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Key developments since May 2001: The Mines Advisory Group carried out a mine assessment mission in December 2001, and UNMAS conducted an assessment in 2002. Mauritania submitted its first Article 7 Report, dated 20 June 2001, and its annual update on 12 June 2002. Mauritania reports a stockpile of 5,728 mines, all of which will be retained.
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997, ratified on 21 July 2000, and the treaty entered into force for Mauritania on 1 January 2001.
Mauritania submitted its first Article 7 Report on 20 June 2001, for the period from 1 June to 1 November 2001. It submitted its annual Article 7 Report on 12 June 2002, for the period from 1 June 2001 to 1 June 2002.
Both Article 7 Reports refer to Law 99-07 of 20 January 1999 under national implementation measures. According to the National Humanitarian Demining Office (NHDO), the law is still in draft and not yet final.[1] Under this law, any use, production, buying, selling, retaining, importing, exporting, or stockpiling of antipersonnel mines will be punishable by imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of MRO 10 million (US$37,827).[2]
Mauritania participated in the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in September 2001 in Managua, and attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in January and May 2002. It made a statement at the “Regional Seminar on the Ottawa Convention in North Africa” in Tunis on 15-16 January 2002, in which it reaffirmed the country’s commitment to banning antipersonnel mines.[3]
A National Committee, established in December 2001, is in charge of the landmine issue.[4] The permanent secretariat of the committee is provided by the National Humanitarian Demining Office.[5]
In November 2001, Mauritania cosponsored and voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 56/24M, in support of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Mauritania states that it has never manufactured antipersonnel mines,[6] and it is not believed to have exported landmines.
Mauritania provided detailed information on the country’s stockpile of antipersonnel mines in its June 2001 Article 7 Report. It reported a stockpile of 5,728 antipersonnel mines, including: 1,890 plastic “model 51”mines manufactured by France,[7] 1,838 PMN Soviet manufactured mines, and 2,000 MP mines (believed to be the PMA-3 manufactured by the former Yugoslavia).[8] Mauritania indicated that it would retain all of these 5,728 antipersonnel mines for training, under Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty.[9]
In its Article 7 Report, Mauritania also reported that 8,084 non-detectable type “51” mines had been transferred for destruction, though it did not report the actual destruction of the mines.[10] In a February 2001 document, Mauritania indicated that over the past three years it had destroyed 8,084 antipersonnel mines, of which 60 percent (about 4,850) came from stockpiles and 40 percent (about 3,234) came from demining operations.[11]
The mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) problem in the north of Mauritania is the result of its involvement in the conflict over the disputed region of Western Sahara. Between 1975 and 1978 Mauritania occupied the southern third of Western Sahara, and, along with Moroccan Forces, fought against the Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro) independence movement for Western Sahara. All parties to the conflict used mines extensively.
From 8-15 December 2001, the British mine action NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG) carried out an assessment mission in Mauritania, with financial support provided by Canada. In its assessment mission report, MAG noted that both the Mauritanian and Moroccan military laid protective and defensive minefields and belts, primarily around urban centers and key economic assets, while Polisario used mines to disrupt communication, provide cover during retreat, and/or to disrupt Mauritania’s key economic asset: the iron ore mines at Kedia d’Idjill, Guelb El Rhein, and M’Haoudat and the railway that transported the ore to the coast.[12]
To a lesser extent explosive devices left over from the colonial period have been found in other parts of the country. In addition, the shifting of dunes, the instability of soils and the absence of natural barriers present huge obstacles to clearance operations and increase the danger for the civilian population.[13]
The exact scope of the mine and UXO problem remain largely undefined, no records exist and only limited information gathering has taken place.[14] Mine- and UXO-affected areas are located in the northern regions of Dakhlet Naoudhibou, Adrar, and Tiris Zemour where the mines and UXO are for the most part located around the urban centers of Nouadhibou, Zouerate, and Bir Moghrein.[15] The towns of Choum, F’derick, Atar, Chinguiti, and Boulenoir, as well as more remote locations along the northern and western borders are also mine-affected.[16]
According to MAG, “given the size and density of the minefields MAG saw,” the prior estimate of 50,000 to 100,000 mines remaining in the ground, “does not seem unreasonable.”[17]
According to NHDO, mine- and UXO-affected areas total approximately 310,000 square kilometers and impact about 294,000 people, mainly urbanized former nomadic populations who continue their pastoral activities.[18] Major economic activities are hindered by the presence of mines and UXO: iron ore extraction, fishing on the coast, trade through the overland route from Morocco, and tourism in coastal and desert areas.[19]
From 3-11 April 2002, the UN Mine Action Service organized a UN interagency mine action mission to “define the scope and nature of the landmine/unexploded ordnance (UXO) problem in Mauritania,” and make recommendations for the implementation of mine action activities.[20] No report is available yet.
