Mine Ban Policy Overview

Policy

The Republic of the Marshall Islands signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997. The Marshall Islands is one of the last two signatories that have still not ratified the Mine Ban Treaty. The Marshall Islands confirmed in June 2008 that it has not produced mines and has no known stockpiles.[1]

Representatives of the mission of the Marshall Islands based in Fiji met with Special Envoy on the Universalization Prince Mired in August 2011 during which they were invited “to participate in the work of this Convention even while their accession deliberations continue.”[2]

The Marshall Islands re-engaged in the Mine Ban Treaty process in 2008, but did not attend any meetings held in 2009–2011 or the first half of 2012.[3] In November 2008, a representative of the Marshall Islands informed States Parties that the government strongly supported the goals and objectives of the Mine Ban Treaty, but cited its relationship with the United States (US) and the burden of treaty participation on small states as principal reasons for not ratifying.[4]

A US Department of State cable made public by Wikileaks in August 2011 provides “talking points” for US officials to respond to a “request” from the Marshall Islands for clarification on the US position on Mine Ban Treaty ratification by the Marshall Islands.[5]

According to the September 2009 cable from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, US officials met with representatives from the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau on 2 December 1997, two days before the Marshall Islands signed the Mine Ban Treaty. In the meeting, the US said that “adherence to the Convention is up to each state based on its assessment of its own national interest,” but emphasized that “the U.S. would not adhere to the Ottawa Convention and that adherence by the other three states could conflict with defense provisions of the respective bilateral Compacts of Free Association.”

In the cable, the US describes “the defense provisions” of the compacts as “unique, especially the U.S. commitment to defending the Republic of the Marshall Islands as if it were part of the United States.” The US cites three sections of its Compact of Free Association with the Marshall Islands that it believes would be contradicted by the Marshall Islands’ ratification and adherence to the Mine Ban Treaty.[6] The cable also states that ratification “would be problematic if the United States needed to store anti-personnel landmines” at sites in the Marshall Islands.[7] Finally, the US warns that ratification “also affects the ability of citizens of RMI [Republic of the Marshall Islands] to serve in the U.S. armed forces under Compact section 341.”

Also according to the September 2009 cable, the US “requests” the Marshall Islands to “consider acceding” to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) “rather than the Ottawa Convention in order to be more consistent with the Compact of Free Association.” The Marshall Islands is not party to the CCW and the Monitor is not aware of any initiative by the Marshall Islands to join this agreement.

Policy

The Republic of the Marshall Islands has not yet acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

The status of accession to the ban convention is not known as the Marshall Islands has never made a public statement on the matter.[1]

The Marshall Islands expressed its support for a ban on cluster munitions during the Oslo Process when it participated in the Wellington Conference on Cluster Munitions in February 2008 and endorsed the Wellington Declaration agreeing to the conclusion of a legally-binding instrument.[2] Yet the Marshall Islands did not attend the subsequent Dublin negotiations or the convention’s Signing Conference in Oslo.

The Marshall Islands has not attended any meetings of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, such as the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in Lusaka, Zambia in September 2013. However, it did participate in a regional workshop on explosive remnants of war (ERW) in the Pacific held in Brisbane, Australia in June 2013.[3]

The Marshall Islands has also voted in favor of UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions condemning the Syrian government’s use of cluster munitions, including Resolution 68/182 on 18 December 2013, which expressed “outrage” at Syria’s “continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights…including those involving the use of…cluster munitions.”[4]

The Marshall Islands is the last signatory left that has not ratified the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

The Marshall Islands is not known to have ever used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions.

Contamination and Impact

In June 2008, the Marshall Islands said that while a “largely successful” large-scale clearance effort was undertaken in 1950, some areas of atolls affected by UXO from World War II “were potentially overlooked due to difficult weather conditions or heavy vegetation.” It said the government “lacks the necessary budget support and technical capacity for UXO surveys, removal, and destruction” and will require outside assistance.^[1] The last recorded landmine casualty in the Marshall Islands was more than 50 years ago.