Printed from: www.icbl.org/Work/MBT/Mine-Clearance/Extension-Requests
While all mine-affected states must do their best to respect their 10-year deadline, there are some countries that will need to request an extension under Article 5.3 of the treaty. States Parties will have the opportunity to assess and decide on each request. At the 7MSP (2006), States Parties agreed on a process to make sure that extensions are carefully prepared and considered. At the 8MSP (2007), a template for extension requests was approved. The ICBL issued recommended criteria for judging extension requests in April 2007. Thirty States Parties have been granted extensions so far. The ICBL had prepared detailed critiques of the extension requests to inform the decisions of the States Parties.
Albania, Bulgaria, Burundi*, Republic of Congo, Costa Rica, Denmark, El Salvador, France, Gambia, Greece*, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Jordan*, FYR Macedonia, Malawi, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Rwanda, Suriname, Swaziland, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia were mine affected when they joined the Mine Ban Treaty and have now reported completing clearance.
[*Burundi still has areas that are suspected or confirmed to be contaminated with antipersonnel mines, that it must release as soon as possible, before the expiry of its deadline (1 April 2014). Greece still has an area marked as mined and must release it as soon as possible, before the expiry of its deadline (1 March 2014). Jordan is still conducting verifications.]
In addition, the following States Parties have either suspected or residual antipersonnel mine contamination: Djibouti, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Namibia, Palau, and the Philippines. Under the Mine Ban Treaty, they have an obligation to make "every effort" to identify mined areas under their jurisdiction or control and then to clear any that they found.
ICBL Paper - Fulfilling the obligations of Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, 28 November 2011. Reviews basic Article 5 requirements and providing food for thought on mine clearance issues, including how to address the situation of states that discover mined areas after the expiry of their mine clearance deadline.
ICBL Statement on the Extension Request Process, 4 June 2008
ICBL Recommended Criteria for Judging Extension Requests, April 2007
ICBL Statement on Extension Requests, 20 September 2006
ICBL Views on the Extension Request Process, May 2006
Deadline extension requests process
DanChurchAid (DCA)
Danish Demining Group (DDG)
Handicap International (HI)
Mines Advisory Group (MAG)
Norwegian People's Aid (NPA)
Swiss Foundation for Mine Action