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Site Admin <webmaster2@icbl.org> .
Monday 29 October 2007
A delegation from the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) visited the Sultanate of Oman on 28 October as part of the organization’s efforts to promote adherence to the Mine Ban Treaty.
The one-day visit followed a letter sent by ICBL Ambassador and Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams to the country’s monarch His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said in May 2007.
“After the recent accessions of Kuwait and Iraq, the time is increasingly right for peace-loving countries in the Gulf region to join the international efforts to eradicate antipersonnel mines and the human suffering they cause,” said Ayman Sorour, Executive Director of Egyptian NGO Protection and member of the ICBL’s Management Committee.
ICBL delegates at the end of the meeting at the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo:ICBL
Mr Sorour and ICBL Advocacy Director Simona Beltrami were received by H.E. Ambassador Naif Obaid Moosa Al-Salami, Head of the International Affairs Department in Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Al-Salami was accompanied by his deputy, Counsellor Arafah Sameer and the Director of the Disarmament and Arms Control Division, Counsellor Abdullah Al-Riyami.
After an introduction on the achievements of the Mine Ban Treaty in its 10th anniversary year and the reassurance that Oman shares the treaty’s humanitarian goals, the meeting addressed specific issues regarding treaty membership and its implications.
Ambassador Al-Salami stated that as “no state is alone in this world” it is important for all countries to contribute to solving humanitarian problems, however far away they might be. He assured the ICBL delegation that Oman will seriously consider accession, and expressed the hope that this will happen soon. He also stated that the ICBL visit will serve as an opportunity to raise the issue with other branches of the government.
The ICBL was also happy to hear that, as a concrete sign of engagement, Oman decided to send an observer delegation to the 8th Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty which will take place in Jordan from 18 to 22 November 2007.
Oman has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines and it has declared it only possesses a limited stock for training purposes. There is a limited mine problem in Oman – mainly in the southern Dhofar region and along the border with Yemen – resulting from a 1964-1975 internal conflict. The Royal Army of Oman has mapped seven zones of suspected mined areas based on historical records of battlefield areas, unit positions, and landmine incident reports.
ICBL delegates also met with representatives from the Omani media before moving to Bahrain,where they will coordinate a seminar on the Mine Ban Treaty for members of Bahrain’s two houses of Parliament. The seminar, entitled “The Mine Ban Treaty: Effective Participation Towards a Mine-Free World” will be held in Manama on 1 November, under the auspices of the Parliament’s Speaker and will see the participation of the ICBL, International Committee of the Red Cross, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs and one member of the Kuwaiti Parliament.
