South Africa

The Republic of South Africa signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 26 June 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 March 1999. South Africa is a past producer and exporter of antipersonnel mines. It stopped production in 1995 and prohibited export in 1996. In May 1996, it suspended the use of antipersonnel mines. Legislation to enforce the antipersonnel mine prohibition domestically was promulgated on 5 December 2003. On 4 May 2011, South Africa submitted its 12^th Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report.

South Africa completed destruction of its stockpile of antipersonnel mines in October 1998. It initially retained 5,000 antipersonnel mines; this number was reduced to 4,355 by the end of 2010.[1]

South Africa served as co-rapporteur and later co-chair of the Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention from 1999–2000 and 2003–2005.

South Africa attended the Tenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in November–December 2010 and the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in June 2011.

South Africa is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and its Amended Protocol II on landmines but not Protocol V on explosive remnants of war.

South Africa has no mined areas.[2] It has been working with Zimbabwe and Mozambique to ensure that clearing of the Great Limpopo Trans Frontier Park, which is shared by the three countries, begins promptly.[3]