Angola
Mine Ban Policy
Commitment to the Mine Ban Treaty
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Mine Ban Treaty status |
State Party |
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National implementation measures |
Has not drafted new implementation measures |
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Transparency reporting |
2010 |
Policy
The Republic of Angola signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified on 5 July 2002, becoming a State Party on 1 January 2003.
Angola has not formally reported any legal measures to implement the Mine Ban Treaty.[1] Under Article 13 of Angola’s Constitution, any international law approved and ratified by Angola is an integrated part of Angolan law and automatically enters into force at the national level after its publication and entry into force at the international level.[2]
Angola submitted its fifth annual Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report in October 2010, for the period from January 2009 to July 2010.[3] As of late August 2011, Angola had not yet submitted the annual report due by 30 April 2011, nor did it report on its activities in 2008.
Angola hosted a National Mine Action Summit in Luanda on 9–10 August 2010. In August 2011, the Third National Meeting on Demining was held in Luanda.
Angola is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Production, transfer, use, stockpile destruction, and retention
Angola states that it has never manufactured antipersonnel mines.[4] It is not believed to have exported the weapon in the past. There have not been any confirmed instances of use of antipersonnel mines since Angola ratified the Mine Ban Treaty a decade ago.[5]
Angola completed destruction of its stockpile of antipersonnel mines on 28 December 2006, just ahead of its 1 January 2007 treaty deadline. It destroyed 81,045 mines between October and December 2006, in addition to 7,072 antipersonnel mines apparently destroyed in 2003.[6]
In its last Article 7 report submitted in 2010, Angola reported retaining 2,512 antipersonnel mines for training purposes, the same number that was previously reported in 2007.[7] Angola has not provided an update on mines retained since 2007 or provided details on the intended purposes and actual uses of its retained mines, as agreed by States Parties at review conferences held in 2004 and 2009.
[1] In its 2010 report, Angola stated, “Apart from the existing ordinary legislations in the country, no other legal measures were taken within the period under consideration.” Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for the period January 2009 to July 2010), Form A.
[2] A new constitution to replace the interim constitution (in effect since the country’s independence in 1975) was approved by the National Assembly of Angola on 21 January 2010 and promulgated by the President on 5 February 2010. The Constitution of Angola, Article 13 (“Direito Internacional”), states: “1. O direito internacional geral ou comum, recebido nos termos da presente Constituição, faz parte integrante da ordem jurídica angolana. 2. Os tratados e acordos internacionais regularmente aprovados ou ratificados vigoram na ordem jurídica angolana após a sua publicação oficial e entrada em vigor na ordem jurídica internacional e enquanto vincularem internacionalmente o Estado angolano” (“1. International law or policy, received pursuant to this Constitution, is an integral part of Angolan law. 2. International treaties and agreements regularly approved or ratified shall become Angolan law after its official publication and international legal entry into force”).
[3] Angola has submitted five Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 reports since 2004, in 2010 (for the period January 2009–July 2010), 2007 (April 2006–March 2007), 2006 (January 2005–March 2006), 2005 (January–December 2004), and 2004 (September 2003–April 2004).
[4] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for the period April 2006 to March 2007), Form E.
[5] There have been sporadic and unconfirmed reports of new use of antipersonnel and antivehicle mines since the end of the war, with allegations focused on criminal groups. The government acknowledged using antipersonnel mines while it was a signatory to the Mine Ban Treaty, from December 1997 to April 2002, until it signed a peace agreement with the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, UNITA). See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 121–122.
[6] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, pp. 141–143, for additional details.
[7] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for the period January 2009 to July 2010), Form D.