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Key developments since May 2000: Tunisia submitted its Article 7 transparency report in July 2000, detailing its 17,575 stockpiled antipersonnel mines and five mined areas for the first time.
Tunisia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and deposited its instrument of ratification on 9 July 1999. The treaty entered into force for Tunisia on 1 January 2000. Officials told Landmine Monitor in April 2001 that national implementation legislation is being prepared.[1] Tunisia has identified two existing laws and a decree governing possession, production, trade and use of arms and explosives that could apply to antipersonnel mines.[2]
Tunisia attended the Second Meeting of States Parties in September 2000 with a delegation led by its Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Hatem Ben Salem. In a statement to the plenary, Tunisia said that it “started implementing the provisions well in advance of entry into force of the treaty.”[3] Tunisia voted in favor of the November 2000 UN General Assembly resolution supporting the Mine Ban Treaty. Tunisia attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in December 2000 but not in May 2001.
In February 2001 Tunisia sent two delegates to a regional seminar on universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty in Africa, held in Bamako, Mali. At the meeting, Tunisia stated that ratification of the treaty had occurred following pressure from Tunisian civil society and said delays in implementation of some of the treaty’s provisions were due to a lack of financial resources, including for mine clearance and stockpile destruction.[4] During the seminar Tunisia chaired a workshop on ratification of the treaty.[5]
Tunisia submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report on 9 July 2000, covering the period from 1 January to 30 June 2000.[6] The report marks the first time that Tunisia has provided detailed information on mine stockpiles and destruction methods, as well as on the location of mined areas. As of June 2001, Tunisia had not yet submitted its annual, updated Article 7 report, which was due by 30 April 2001. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told Landmine Monitor that no new information is expected in this next report.[7]
Tunisia is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its original Protocol II, but has not yet ratified Amended Protocol II. Ratification is reportedly under consideration.[8] Tunisia attended as an observer the Second Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in December 2000.
Tunisia reports that it has never produced antipersonnel mines.[9] Landmine Monitor was told that Tunisia is not conducting any research into alternative weapons to the antipersonnel mine.[10]
In its July 2000 Article 7 report, Tunisia reported a stockpile of 17,575 antipersonnel mines including 5,010 undetectable Mle 51 mines (manufactured by France), 6,331 M2 bounding mines (USA), 684 PMA1 and 3,550 PMA3 pressure mines (former Yugoslavia), and 2,000 PROM1 bounding fragmentation mines (former Yugoslavia).[11]
On 30 June 1999, Tunisia destroyed some stockpiled antipersonnel mines at Ben Ghilouf, in the presence of a UN Development Program representative.[12] The Article 7 report indicates that the mines were destroyed in ovens in accordance with safety and environmental measures, but provides no information on quantity and types of mines destroyed.[13] According to officials, and the Article 7 report, no additional stockpile destruction has taken place since 1999.[14] Officials told Landmine Monitor in April 2001 that a stockpile destruction program will be established, but that no deadlines or provisional costs have been fixed.[15]
Tunisia is retaining 5,000 antipersonnel mines for training purposes, nearly one-third of its entire stockpile, including 4,000 PMA3 mines and 1,000 PROM1 mines.[16]
No use of antipersonnel mines was recorded during the reporting period.
Tunisia’s Article 7 report indicates that all emplaced mines were laid in 1976 and 1980; officials interviewed by Landmine Monitor declined to elaborate on why mines were laid. There are five mined areas, containing a total of 3,526 antipersonnel mines and 1,530 antivehicle mines.[17] Three are located in the desert regions in the far south near the Libyan border: Borj El Khadra, M’Chiguig, and Ras Jedir (the border post between Tunisia, Algeria and Libya). A fourth area is Bir Zar, 150 kilometers north on the Libyan border. It is not known where the fifth mined area, M’Guisem, is located. Government officials declined to provide this information.
