Mine Ban Policy Overview

Policy

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has not yet acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. The FSM has stated that it has never produced or stockpiled antipersonnel mines.[1]

The FSM attended as an observer to the Eleventh Meeting of State Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in November–December 2010 in Phnom Penh, but did not make any statement. It did not attend the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in May 2012.

In November 2011, a draft resolution recommending accession to the Mine Ban Treaty was presented to the 17^th Congress of the FSM, but failed to pass.[2] A previous draft resolution approving accession was submitted and failed in 2009.[3]

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.”[4]

In October 2009, an FSM representative said the Mine Ban Treaty is not a legislative priority as the country is not impacted by, nor has it ever used, mines.[5]

A United States (US) Department of State cable made public by Wikileaks in August 2011 provides US views on Micronesia’s accession to the Mine Ban Treaty.[6] According to the September 2009 cable from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, US officials met representatives from the Marshall Islands, the FSM, and Palau on 2 December 1997, one day before the Mine Ban Treaty Signing Conference was held, “at the latter three’s request to discuss their potential signature/ratification of the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines.” During 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 an interview with the Monitor in October 2010, a government representative stated that one of the primary reasons why the FSM has not joined the Mine Ban Treaty is that defense arrangements with the US require the FSM to consult with the US on all military matters.[7]

Two days after the 1997 meeting, on 4 December 1997, the Marshall Islands signed the Mine Ban Treaty, while Palau acceded a decade later on 18 November 2007. The cable notes that the US “raised these same concerns” with Palau “in advance” of its accession to the Mine Ban Treaty and said Palau “determined that the Ottawa Convention did not conflict with the Compact of Free Association.”

The FSM is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has not yet acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

The status of accession is not known. Previously, in April 2011, FSM’s Department of Foreign Affairs said it was the government’s “intention to be a party” to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[1] In October 2009, a FSM representative said that the government wished to complete accession to the Mine Ban Treaty before it considers joining the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The representative also cited FSM’s capacity constraints in meeting its treaty obligations and added that the FSM’s Compact of Free Association with the United States (US) requires that FSM clear any strategic defense decisions with the US before it can join any international weapons treaties.[2]

FSM did not participate in the Oslo Process and has never attended a meeting on cluster munitions.

FSM has voted in favor of recent UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions condemning 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.”[3]

FSM is not known to have ever used, produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions.

Contamination and Impact

In August 2008, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) noted that while there are no known mined areas in the country, four FSM states are affected by explosive remnants left over from World War II.^[1] UXO, especially in Chuuk Lagoon, poses an environmental hazard and a danger to fishermen.^[2]