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Côte d’Ivoire signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997, ratified it on 30 June 2000, and became a State Party on 1 December 2000. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for the mine issue, and reported at the beginning of 2002 that draft national implementation legislation was to be submitted to the National Assembly.[1] As of July 2002, it had not yet been submitted.
Côte d’Ivoire’s first Article 7 transparency report, due on 30 May 2001, has reportedly been sent to the Côte d’Ivoire Mission to the United Nations in New York, but it has not been officially submitted to the UN Secretary-General.[2] However, a copy of the report, covering the period 9 May 2001 to 31 December 2001, was sent to Landmine Monitor. It is a “nil” report, indicating Côte d'Ivoire is not mine-affected, and has never produced, imported or used antipersonnel mines; it does not have a stockpile of mines, even for training purposes.[3]
Côte d’Ivoire did not attend the Third Meeting of States Parties in September 2001 in Managua, Nicaragua, or the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in January or May 2002. There is no budget for attending these meetings.[4] However, it has participated in a number of regional meetings dealing with the landmine issue.
It attended the Conference on Civil Society and the Ban of Antipersonnel Mines, organized by the Program for Coordination and Assistance for Security and Development (Programme de Coordination et d’Assistance pour la Sécurité et le Développement, PCASED), held in Accra, Ghana, from 14 to 17 March 2001, and the national seminar on Implementation of Treaties and Conventions: the Ottawa Convention and the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) Moratorium on Small Arms, organized by the African Center for Human Security in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on 29 August 2001. At the national seminar, the government representative noted that Cote d’Ivoire’s signing of the ECOWAS Moratorium is seen as a confirmation that Côte d’Ivoire continues to support the struggle for a mine-free world.[5] Côte d'Ivoire also participated in the Conference on Arms and International Humanitarian Law: the CCW and the Ottawa Treaty, in Abuja, Nigeria, organized by the ICRC in collaboration with ECOWAS, on 10 and 11 October 2001.
In November 2001, Côte d'Ivoire co-sponsored and voted for UN General Assembly Resolution 56/24M, calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. At the beginning of 2002, a Ministry of Defense official reiterated the government’s willingness to do whatever it could to support initiatives to ban mines.[6]
Côte d'Ivoire is not a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). It did not attend the third annual meeting of States Parties to Amended Protocol II of the CCW, or the Second CCW Review Conference, in Geneva in December 2001.
The Côte d'Ivoire Campaign to Ban Landmines was created in December 2000. In October 2001, ACHUS, one of the founders of the Campaign, with the support of the Swiss Embassy, organized educational activities for youth in four districts of Abidjan on the issue of small arms and antipersonnel mines. Awareness programs have been organized by the Côte d'Ivoire section of the Organization of African Unity Club in some schools, including one held on 19 February 2002 at the Sainte Foi College in Abobo (Abidjan). At a moot court competition on International Humanitarian Law, organized by the ICRC in Abidjan on 27 March 2002, ACHUS did a presentation (on behalf of Handicap International) on the mine issue for 24 participants of the Police School, the Institute for Communication Science and Technologies, the National School for Administration, the University of Cocody and the University of the Atlantic.
In 2001, some 199 officers from 35 different African countries received training on the mine ban issue at the Ivorian/French-led Peace-Keeping Training School in Zambakro. These training sessions were given by ACHUS, in collaboration with Handicap International Belgium.[7] ACHUS also initiated an e-mail group of officers to share information on small arms in general and mines in particular.
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[1] Interview with Col. Guie Globo Denis, Director of Defense, Ministry of Defense, Abidjan, 24 January 2002.
[2] Information provided by Lt. Col. Philippe Mangou, Deputy Director of Doctrine and Employment, Ministry of Defense, 10 April 2002.
[3] Article 7 Report, dated 9 May 2001, sent to Landmine Monitor by Lt. Col. Mangou. The same information was given to Landmine Monitor on 4 December 2000 in an interview with Col. Guie Globo Denis. Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.71.
[4] Interview with Col. Guie Globo Denis, Ministry of Defense, Abidjan, 24 January 2002.
[5] Statement of Marc Bany, in charge of treaties and conventions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the Seminar on the Implementation of the ECOWAS Moratorium on Small Arms and the Ottawa Treaty, Abidjan, 29 August 2001.
[6] Interview with Fany Inza, Diplomatic Adviser in charge of International Relations, Ministry of Defense, Abidjan, 14 February 2002.
[7] Interview with Col. Benoit Royal, Director of Studies, Zambakro Peace-Keeping Training School, 27 February 2002.
