| <TURKEY | UNITED ARAB EMIRATES> |
Tuvalu has not yet acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. In September 2001, the Attorney General, Afele Kitiona, said that he had recommended to the Cabinet that Tuvalu ratify the treaty and noted that ratification was being held up by concerns over the costs of implementation.[1] In its April 2002 response to Landmine Monitor’s request for information, Bill Teo, a government official in the Office of the Prime Minister, stated that ratification will “most probably [take place] in the years to come, as it is not a priority area.”[2] Tuvalu was absent during the vote on pro-ban UN General Assembly Resolution 56/24M in November 2001.
Teo confirmed that the country does not use, produce, export, import, or stockpile antipersonnel mines and their transfer through its territory is not allowed. While there is a problem with unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from World War II, Teo told Landmine Monitor, “Since there hasn't been any task to scan Tuvalu (land or sea) to determine the presence” of mines, they could not confirm the absence of landmines. He indicated there have been no injuries or deaths in Tuvalu due to UXO or landmines.[3]
| <TURKEY | UNITED ARAB EMIRATES> |
[1] Interview by David Capie, small arms researcher, with Afele Kitiona, Attorney General of Tuvalu, Suva, 22 Sept 2001. Information provided by Capie in email to Landmine Monitor (HRW), 2 December 2001.
[2] Letter from Bill P Teo on behalf of the Secretary to Government, Office of the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, to Neil Mander, Convenor New Zealand Campaign Against Landmines, 15 April 2002.
[3] Ibid.
