The State of Qatar signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, ratified on 13 October 1998 and became a State Party on 1 April 1999. Qatar has taken no national legal measures to implement the treaty.[1] However, in April 2006, Qatar reported that it had established a national committee for disarmament and among its duties would be providing advice to governmental authorities on the need for national legislation to implement disarmament treaties, including the Mine Ban Treaty.[2]
Qatar submitted its third Article 7 transparency report on 16 March 2006, for 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006.[3] Qatar participated in the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in Zagreb, Croatia in November-December 2005. Qatar also attended the treaty’s intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in June 2005 and May 2006. Although not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), Qatar was present as an observer at the Annual Meeting of States Parties to CCW Amended Protocol II on landmines in November 2005.
The government has stated several times that it has never used, produced or exported antipersonnel mines, and has no stockpiled landmines of any type.[4] Qatari military officers have told Landmine Monitor that Qatar possesses a small training stockpile of inert antipersonnel mines (without fuzes or detonators).[5]
Qatar has not engaged in the extensive discussions that States Parties have had on matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty: the prohibition on assisting banned acts (especially in the context of joint military operations with non-States Parties), the status of antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices, and the permissible number of mines retained for training.
The first issue (the prohibition on assisting banned acts) is particularly relevant for Qatar. Before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the United States—which is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty—had stockpiled approximately 11,000 antipersonnel mines at two facilities in Qatar.[6] Qatar has not formally stated if any US mines stored in Qatar fall under Qatar’s jurisdiction or control.[7] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Landmine Monitor in May 2003, that the government and Qatari citizens would not “carry, transport, or store any antipersonnel mines with the US.”[8] Qatari military officers told Landmine Monitor in February 2003 that Qatar would not participate in any joint military activity where the military partner lays mines in front of a coalition position.[9]
Qatar is not mine-affected.[10] There have been no reports of mine casualties in Qatar, but in January 2006, two Qatari nationals were seriously injured and one Mauritanian was killed when their car struck a landmine just outside the village of Bir Moghrein, Mauritania.[11]
Qatar is not known to have contributed to any international mine action program since 1999, except for a 2006 in-kind donation of mobility aids for Sudan, to be distributed by the National Authority for Prosthetics and Orthotics in Khartoum.[12]
The post of UN Special Rapporteur on Disability is held by a Qatari woman. In March 2005, she organized the First Arab Parliamentary Symposium on Disability Legislation to discuss the implementation of the proposed Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities.[13]
[1] In May 2003, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Landmine Monitor, “There was no immediate need to formulate legislation because Qatar has not had any landmine problems and does not use landmines.” Reply to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, 17 May 2003 (unofficial translation by Landmine Monitor).
[2] Article 7 Report, Form A, 16 March 2006 (unofficial translation by Landmine Monitor).
[3] It did not submit an annual update for calendar year 2004, which was due by 30 April 2005. Qatar submitted its initial Article 7 report, due by 27 September 1999, on 23 April 2003 according to the UN, though the report itself is dated 3 August 2002; it covers 2001-2002. It submitted its second report on 31 March 2004; it is essentially a “nil” report with no new information.
[4] Statement by Qatar, Fifth Meeting of States Parties, Bangkok, 16 September 2003 (unofficial translation by Landmine Monitor); reply to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, 17 May 2003; Article 7 Report, 3 August 2002.
[5] Interview with Col. Hassan Al Mohandi and Lt. Col. Fraj J.F. Al-Adba, Geneva, 6 February 2003.
[6] The US Army disclosed that in July 2002, equipment and ammunition from Qatar was moved to Kuwait, but it is not known if the mines were moved; see, Charles Aldinger, “U.S. Army moves arms near Kuwait in mobility exercise,” Reuters (Washington DC), 5 September 2002.
[7] Qatari military officers told Landmine Monitor that there is a written cooperation agreement between Qatar and the US regarding Camp Al-Saliyah, and the US is responsible for providing security for the camp. The officers also indicated that Qatar does not exercise jurisdiction or control inside US facilities in Qatar. Any antipersonnel mines under Qatar’s jurisdiction or control were required to have been destroyed or removed before Qatar’s 1 April 2003 treaty-mandated deadline for completion of stockpile destruction. Interview with Col. Hassan Al Mohandi and Lt. Col. Fraj J.F. Al-Adba, Geneva, 6 February 2003.
[8] Reply to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, 17 May 2003.
[9] Interview with Col. Hassan Al Mohandi and Lt. Col. Fraj J.F. Al-Adba, Geneva, 6 February 2003.
[10] Article 7 Reports, Form C; statement by Qatar, Fifth Meeting of States Parties, Bangkok, 16 September 2003; reply to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, 17 May 2003.
[11] Ahmed Mohammed, “Tourist vehicle hits land mine, kills one Mauritanian, wounds two Qatari,”AP, 10 January 2006
[12] Email from Shaza Nagm Eldin, Victim Assistance Coordinator, UN Mine Action Office, Khartoum, 25 April 2006.
[13] “Amman Declaration on Disability Legislation,” Amman, Jordan, 16-17 March 2005.