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Ireland signed and ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997, and the treaty entered into force 1 March 1999. Ireland was able to ratify the treaty immediately because it already had implementing legislation in place in the form of the Explosives (Landmine) Order that had been approved by the Dail, the Irish parliament, on 12 June 1996. In compliance with the Mine Ban Treaty, the Defense Force Tactical Doctrine was amended to prohibit the use of landmines.
Ireland attended the Second Meeting of States Parties in September 2000 and meetings of the intersessional Standing Committees in December 2000, but not in May 2001. Ireland voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 55/33V in support of the Mine Ban Treaty as it has done in previous years. Ireland submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report on 16 August 1999 and subsequent annual reports on 14 April 2000 and 18 June 2001. Ireland is a State Party to Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). It attended the Second Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in December 2000 and submitted the required Article 13 transparency report.
Ireland is not mine-affected. Ireland has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines. Ireland retains 127 EXPAL antipersonnel mines of Spanish manufacture for training purposes as permitted by Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty.[1] In 2000, the Army Engineer Corps used three mines in training in preparation for UN operations.[2]
Ireland has been an ongoing contributor to humanitarian mine action.[3] As of 13 December 2000 the Irish government reported that it had contributed 610,000 Ir£ (US$558,882) to mine action for the year 2000.[4] This represents a substantial decrease from 1999 when Ireland reported contributing a total of 1,566,000 Ir£ (US$1,434,769) to mine action.[5]
Mine Action Funding in 2000 (as of 13 December 2000)
|
Country
|
Donation (IRP)
|
Project
|
Agency
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Afghanistan
|
200,000
|
Mine Victim Assistance
|
ICRC
|
|
Cambodia
|
267,000
|
Demining Program
|
HALO Trust
|
|
Somalia
|
173,000
|
Services to the Disabled
|
HI
|
|
Total
|
610,000 Ir£ (US$558,882)
|
|
|
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[1] Article 7 report, Form D, submitted 18 June 2001; also, National Annual Report on CCW Amended Protocol II, 13 December 2000. The Article 7 report submitted 14 April 2000 cited 129 mines.
[2] National Annual Report on CCW Amended Protocol II, 13 December 2000.
[3] All currency conversions done by Landmine Monitor at the Interbank rate of 0.91620 on 29 May 2001.
[4] National Annual Report on CCW Amended Protocol II, 13 December 2000.
[5] This figure is according the National Annual Report on CCW Amended Protocol II, 13 December 2000 and differs slightly from the 1999 figure reported in Landmine Monitor Report 2000.