Mauritania has allocated approximately $850,000 annually from its national defense budget to the NDHO for mine clearance.[21]
The US donated $729,000 in its 2001 financial year for construction of a regional demining facility in Nouadhibou, the main economic center of Mauritania.[22] The US also provided radio communication equipment to NDHO in April 2002.[23]
The NHDO, established in 1999 within the Military Engineers of the Mauritanian Army, remains the only active mine action body in Mauritania, conducting both clearance and mine risk education.[24] Its activities are, however, limited by a lack of personnel, equipment, and financial resources.[25]
Between June 2001 and June 2002, Mauritania reported that mine clearance operations took place in Zouerate and Nouadhibou, but no information was provided on the amount of land or quantity or types of mines cleared.[26] According to Cdr. Alioune Ould Mennane of the NHDO in the first half of 2002, a total of 250 antipersonnel mines and 180 antitank mines were cleared and destroyed.[27] It is unclear if these include the 280 explosive devices cleared in April 2001 during a demining operation of a 14 kilometer-long stretch of road between the Moroccan border checkpoint at Bin Gandouz and the Mauritanian railway by a joint Moroccan-Mauritanian team.[28] On 4 October 2001, a joint Moroccan-Mauritanian demining operation took place on the road used by the Paris-Dakar rally.[29]
The US assistance program provided equipment and training to the NHDO to allow it to establish its own mine risk education (MRE) campaigns, but according to MAG, the NDHO is very limited in the people it can reach.[30]
UNICEF led a seminar on mine risk education in Zouerate from 24 June to 4 July 2001 for fifty nomads on basic awareness techniques.[31] MAG indicated that further support to implement MRE in Mauritania was needed.[32]
The NHDO has submitted a project proposal to UNICEF to add mine risk education in the official school curriculum.[33]
In January 2001, a Portuguese national was injured when his vehicle hit a landmine during the Paris-Dakar rally. No other incidents were reported in 2001. However, because of the size of the country and the nomadic way of life of the population, it is possible that not all mine incidents are reported.
Between 1978 and 2000, 343 people were killed and 239 seriously injured in reported landmine incidents.[34] MAG’s assessment report, however, reported data collated by the NDHO that listed slightly fewer recorded fatalities, 324, but the same number of injuries.[35] It also listed 584 camels and donkeys reported killed by mines and UXO and 32 vehicles destroyed.
Government policy makes no distinction between landmine survivors and other persons with disabilities. Emergency cases are sent to Nouakchott or to regional hospitals, but the capacity of facilities is limited. Community-based rehabilitation programs have been set up in the country. However, specialized facilities for rehabilitation of the disabled are based in Nouakchott and are therefore accessible to only a minority of the population.[36] In January 2002, the NDHO reported plans to establish a survivor assistance program, however no precise details are available.[37]
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[1] Email to Landmine Monitor (Handicap International Belgium) from Cdr. Alioune Ould Mennane, National Humanitarian Demining Office, 22 June 2002.