In addition to these mined areas, local residents often find mines or unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from World War II in other locations.[18]
Mine clearance operations in the established mined areas face a number of difficulties, including undetectable mines, and mines that have moved from their original location due mainly to shifting sands. The Article 7 report indicates that of the 3,526 antipersonnel mines believed to be emplaced, 1,645 are undetectable. A combination of manual and mechanical mine clearance is envisaged. Once initiated, clearance operations are not expected to last longer than five months.[19]
When a mine or UXO is reported by a civilian, the Ministry of Defense sends a team to the field to secure the area and destroy the device.[20] Mine clearance is also carried out before starting any large-scale public construction work.
Between 1991 and March 2001, 6,997 mines and UXO were cleared.[21] Officials told Landmine Monitor that Tunisia requires external assistance to implement a systematic mine clearance program. In particular, it would like to receive assistance from the countries responsible for mine-laying in Tunisia during World War II.[22]
Government officials told Landmine Monitor that they do not see a need for specific mine awareness programs because the Civilian Guard already informs people when necessary in the mined areas, and because a low number of people are directly at risk.[23]
From 1991 to March 2001 Tunisian authorities registered three mine and UXO casualties: one death in 1991 due to a World War II UXO, one death in 1995 due to a World War II UXO, and an incident in 1996 which resulted on one death and one injury. No further details were available. Authorities report that no new victims have been registered since 1996.[24]
In addition to first aid facilities, the Ministry of Social Affairs has a system of rehabilitation centers, which provide for rehabilitation, training and socio-economic reintegration of disabled people. The National Bank for Solidarity considers proposals from disabled who have come from a rehabilitation center. It provides assistance in finding jobs and funds to start small businesses. One woman who was amputated after an UXO accident reportedly received training in data processing and was given the equivalent of $8,000 to set up her own business.[25]
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[1] Interviews with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Social Affairs, Tunis, 25 April 2001. These included four representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, two from Ministry of Defense, and two from Ministry of Social Affairs.
[2] Tunisia, Article 7 report, submitted 9 July 2001, covering the period from 1 January 2000 to 30 June 2000, Form A. The report cites Law 69-33 of 12 June 1969, Law 96-63 of 15 July 1996, and Decree 70-60 of 21 February 1970.
[3] Statement to the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 11 September 2000.
[4] Statement by Moncef Hajeri, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and comments by to Landmine Monitor by other Tunisian delegates, Seminar on Universalization and Implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty in Africa, Bamako, Mali, 15 February 2001.
[5] General Report Presented by Mali, Seminar on Universalization and Implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty in Africa, Bamako, Mali, 15-16 February 2001, par. 2.3.1.
[6] Article 7 report, submitted 9 July 2001, covering from 1 January 2000 to 30 June 2000.
[7] Interview with Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 25 April 2001.
[8] Interviews with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Social Affairs, Tunis, 25 April 2001.
[9] Article 7 report, Form H, 9 July 2000.
[10] Interviews with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Social Affairs, Tunis, 25 April 2001.
[11] Article 7 report, Form B and Form H, 9 July 2000. The French Mle 51 mines are also known as Model 51 or MI AP ID 51 mines.
[12] “Tunisia begins destruction of antipersonnel mines,” Tunisia Online, 6 July 1999.
[13] Article 7 report, Form F, 9 July 2000.
[14] Interviews with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Social Affairs, Tunis, 25 April 2001; Article 7 Report, Form G, 9 July 2000.
[15] Interviews with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Social Affairs, Tunis, 25 April 2001.
[16] Article 7 report, Form F, 9 July 2000.
[17] Article 7 report, Form C, 9 July 2000.
[18] Interviews with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Social Affairs, Tunis, 25 April 2001.
[19] Article 7 report, Form F, 9 July 2000.
[20] Interviews with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Social Affairs, Tunis, 25 April 2001.
[21] Document provided to Landmine Monitor by Tunisian authorities on 25 April 2001.
[22] Interviews with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Social Affairs, Tunis, 25 April 2001.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Document provided to Landmine Monitor by Tunisian authorities on 25 April 2001.
[25] Documents shown to Landmine Monitor by a doctor working in the Ministry of Social Affairs, Tunis, 25 April 2001.
