Kuwait
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 |
Reported that it is in the process of enacting legislation, but has also cited elements of existing law |
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Transparency reporting |
24 May 2010 |
Policy
The State of Kuwait acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 30 July 2007, becoming a State Party on 1 January 2008.
As of October 2011, Kuwait has not submitted its annual Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report, which was due 30 April 2011. In its last report, dated 24 May 2010, Kuwait indicated that efforts were “in progress to enact the required legislation to meet the elements of this convention,” but provided no further detail.[1] It indicated the same thing in its report dated May 2009.[2] In July 2009, Kuwait stated that government “has submitted a draft Military Law to the Parliament in Kuwait to prohibit the possession of conventional weapons for those not authorized….”[3]
Kuwait has also cited elements of its existing law as serving to implement the Mine Ban Treaty. In a November 2009 letter, Kuwait cited three existing articles, stating that through these “the State of Kuwait enjoys the appropriate legal and administrative measures” in line with Article 9 on national implementation measures.[4]
Kuwait attended the Tenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in November–December 2010 in Geneva where it made statements during the sessions clearance, transparency, and the exchange of information. Kuwait also attended the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2011.
Kuwait is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Stockpiling, destruction, production, transfer, and use
Kuwait is not known to have produced or exported antipersonnel mines. It did not declare any production facilities in its Article 7 reports.[5] Officials from the Ministry of Defense told the Monitor in 2002 that Kuwaiti forces have never used mines.[6]
In its initial Article 7 report of May 2008, Kuwait declared a stockpile of 91,432 antipersonnel mines, composed of six types.[7] In a July 2009 letter, Kuwait informed States Parties that it had destroyed its stockpile.[8] This was accomplished far in advance of its treaty-mandated deadline of 1 January 2012. The letter did not provide any details on the destruction process, such as the location and method of destruction, the numbers or types of mines destroyed, or the dates of initiation and completion of destruction. Kuwait’s Article 7 reports submitted in May 2009 and May 2010 do not report specifically on the destruction of the mines, nor do they report any mines transferred for the purpose of destruction. Both reports list “non” on the form for stockpiled mines.[9] In a statement at the Tenth Meeting of States Parties Kuwait affirmed that the destruction process was finished in June 2008.[10]
Kuwait has stated that it does not retain any mines for training purposes, and has not indicated in previous Article 7 reports that it retains mines.[11]
[1] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, 24 May 2010. The report is dated 24 May 2010, but was received by the UN on 29 April 2010.
[2] Ibid, 24 May 2009.
[3] Letter M 134/2009 from the Permanent Mission of Kuwait to the UN to the Implementation Support Unit (ISU), Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), 9 July 2009.
[4] Letter M 236/2009 from the Permanent Mission of Kuwait to the UN to the ISU, GICHD, 11 November 2009. The letter refers to Articles 1 and 3 of Act 35 of 1985, and Article 171 of Act 16 of 1960. Kuwait also wrote in its Article 7 reports submitted in 2009 and 2010 that “recent panel [sic] code for the state of Kuwait” is applied, which has “prohibited such acts mentioned in the convention” Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, 24 May 2009; and Article 7 Report, Form A, 24 May 2010.
[5] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Reports, Form E, 24 May 2010, 24 May 2009, and 28 May 2008.
[6] Information provided by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense, 10 April 2002.
[7] This total quantity of mines was inconsistent with the quantity listed next to each of the six mine types, which added to 87,582. These included: 12,151 P-40 bounding fragmentation mines (apparently with fuze assemblies, produced by Italy); 6,848 TS-50 blast mines (apparently without fuzes, provided by Egypt); 2,765 NR-409 blast mines (produced by Belgium); 64,033 C3A1 Elsie blast mines (produced by Canada); 446 M14 blast mines (origin not specified); and 1,339 of an unknown type of high explosive mine with, presumably, a tripwire. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form B, 28 May 2008.
[8] The letter states that Kuwait “would like to communicate that the Competent Authorities in the State of Kuwait (Ministry of Defence) have destroyed the stockpile of Anti-Personnel Mines as mentioned in the State of Kuwait’s report on transparency measures (7.1b) reporting period 1st June 2008 – 30 March 2009,” Letter M 134/2009 from the Permanent Mission of Kuwait to the UN to the ISU, GICHD, 9 July 2009. The reference to the Article 7 report presumably applies to Kuwait’s initial report dated 28 May 2008, which erroneously lists the reporting period as 1 June 2008 to 30 March 2009.
[9] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Reports, Forms B, D, F, and G, 24 May 2009, and 24 May 2010.
[10] Statement by Kuwait, Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, 2 December 2010.
[11] Ibid. Also Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Reports, Form D, 24 May 2010, 24 May 2009, and 28 May 2008.