The Republic of Congo acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 May 2001 and became a State Party on 1 November 2001. In September 2002, the Republic of Congo indicated that legislation had been drafted to implement the treaty domestically and to create a National Committee for the Elimination of Antipersonnel Mines, but no further progress has been reported.[1]
As of 1 July 2006, the Republic of Congo had not submitted its annual Article 7 transparency report due on 30 April 2006. It has submitted three previous reports.[2]
The Republic of Congo participated in the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in Zagreb, Croatia in November-December 2005, but made no statements. The government also attended intersessional Standing Committee meetings held in Geneva in June 2005 and May 2006.
The Republic of Congo 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. Thus, it has not made known its views on issues related to joint military operations with non-States Parties, foreign stockpiling and transit of antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices, and the permissible number of mines retained for training.
The Republic of Congo is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
No mine use has been reported in the Republic of Congo since 1997, when mines were used during its civil war.[3] The Republic of Congo is not known to have produced or exported antipersonnel mines.
In September 2003, the Republic of Congo destroyed its stockpile of 5,136 antipersonnel mines.[4] It retains 372 mines for training purposes.[5] The Republic of Congo has yet to provide details on the intended purposes and actual uses of its retained mines―a step agreed to by States Parties in the Nairobi Action Plan that emerged from the First Review Conference in December 2004.
It is not known with any precision to what extent the Republic of Congo is affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). According to the Article 7 report for April 2003 to April 2004, “despite Congo’s many civil wars no mined area has yet been identified. However the border zone with Angola in the southwest of the country is mine suspected. Rebel groups from the Cabinda Enclave Liberation Movement (FLEC), in their struggle for independence, set up barriers in the 1970s and it is possible that antipersonnel mines were laid at the time.”[6] The subsequent Article 7 report added no further information.[7]
The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) believes that the mine problem is limited to a 60-kilometer diameter area between the borders (not clearly marked) of the Cabinda enclave, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo.[8] In May 2006, Colonel Léonce Nkabi, the mine action focal point within the Ministry of Defense, declared that the “Republic of Congo remains concerned with the preparations for demining in the southwest of the country along the border with the Republic of Angola, where mines have probably been laid by the...FLEC.” The Ministry of Defense believes that civilians in the suspected areas are reticent to return to their communities to carry out forestry and farming activities as “they have not received any guarantees for their security from the authorities.”[9]
It may be that the Republic of Congo is also affected by ERW, particularly unexploded ordnance (UXO), given the number of civil conflicts, but little information is available. The global survey of ERW published by Landmine Action UK in March 2005 did not include an entry for the Republic of Congo.
It is not known what, if any, mine action structures exist in the Republic of Congo, nor what mine action has been undertaken.[10]
Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, the Republic of Congo must destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 November 2011. In 2003, UNMAS participated in a workshop on the Mine Ban Treaty in Brazzaville, at which officials indicated their wish for international assistance in demining, but as of May 2006 UNMAS had not received any formal request, despite several reminders.[11]
In May 2004, Congo declared that the Ministry of Defense had recently ordered surveys to be conducted to identify any mined areas and to put in place a demining program in the area.[12] In May 2006, Congo reported that two survey missions have been undertaken by its armed forces, but believed that the data and conclusions generated were an insufficient basis for an effective program.[13]
At a meeting in Kinshasa in 2005 with representatives of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Colonel Nkabi presented a project aimed at setting up a tri-partite coordination center and deploying either national or joint clearance teams in the area. The DRC agreed to approach the Angolan government to obtain an update on the status of recent negotiations with FLEC, but there is no evidence that this occurred.[14] In May 2006, he again stressed the need for a tri-partite approach to the problem. He also declared the readiness of the Republic of Congo to carry out any necessary demining and launched an appeal for international support for technical assistance and funding.[15]
In 2005, no landmine or UXO incidents were recorded. As of May 2006, the police reported one fatal UXO casualty. In 2003, the Landmine Monitor reported 10 casualties caused by UXO. There are no known mine survivors in the Republic of Congo. The total number of UXO casualties is not known. Landmine Monitor recorded at least 24 UXO casualties since 2000, including at least 14 killed.[16]
The Republic of Congo is recovering from its 10-year armed conflict and in the process of reconstructing healthcare facilities.[17] As of 2005, 69 out of 96 health centers had reopened, however most are poorly equipped and lack medical personnel and essential drugs.[18] There are no organizations working on landmine/UXO survivor assistance issues, but there are several disability organizations.[19] Organizations working on disability issues are the Union Nationale des Handicapés congolais (National Union of Congolese Disabled, UNHACO) and the Fédération des Femmes handicapées (Federation of Disabled Women).
There are laws in the Republic of Congo that prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to healthcare, and in the provision of state services. However, the provisions are reportedly not enforced due to lack of funds.[20]
[1] Article 7 Report, Form A, 12 September 2002. No progress was reported in Article 7 Report, Form A, 4 May 2004. Interview with Col. Léonce Nkabi, Commander, First Regiment of Engineers, Geneva, 22 June 2004.
[2] It submitted reports on 12 September 2002 (for the period up to August 2002), 4 May 2004 (for 30 April 2003-30 April 2004) and 30 June 2005 (for 30 April 2004-30 April 2005). The 2005 report consisted of the cover page indicating no changes from the previous report. Landmine Monitor was given a copy of an annual report dated 30 April 2003, covering 1 November 2002 to 30 April 2003, but this report apparently was never officially received by the UN. It contained no new information.
[3] Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 189-191; Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp. 197-198.
[4] Statement by Col. Léonce Nkabi, Fifth Meeting of States Parties, Bangkok, 19 September 2003. Copies of the destruction records were attached to the statement. The details on types and numbers of mines destroyed were not reported in Congo’s subsequent Article 7 report. Congo initially declared 4,718 mines slated for destruction (987 PPM-2 mines; 517 PMN-58 plastic mines; 2,716 POMZ-2 mines; and 548 PMD mines), then later discovered another 418 mines, the types of which have not been reported. See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 357.
[5] Article 7 Report, Form D, 4 May 2004. The mines are: 96 German PPM-2; 50 Soviet PMN-58; 176 Soviet POMZ-2; 50 Soviet PMD-6.
[6] Article 7 Report, Form C, 4 May 2004.
[7] Article 7 Report, Form C, 30 June 2005.
[8] Email from Patrick Tillet, Program Officer, UNMAS, 3 May 2006.
[9] Statement by Col. Léonce Nkabi, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[10] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 358
[11] Email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, 3 May 2006.
[12] Article 7 Report, Form C, 4 May 2004.
[13] Statement by Col. Léonce Nkabi, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[14] Email from Patrick Tillet, UNMAS, 3 May 2006.
[15] Statement by Col. Léonce Nkabi, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 10 May 2006.
[16] Interview with Col. Léonce Nkabi, Geneva, 9 May 2006; see Landmine Monitor 2004, p. 358.
[17] UNICEF, “UNICEF Humanitarian Action, Congo-Brazzaville, summary for 2005,” p. 1, www.unicef.org, accessed 15 May 2006.
[18] UNICEF, “Humanitarian Action Report 2005,” p. 225.
[19] Interview with Col. Léonce Nkabi, Geneva, 9 May 2006.
[20] US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2005: Congo, Republic of,” Washington DC, 8 March 2006.