| <INDIA | DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA> |
Kiribati has not yet signed the Mine Ban Treaty. It did not participate in the Ottawa Process and is not a member of the United Nations. Kiribati is an independent republic with no regular military force. It is not believed to have ever produced, transferred, stockpiled or used antipersonnel landmines. Kiribati does not contribute funding nor resources to mine action programs. Kiribati’s Tarawa Island was the scene of some of the heaviest fighting during World War Two and considerable quantities of military wreckage and unexploded ordnance remain. Landmines are not believed to be among these UXOs. Other islands are also affected by UXO left over from the conflict. Much of the UXO on Tarawa has been removed by overseas contractors on a commercial basis to make way for a new port development.[1]
| <INDIA | DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA> |
[1] Kiribati Honorary Consulate General in Auckland, Telephone Interview with Landmine Monitor Researcher, 20 January 1999.
