The
Republic of Cameroon signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997. Despite
having completed the domestic procedures for ratification on 28 July 2000,
Cameroon’s instrument of ratification still has not been deposited at the
United Nations.[1] Several
officials reconfirmed that the documents had been sent to the Permanent Mission
of Cameroon in New York on 6 June 2001 to be deposited with the UN
Secretary-General.[2] When
asked about the continuing delay, an official from the Ministry of External
Relations told Landmine Monitor in January 2002 that the keys of the diplomatic
pouch containing the ratification instruments had been lost, adding that the
problem should be solved within a short
time.[3]
Although not yet a State Party, Cameroon submitted an Article 7 transparency
report on 14 March 2001. In that report, the government stated that national
implementation measures for the Mine Ban Treaty were being
prepared;[4] however, no such
legislation has yet been submitted to the National Parliament.
Cameroon attended the Third Meeting of States Parties in Managua, Nicaragua,
in September 2001 as an observer. Ambassador Martin Mbarga Nguele, head of the
Cameroonian delegation, reconfirmed the government's support for a total ban on
landmines and encouraged all countries to respect the promises for a mine-free
world made to children, destroyed families, and the hundreds of thousands of
mutilated victims.[5] In
November 2001, Cameroon cosponsored and voted in favor of UN General Assembly
Resolution 56/24M, calling for universalization and full implementation of the
Mine Ban Treaty. Cameroon did not attend the intersessional Standing Committee
meetings in Geneva in January or May 2002.
Cameroon has not produced, exported or used antipersonnel mines
and will not facilitate their transit through its
territory.[6] It possesses a
stockpile of 500 antipersonnel mines for training purposes, which will be
destroyed once the mines are
out-of-date.[7]
Cameroon has said it wants to comply with treaty obligations concerning
international assistance and cooperation in mine clearance. To that end, the
Army trained a small number of Cameroonianpersonnel in mine clearance
techniques.[8] The Military
School in Yaounde plans to give courses on the Mine Ban
Treaty.[9]
Cameroon is not mine-affected, but according to Ambassador Mbarga Nguele,
Cameroonian Blue Helmets have been killed or injured by landmines in Cambodia,
and each year on 24 October, United Nations Day, they are
commemorated.[10] Another
official indicated there has been only one Cameroonian victim, Air Force
Captain Ndi Cho Abrahams, who died during military operations with the United
Nations Peacekeepers during the 1992-93 United Nations Transitional Authority in
Cambodia.[11]
[1] For details of the domestic steps, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.
205. [2] Phone interview with Ferdinand
Ngoh Ngoh, First Counselor, Permanent Mission of Cameroon to the UN, New York,
20 February 2002; Statement of Martin Mbarga Nguele, Ambassador of Cameroon in
Mexico, Head of Cameroon Delegation, Third Meeting of States Parties, Managua,
Nicaragua, 19 September 2001; Letter to Handicap International Belgium from
François-Xavier Ngoubeyou, Minister of State in charge of External
Relations, 17 September 2001. [3]
Interview with Alfred Ndoumbe Eboule, Deputy Director, UN Department of the
Ministry of External Relations, Yaounde, 29 January
2002. [4] Article 7 Report, Form A, 14
March 2001. [5] Statement of Ambassador
of Cameroon in Mexico, Third Meeting of States Parties, 19 September
2001. [6]
Ibid. [7] Ibid.; see also Article 7
Report, Forms B and F, 14 March 2001. Regarding types of mines, see Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, p. 206. [8]
Interview with Capt. David Yotsa, Military School, Yaounde, 24 January
2002. [9]
Ibid. [10] Statement of Ambassador of
Cameroon in Mexico, Third Meeting of State Parties, 19 September
2001. [11] Interview with an officer of
the Cameroonian Army who requests anonymity, Yaounde, 2 February
2002.
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