Policy

Tunisia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified on 9 July 1999, becoming a State Party on 1 January 2000. In 2011, Tunisia listed ten laws that it considers implementation measures for the Mine Ban Treaty.[1]

Tunisia attended the Tenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in November–December 2010, but did not attend the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2011.

In 2011, Tunisia submitted its 11^th Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report, covering the period from April 2010 to April 2011.[2]

Tunisia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines as well as Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. It has never submitted an annual report as required under Article 13 for Amended Protocol II.

Production, Transfer, Stockpile Destruction, and Retention

Tunisia has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines, but imported them in the past.[3] Tunisia completed the destruction of 18,259 stockpiled antipersonnel mines in September 2003.[4]

In its initial declaration in July 2000, Tunisia reported retaining 5,000 antipersonnel mines (4,000 PMA-3 and 1,000 PROM-1) for purposes permitted under Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty.[5] In 2009 and 2010, Tunisia reported consuming 20 antipersonnel mines for training and reported a total of 4,980 mines retained for training.[6] In its Article 7 report submitted in 2011, Tunisia reported that it retains 4,910 mines for training, and that 70 mines were used for training purposes during the April 2010 to April 2011 reporting period.[7] It is unclear whether this takes into account the five mines reportedly destroyed from April 2007 to April 2008.[8] 

Tunisia has not specified the type of mines destroyed, nor has it reported on the intended purposes and actual uses of retained mines, as agreed by States Parties in 2004.

Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Policy

The Republic of Tunisia signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 12 January 2009 and ratified on 28 September 2010. The convention entered into force for Tunisia on 1 March 2011.

In February 2010, the Chamber of Deputies adopted legislation approving ratification of the convention.[1] Tunisia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kamel Morjane, deposited the instrument of ratification on 28 September 2010 during the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York. Tunisia was the first country from the Middle East and North Africa region to ratify the convention and the 42^nd globally. 

In April 2011, Tunisia’s permanent mission to the UN in Geneva informed the Monitor that Tunisia adheres to the convention under the terms of the ratification law enacted in February 2010.

Tunisia’s initial Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report is due by 28 August 2011.

Tunisia participated in one regional meeting of the Oslo Process that created the convention (Livingstone, Zambia in March 2008) and was the first country to sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions after it was opened for signature in Oslo in December 2008.[2] Despite its support for the convention, Tunisia has not attended any meetings related to the convention since 2008, such as the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010 or intersessional meetings in Geneva in June 2011.

Tunisia is party to the Mine Ban Treaty. Tunisia is also a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. It has attended the CCW deliberations on cluster munitions in recent years, but rarely made any statements.

In April 2011, Tunisia stated that it has not used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions.[3] Tunisia is reported to possess the Hydra-70 air-to-surface unguided rocket system, but it is not known if the ammunition types available to it include the M261 Multi-Purpose Submunition rocket.[4]

Contamination and Impact

Mines

The Republic of Tunisia reported completing clearance of all known mined areas by the end of March 2009; notably of nine minefields it laid in 1976 and 1980 in the south and southeast of the country, along the border with Libya and at Bordj El Khadhra, where the borders of Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya meet.[1] Tunisia has, however, reported a residual mine threat from World War II in the south of the country (El Hamma, Mareth, and Matmata regions); the center (Faïedh and Kasserine regions); the north (Cap-Bon); and the northwest (Medjez El Bab).[2]

Cluster munition remnants and other explosive remnants of war

There is also a significant explosive remnants of war (ERW) problem remaining from World War II.[3] There is no evidence that ERW include cluster munition remnants.

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

There is no national body in charge of management, coordination, and planning of mine action in Tunisia, although the National Implementation Committee for the Mine Ban Treaty has been responsible for overseeing the fulfillment of Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 obligations. The army is the only body authorized to undertake activities related to mines or ERW.

Land Release

Tunisia completed clearance of known mined areas in 2009 but has continued to clear ERW. Tunisia has reported that of 5,750 antipersonnel mines it had recorded as having been laid in 1976 and 1980, by April 2010 it had removed and destroyed 5,667 from a total area of 0.5km².[4] It had also cleared 1,938 antivehicle mines recovered from the minefields, out of a total of 1,958 recorded. It believes that the remaining mines were destroyed by animals.[5]

Mine clearance in 2010

Tunisia has not reported in detail on its clearance in 2009 or 2010. As of the end of 2009, mine clearance capacity consisted of one engineering unit within the armed forces. This unit is also responsible for battle area clearance.

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Tunisia was required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 January 2010. In May 2009, Tunisia announced at the intersessional Standing Committee meetings that it had successfully completed its Article 5 obligations.[6] At the Second Review Conference in December 2009, Tunisia referred to its achievement as a significant challenge given the relative paucity of its resources and the difficulty in identifying mines in soil and moving sand.[7]