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LM Report 2001

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	Table of Contents
	Select a chapter ... About LM 2001 Introduction Africa Americas Asia-Pacific Europe/Central Asia Middle East/North Africa ICBL Appendices Exec. Summary Maps
	Select a country ... -STATES PARTIES- Jordan Qatar Tunisia Yemen -SIGNATORIES- Algeria -NON-SIGNATORIES- Bahrain Egypt Iran Iraq Israel Kuwait Lebanon Libya Morocco Oman Saudi Arabia Syria United Arab Emirates -OTHER- Golan Heights Northern Iraq (Kurdistan) Palestine Western Sahara

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Key developments since May 2000: In March 2001 the United Arab Emirates announced its intention to donate $50 million to help redevelop South Lebanon, which includes funding for mine clearance.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. In its first official response to Landmine Monitor, the UAE stated that it “confirms its support for the international effort to ban antipersonnel landmines.”^[1] A representative of the UAE’s Permanent Mission in Geneva attended the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in September 2000 as an observer. The UAE voted in favor of the November 2000 UN General Assembly Resolution 55/33V calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty, as it had on similar pro-ban resolutions in previous years. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

The UAE states that it “IS NOT a landmine producer or exporter.”^[2] Landmine Monitor has been unable to confirm whether the UAE stockpiles antipersonnel mines.

The UAE is not mine-affected. In its response to Landmine Monitor, the UAE stated that it has “organized many training programs in landmine clearance” and that it has also “financed and supported agricultural projects in the mined areas of Alameen and West Sinai in Egypt where the Egyptian army forces are working on demining.” It goes on to state that “the UAE contributed fully with the international community in clearing and demining antipersonnel landmines in Kosovo.”^[3]

In March 2001 the UAE announced it intention to donate $50 million to help redevelop South Lebanon, which includes funding for mine clearance.^[4] A military team from the UAE visited South Lebanon on 19 April 2001 to conduct a field assessment mission under this project.^[5] The UAE’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Mohamed Omran, formally announced the donation on 21 May 2001 at a demining conference in Beirut.^[6] In June 2001 the United Nations reported that a “Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates is being prepared to facilitate effective implementation of mine-action activities in the South utilizing the UAE $50 million contribution.”^[7]

^[1] Letter to Landmine Monitor/Human Rights Watch from the UAE Foreign Ministry, translated by the UAE Embassy, Washington DC, 5 October 2000.
^[2] Ibid. Emphasis in original.
^[3] Ibid.
^[4] “UAE to Help Lebanon Clear Landmines,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 19 March 2001.
^[5] Articles published in Al Hayat and Al Sharq Al Awsat (Arabic language daily newspapers published in London), 20 April 2000.
^[6] UN Department of Public Information, “International workshop urges rapid demining in Lebanon,” 21 May 2001.
^[7] UN Mine Action Service, “UNMAS Monthly Update,” No. 5, June 2001.