Togo
signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, ratified it on 9 March 2000 and
became a State Party on 1 September 2000. No domestic implementation measures
have been taken, as required by Article 9. Togo’s initial transparancy
report required by Article 7 was due on 28 February 2001 but has not been
submitted. An official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that these
delays were probably due to administrative reasons, particularly a lack of
personnel.[1] The official
added that, as the country is not affected by antipersonnel mines, the mine
issue is not a priority.[2]
Togo did not attend the Third Meeting of States Parties in Nicaragua in
September 2001, due to flight disruptions after the attacks in the United States
on 11 September 2001.[3] Togo
did not participate in the intersessionnal Standing Committee meetings in Geneva
in January or May 2002, due to financial
resources.[4] Togo 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.
On 29 November 2001, Togo voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution
56/24M, which calls for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban
Treaty.
Togo is not affected by landmines and there are no mine victims. It
reportedly has never produced, transferred or used antipersonnel mines, but
possesses a small stock of antipersonnel mines for training
purposes.[5] In April 2001,
during military training for peacekeepers of ten West African countries, held at
Kara in the north of Togo, a simulation of mine clearance operations in combat
areas was carried out.[6]
The Togolese Campaign to Ban Landmines, established in 2000, broadcast
programs on the Mine Ban Treaty on the national “Radio Togo” in May
and June 2001.[7]
[1] Interview with Abra Afetse-Tay, in
charge of Judicial, Agreements, and Treaty Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Abidjan, 29 January 2002. [2]
Ibid. [3] Interview with Lt. Col. Yao
Ametsipe, Cabinet of the Ministry of National Defense and War Veterans,
Lomé, 14 February 2002. [4]
Interview with Abra Afetse-Tay, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lomé, 5
April 2002. [5] Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 159. [6] Bernadin Adjosse and
Assimbodom Batassi, “Manœuvres militaires Cohésion Kozah
2001,” Togo-Presse, 23 April 2001, p. 7; interview with Lt. Col. Yao
Ametsipe, Cabinet of Ministry of Defense and War Veterans, Lomé, 14
February 2002. [7] Three 20-minute
programs, “The Discovery of the Ottawa Treaty,” were broadcast on 31
May, 7 June and 14 June 2001.
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