The Sultanate of Oman has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. Omani officials told a UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) advocacy mission in March 2005 that the Foreign Ministry had given written political clearance to the Ministry of Defense to proceed with accession, but both ministries stressed the desirability of a common position among the six Gulf Cooperation Council states.[1] In June 2005, an Omani diplomat told Landmine Monitor that this position had not changed and no forward steps had been taken.[2] In December 2005, Oman voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 60/80 that promotes universalization and implementation of the treaty. Oman has voted in favor of every annual pro-ban UNGA resolution since 1996.
Oman did not attend the Sixth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Zagreb, Croatia in November-December 2005 or the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2005 and May 2006. Oman is not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons or its Amended Protocol II on landmines.
Oman has never produced or exported antipersonnel landmines, but imported and used them in the past. In February 2001, the Ministry of Defense stated that it has only a limited number of stockpiled mines for training purposes.[3] Omani officials told UNMAS that there are no antipersonnel mines stockpiled at the US military base in Oman.[4]
Three journalists from Omani newspapers (al-Watan, Oman, and al-Maraa) participated in the training workshop on the Mine Ban Treaty organized in Bahrain by the NGO Protection in April 2005.
The landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) problem in Oman is a legacy of a 1964-1975 internal conflict in which a variety of antipersonnel and antivehicle mines were used. The majority of mines and UXO are located in the Dhofar region of southern Oman and in two mined zones along the border with Yemen. The Royal Army of Oman has mapped seven zones of suspected mined areas based on historical records of battlefield areas, unit positions, and landmine incident reports.[5]
Landmine Monitor is not aware of any mine clearance or mine risk education activities in Oman since 2002. The United States ceased funding of mine action in 2003 after Oman declared that remaining mined areas were marked and civilians were no longer in danger.[6]
As of June 2005, Oman had not contributed funding to any regional or international mine action programs.[7] In 2005, the Lebanese community in Oman contributed OMR3,864 (US$10,026) for mine action in Lebanon.[8]
Since it started reporting in 1999, Landmine Monitor has not recorded any mine casualties in Oman. However, in 2001 it was reported that mines and UXO had killed at least 12 people and injured 84 others since the end of the Dhofar conflict in 1975.[9]
The government provides medical assistance and rehabilitation for mine and UXO survivors through the Armed Forces and other state authorities.[10] Additionally, there is one government-run rehabilitation center in the capital and 17 private rehabilitation centers for people with disabilities.[11]
[1] Amb. Satnam Jit Singh, UNMAS consultant, “Mission Report – Oman, 26-27 March 2005,” 31 March 2005. The remarks were made in a meeting with Under Secretary Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidi and Amb. Taleb Meeran Al Raisi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Muscat. Of the six GCC states, only Qatar has joined the Mine Ban Treaty.
[2] Interview with Ali Alqasemy, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Oman to the UN, Geneva, 17 June 2005.
[3] Response to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire from Ministry of Defense, 27 February 2001.
[4] Amb. Satnam Jit Singh, UNMAS consultant, “Mission Report – Oman, 26-27 March 2005,” 31 March 2005.
[5] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 838.
[6] Email from Deborah Netland, Program Manager, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, US Department of State, 10 May 2006; Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 838.
[7] Interview with Ali Alqasemy, Mission of Oman to the UN, Geneva, 17 June 2005.
[8] National Demining Office, Lebanon Mine Action Program, “Annual Report 2005,” Annex A. Average exchange rate for 2005: US$1 = OMR0.38539, Landmine Monitor estimate based on www.oanda.com.
[9] US Department of State, “To Walk the Earth in Safety,” November 2001, p. 44.
[10] Ministry of Defense Response to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire, 27 February 2001.
[11] US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2005: Oman,” Washington DC, 8 March 2006.