODUCTION, TRANSFER, STOCKPILING, USE AND MINE ACTION
Burkina Faso has not produced or exported
antipersonnel mines.[4] The
military and governmental authorities have reaffirmed that the country has never
used antipersonnel mines.[5]
Burkina Faso possesses no stockpiles of antipersonnel mines. However,
national legislation permits the authorities to “retain and transfer
antipersonnel mines for training in detection, demining and destruction,”
with the number being limited to no more than 500
mines.[6]
Burkina Faso’s last two Article 7 Reports state that the Army has not
retained antipersonnel mines for training purposes
“yet.”[7] When asked
about this, a Ministry of Defense official underlined the need for training for
militaries involved in international operations. He added, however, that the
purchase of antipersonnel mines is
forbidden.[8]
One battalion (approximately 200 persons) of the Military Engineering
Department have been trained in demining techniques in France since independence
in 1969. Since 1997, every year, six soldiers attend demining training sessions
at the “Ecole de la Paix” in Zambakro, Côte
d'Ivoire.[9]
Burkina Faso is not mine-affected. There are no mine victims. It is not
involved in conducting mine clearance or mine risk education programs and has
not made any financial contribution to mine action programs during the reporting
period.
[1] Decree N°2001-180/PRES/PM/SECU on
the ban of antipersonnel mines in Burkina Faso, 2 May 2001, published in the
monthly Official Journal in June 2001. [2]
The UN lists the date of submission as 14 March 2002, although Burkina Faso has
it dated 23 January 2002. [3] Interview
with Blaise Kiema, Officer of the Military Engineers, Ministry of Defense, and
with Piabé Firmin N’Do, Counselor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Geneva, 30 May 2002. Antivehicle mines with antihandling devices are explicitly
excluded from the application of the
decree. [4] Landmine Monitor Report 2001,
p. 61; confirmed by Capt. Blaise Kiema, Ministry of Defense, and Piabié
Firmin N'Do, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geneva, 29 January
2002. [5] Interview with Capt. Blaise
Kiema, Ministry of Defense, and Piabié Firmin N'Do, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Geneva, 29 January 2002. [6]
Decree N°2001-180/PRES/PM/SECU, 2 May
2001. [7] Article 7 Reports, Form D, 14
March 2002 and 6 August 2001. [8]
Interview with Blaise Kiema, Ministry of Defense, and Piabé Firmin
N’Do, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geneva, 30 May
2002. [9] Interview with Capt. Blaise
Kiema, Ministry of Defense, Geneva, 29 January 2002; email from Capt. Blaise
Kiema, 17 June 2002.
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