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Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Libya) has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. In November 2000, during a UN General Assembly (UNGA) debate on mine action, the Libyan representative, Isa Ayad Babba, indicated that a key reason for not joining the Mine Ban Treaty is because the treaty has “no provision determining the legal responsibility of countries that planted such mines.”[1] He described the annual report on mine action submitted to the UNGA by the UN Secretary General as “regrettable” because it “did not refer to countries that had planted mines in the territories of other countries, and failed to ask those countries to provide compensation.”[2]
Libya went on to criticize the report because it “did not distinguish between the use of mines for legitimate defense and the irresponsible use of mines by combatant States.”[3] During the UNGA Millennium Summit debate, Libya’s Foreign Minister, Abdurrahman M. Shalghem, stated, “We, who are incapable of defending our lands and borders against the powerful who possess sophisticated weaponry, feel that humanity should focus its attention on the destruction of nuclear, chemical, ballistic and biological armaments, rather than mines, which are a simple form of weaponry.”[4]
These statements seem to indicate a step back from earlier statements of support for the ban, including that Libya was “opposed the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of landmines.”[5]
Libya abstained from the November 2000 vote on UNGA Resolution 55/33V in support of the Mine Ban Treaty, as it had on similar pro-ban resolutions in previous years.
A representative from Libya’s Permanent Mission to the UN attended the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in September 2000, but made no statement. Unlike the previous year, Libya did not attend meetings of the intersessional Standing Committees in December 2000 or May 2001. Libya is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) or its Amended Protocol II on landmines, but it attended the Second Annual Conference of States Parties to the CCW in December 2000.[6]
Libya is not known to have produced or exported antipersonnel mines. It has imported mines from the former Soviet Union. The size and composition of Libya’s stockpile is not known. Libya is believed to have used antipersonnel mines during its 1977 border conflict with Egypt and during its border conflict with Chad in 1977-1987. Libya has also used mines for perimeter defense of economically important sites and military bases.[7] It is not known if these mined areas are maintained or replenished. Libya has stated that its mine problem rests with the World War Two mines, which were “not due to internal or civil wars.”[8]
Libya claims that some 10,000 square kilometers of land are mined, representing 27% of the agricultural land in the country.[9] Some minefields are located close to ports and urban areas, such as the towns of Tubruk and Benghazi. There are mined areas on the borders with Egypt and Chad. Libyan officials estimate that there are between 1.5 and 3 million mines in their territory; unexploded ordnance appears to be a more significant problem than mines.[10]
It is not known if there are comprehensive records on the number of mines removed or the area of land cleared in Libya. The explosives division of the police force, which also trains local people in demining techniques, undertakes mine clearance in Libya. There are also some private companies involved in mine clearance, whose work is linked to oil, gas, and mineral exploration.
Libya has stated that it provides mine awareness and training programs to warn people of the dangers of mines.[11] It is believed that these training programs include the training of civilians in mine clearance techniques. All mine incidents in Libya must be reported to the police, but it is doubtful that accurate records exist for the numbers of mine-related incidents and mine victims in Libya. This has lead to significant variances among the figures for mine victims.[12] Although there are no specific mine-related victim assistance measures, all injuries are treated by the state and medical care is free. It is not known if there were any mine casualties in 2000 or 2001.
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[1] The statement was summarized in English by the UN and distributed in UN General Assembly Press Release (GA/9833), 28 November 2000, p. 9. Libya has a mine problem dating back to World War Two when the Allied and Axis forces emplaced mines in the deserts of North Africa.
[2] UN General Assembly Press Release (GA/9833), 28 November 2000, p. 9.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Abdurrahman M. Shalghem, Secretary, General People’s Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation, Statement summarized in English by the UN in UN General Assembly Press Release (GA/9757), 8 September 2000, p. 14; “Libya says sanctions should be viewed as a form of terrorism,” Agence France Presse (United Nations, NY), 8 September 2000.
[5] Explanation of vote by Libyan Representative, UNGA First Committee, UN Press Release (GA/DIS/3162), 8 November 1999.
[6] The delegation included representatives from the General People’s Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation and the General People’s Committee for Defence. List of Participants, Second Annual Conference of State Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II, CCW/AP.II/CONF.2/INF.2, 13 December 2000, p. 17.
[7] See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 899.
[8] UN General Assembly Press Release (GA/9833), 28 November 2000, p. 10.
[9] Letter from the Permanent Representative of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, dated 22 April 1997, (A/52/124), p. 6.
[10] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp. 951- 952, for a more detailed description of the problem.
[11] Statement by the Libyan Delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, 18 November 1999.
[12] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 953, for the statistics available.
