Key developments: National implementation legislation, Law 2004-044, was adopted on 8 June 2004.
Niger signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, ratified on 23 March 1999, and became a State Party on 1 September 1999. Niger adopted national implementation legislation, Law 2004-044, on 8 June 2004 and it entered into force on 15 September 2004.[1] According to the law, use, production, stockpiling or transfer of antipersonnel mines can be punished with a prison term of between 10 and 20 years, as well as a fine between 1 and 3 million CFA francs.[2] The law directs that the government’s National Commission for the Collection and Control of Illegal Weapons is responsible for ensuring the law’s application.[3]
Niger last attended a Mine Ban Treaty-related meeting in December 2004, when it participated in the First Review Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.
As of 1 June 2006, Niger had not submitted its annual updated Article 7 transparency report due 30 April 2006. Niger has submitted four previous Article 7 reports, most recently on 26 May 2005, for the period from 31 March 2004 to 31 March 2005.[4]
Niger is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its original Protocol II on landmines, but not the 1996 Amended Protocol II.
Niger has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines. The weapon was reportedly last used by government forces and Touareg and Toubou rebel groups in the conflict that ended in 1995.
In April 2003, Niger reported that it had destroyed 48 antipersonnel mines since May 2001, and that it no longer had any antipersonnel mines in stock.[5] Previously, Niger reported that it had no stockpile of antipersonnel mines, including for training purposes.[6]
In May 2005, Niger reported that it was retaining a total of 1,095 landmines: 949 antivehicle mines and 146 French “éclairant” [flare] mines.[7] None of these mines can be considered antipersonnel mines under the Mine Ban Treaty.
Niger’s landmine problem dates back to World War II and more recently, to the internal armed conflict of the 1990s between the government and Touareg and Toubou rebel groups. The 1998 peace agreement with the Front Démocratique Révolutionnaire (FDR) included mine clearance provisions, although no such clearance is known to have been undertaken.[8]
Contamination is predominantly located in the Aïr Mountains in the north and central regions of the country, and in the Ténéré desert in the north. The government has previously reported that landmines affect tourism, transportation and the local economy, although the extent of contamination and its impact remain uncertain.[9] It is not known if there is also contamination from explosive remnants of war.[10]
Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Niger must destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but no later than 1 September 2009. There is, however, no evidence that Niger has undertaken any demining since adhering to the treaty. In its most recent Article 7 report, which covers the period 31 March 2004 to 31 March 2005, Niger reported no survey or clearance activity.[11]
Since 2001, the government has sought international mine action assistance for survey and marking of the affected areas and clearance, apparently without success. In February 2004, Niger presented a draft mine action plan for 2004-2006 during an intersessional Standing Committee meeting on mine clearance. The plan included marking and mapping of the affected areas, mine risk education, demining training and the acquisition of new mine clearance equipment.[12] However, Niger did not attend the Standing Committee meetings in June 2005 or May 2006 to provide an update on its efforts or request assistance to meet its obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty.
There have been no reports of landmine/UXO incidents between 2004 and May 2006. The last recorded incident occurred in 2003: three Italian tourists were killed and their local guide injured when their vehicle hit an antivehicle mine in the north of Niger.[13] There is no comprehensive official data available on landmine casualties in Niger, and the total number of casualties is not known.[14]
The health sector is under-funded and 50 percent of the population does not have access to healthcare services, which are low in quality and limited in geographical coverage.[15]
Niger has legislation to protect the rights of persons living with disabilities in the field of employment, education, healthcare and other state services.[16] The Ministry of Population and Social Welfare is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities in Niger.
[1] Article 7 Report, Form A, 26 May 2005; email from Kathleen Lawand, Legal Advisor, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 29 April 2005.
[2] Article 7 Report, Form A, 26 May 2005, citing Law 2004-044, Article 13. The fine is equivalent to US$1,941 to $5,825 as of 26 May 2006 (US$1=CFA515).
[3] Article 7 Report, Form A, 26 May 2005, citing Law 2004-044, Article 16. In French, La Commission Nationale de Collecte et de Contrôle des Armes Illicites (CNCCAI).
[4] Niger also submitted Article 7 reports on 12 September 2002, 4 April 2003 and 30 April 2004. In addition, Landmine Monitor received a copy of an Article 7 report dated 9 August 2001, which apparently was never received by the UN.
[5] Article 7 Report, Form G, 4 April 2003. It also destroyed 65 antipersonnel detonators, 34 antivehicle mines and five antivehicle detonators.
[6] Fax from Mamadou Koudij, Secretary to the President of the National Commission for the Collection and Control of Illicit Weapons, 27 June 2001. Attached was a copy of the unsubmitted Article 7 report dated 9 August 2001, which in Form B declared no stockpiled antipersonnel mines.
[7] Article 7 Report, Form D, 26 May 2005. Niger reported this same information in its April 2003 report (noting that an additional 57 antivehicle mines were slated for destruction). Its April 2004 report is a “nil” report, providing no new information.
[8] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 28-29; Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 637-638; Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 376; Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 132.
[9] Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has not encountered problems due to landmines in the course of its relief work addressing malnutrition problems in the Maradi, Tahaua and Zinder regions. Information provided by Johanne Sekkenes, Head of Mission, MSF, Niger, 25 September 2005; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 28-29.
[10] Under Protocol V of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, explosive remnants of war are defined as unexploded ordnance and abandoned explosive ordnance. Mines are explicitly excluded from the definition.
[11] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 29.
[12] Ibid; Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 637–638.
[13] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 638.
[14] See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 638.
[15] WHO, “Niger Country Profile,” www.who.int, accessed 16 May 2006.
[16] US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2005: Niger,” 8 March 2006.