[2] Article 7 Report, Form A, 20 June 2001; Article 7 Report, Form A, 12 June 2002. Exchange rate: US$1 to MRO 264 on 31 July 2002.
[3] Statement by Lt. Col. Abdi Ould Ahmed T’feil, Director, National Humanitarian Demining Office, to Regional Seminar on the Ottawa Convention in North Africa, Tunis, 15 January 2002.
[4] Members of the National Committee include the Ministries of Defense, the Interior, Justice and Foreign Affairs and Cooperation; a member of Parliament; a member of the Senate; and a civil society representative (unspecified). The Committee meets twice a year. Email to Landmine Monitor (Handicap International Belgium) from Cdr. Alioune Ould Mennane, National Humanitarian Demining Office, 22 June 2002.
[5] Email to Landmine Monitor (Handicap International Belgium) from Cdr. Alioune Ould Mennane, NHDO, 22 June 2002.
[6] Article 7 Report, Form E, 20 June 2001.
[7] MAG said this antipersonnel mine, which it called the APID 51, was perhaps the most common mine laid in the ground. Mines Advisory Group, “Mauritania: Assessment Report on behalf of Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT),” December 2001, p. 2.
[8] Article 7 Report, Form B, 20 June 2001 states 2,400 MP mines. Article 7 Report, Form B, 12 June 2002 states 2,000 MP mines. Mauritania confirmed to Landmine Monitor that 2,000 is the correct number. Email to Landmine Monitor (Handicap International Belgium) from Cdr. Alioune Ould Mennane, NHDO, 22 June 2002.
[9] Article 7 Report, Form D, 20 June 2001.
[10] Ibid.
[11] NHDO, “Information sur la Situation Générale des Zones Minées en Mauritanie,” February 2001.
[12] Mines Advisory Group, “Mauritania: Assessment Report on behalf of Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT),” December 2001, p. 2.
[13] For more details see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 98-99.
[14] MAG, “Mauritania: Assessment Report,” December 2001, p. 2.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid, p. 4.
[19] Ibid, p. 5.
[20] UNMAS, “Assessment Mission to Mauritania, Terms of Reference,” undated, sent to Landmine Monitor by e-mail from NHDO, 1 April 2002.
[21] MAG, “Mauritania: Assessment Report,” December 2001, p.6. Cdr. Alioune Ould Mennane specified the funding is for mine clearance. Email to Landmine Monitor, 22 June 2002.
[22] US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” November 2001, p. 8.
[23] Email to Landmine Monitor from Deborah Netland, Program Manager, Humanitarian Demining Programs, US Department of State, 2 July 2002.
[24] MAG, “Mauritania: Assessment Report,” December 2001, p. 5.
[25] Ibid., p. 12.
[26] Article 7 Report, Form I, 12 June 2002.
[27] Email to Landmine Monitor from Cdr. Alioune Ould Mennane, NHDO, 22 June 2002.
[28] Interviews with Lt. Col. Ould Ahmed T'feil Abdi, Director, NHDO, Managua, 16 September 2001, and Geneva, 29 January 2002.
[29] Email from Cdr. Alioune Ould Mennane, NHDO, 22 June 2002.
[30] MAG, “Mauritania: Assessment Report,” December 2001, p. 10.
[31] The workshop cost US$10,000. E-mail from Cdt. Alioune Ould Mohamed El Hacen, NHDO, 12 August 2001.
[32] MAG, “Mauritania : Assessment Report,” December 2001, p. 10.
[33] E-mail from Cdt. Alioune Ould Mennane, NHDO, 22 June 2002.
[34] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 104.
[35] Mines Advisory Group, “Mauritania: Assessment Report on behalf of Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT),” December 2001, p. 5.
[36] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 104-105.
[37] Séminaire Régional sur la Convention d’Ottawa en Afrique du Nord, by Lt-Col Abdi Ould Ahmed T’feil, Director, NHDO, Tunis, 15 January 2002.
