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Panamá signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, ratified on 7 October 1998, and the treaty entered into force on 1 April 1999.
In February 2002, Landmine Monitor was told that national implementation legislation was under consideration, but no specific legislation with regard to antipersonnel landmines had been introduced into parliament as of July 2002.[1]
Panamá submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report on 16 April 2002;[2] it had been due on 27 September 1999. Panamá reported on existing domestic legislation applicable to antipersonnel mines, including Article 237 of the Panamá Penal Code, which provides for a prison sentence of two to six years for “anyone who attempts to commit a crime endangering collective security by manufacturing, supplying, acquiring, removing or possessing bombs and explosive materials, or materials intended for their preparation.”[3] It also referred to Act No. 53 (Article 4) of 12 December 1995, which considers the transfer of any arms prohibited by law a crime punishable by five to ten years in prison; Article 3 of the same Act, which sanctions a prison sentence of four to seven years for “any person engaged in the import and export of illegal arms;” and provisions in the Penal Code that provide for a prison sentence for “any person that endangers or destroys persons or property in order to carry out an explosion.”[4]
In the report, Panamá confirmed that it has never produced, does not export and does not stockpile antipersonnel mines, including for training purposes.[5]
Panamá participated in the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Nicaragua in September 2001 and a representative from its diplomatic mission in Geneva attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in January 2002, but not May 2002.
Panamá cosponsored and voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 56/24M, calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty.
While Panamá is a State Party to Amended Protocol II (Landmines) to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), it did not participate in CCW meetings held in December 2001.
Panamá is not reported to be mine-affected, but it has a problem with unexploded ordnance (UXO) as a result of US military exercises and weapons testing in military ranges in the Canal Zone during the three decades prior to 1997.[6] According to the Article 7 Report, the Panamanian government has demarcated areas that had formerly been used for military purposes and it is prohibited to enter or use any of these areas.[7]
The Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs, the National Authorities of the Inter-Oceanic Region and the Environment, UNICEF and the Centro Juvenil Vicentino have continued with a UXO awareness program for people living near the UXO-affected areas, and the time frame for the program was extended to June 2003.[8] Educational materials produced to date include two documentaries and television spots based on case histories of UXO victims, instructional flyers, a coloring book, a children’s book, and a puppet show. The program has trained teachers, fire fighters, police, community leaders and students.[9]
There were no reports of mine or UXO casualties in 2001 or the first half of 2002.[10] Panamá has stated that at least twenty-one people have been killed by UXO since 1940, while the US gives a figure of seven fatalities since 1984.[11]
There are no disability policies that specifically address UXO survivors in Panamá.[12] People that were injured inside the ranges as a result of coming into contact with UXO were reimbursed in cash or in kind by the US government during the period of US control of the installations of Empire, Piña and Balboa West, even in cases where entrances to the area were restricted.[13]
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[1] Interview with Angela Healy, Legal Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Panama City, 15 February 2002.
[2] The time period for the report was not specified.
[3] Article 7 Report, Form A, 16 April 2002.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid., Forms B, D, and H.
[6] For further information, please see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 372.
[7] Article 7 Report, Form I, 16 April 2002.
[8] United Nations, “Portfolio of Mine-related Projects,” February 2002, p. 196; interview with Xochitl MaKay, Director of Education in Health, Ministry of Health, Panamá, 19 February 2002.
[9] United Nations, “Portfolio of Mine-related Projects,” April 2001, p. 198.
[10] Interview with Angela Healy, Legal Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 15 February 2002.
[11] Andrea Stone, “Deadly Reminders of US in Panama,” USA Today, 9 August 1999, p. 7.
[12] No policies were discovered during Landmine Monitor research at the Ministry of Health, at the Center of Legal Research, Panama University, or at the Legislative Archives, November 201-February 2002.
[13] Telephone interview with Lourdes Lozano, Institute of National Studies, University of Panama, 18 February 2002.
