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Bahrain
Mine Ban Policy
Mine Ban Policy Overview
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Mine Ban Treaty status |
Not a State Party |
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Pro-mine ban UNGA voting record |
Voted in favor of Resolution 66/29 in December 2011 and all previous pro-ban resolutions since 1996 |
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Participation in Mine Ban Treaty meetings |
None since December 2010 |
Policy
The Kingdom of Bahrain has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. Bahrain last expressed serious interest in accession to the treaty in 2007, but it has not demonstrated similar enthusiasm in recent years.[1] Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have said that the country has never produced, exported, or used antipersonnel mines and is not mine-affected.[2] Ministry of Defense officials have said Bahrain keeps a “limited” stock of antipersonnel mines for training purposes only.[3]
In January 2011, Bahrain’s Undersecretary of International Affairs stated “Bahrain participated in all meetings of the convention but did not accede for security reasons, and the agreement at the Gulf Cooperation Council to join collectively. The responsibility of the foreign affairs ministry is to present the accession document when ready but accession to the treaty involves both security and technical matters that engage other ministries.”[4]
Previously, in a letter to the ICBL, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, “Bahrain endorses the treaty’s aims and principles and continues to study closely the possibility of accession. Such accession would involve complex legal, domestic and international issues, and a number of relevant authorities in Bahrain are continuing to carry out close study of such issues.”[5]
Officials have cited the need to coordinate with other Gulf Cooperation Council member states regarding accession.[6] In November 2010, Prince Mired of Jordan, acting in his capacity as the Special Envoy on Universalization, met with Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander Shaikh Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa, who stated that he was open to becoming a State Party.
Bahrain did not attend the Eleventh Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in November–December 2011 in Phnom Penh or the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2012.
In January 2011, the NGO Protection Against Armaments and their Consequences, a member of the ICBL, held a release of the Monitor’s 2010 reports in Manama, Bahrain. The event was attended by Bahraini officials, members of parliament, local and regional media, the Embassy of Iran in Bahrain, and the UN.
Bahrain is not party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions or the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
[1] See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 814. In November 2007, during an ICBL mission, members of the Bahraini House of Representatives, including the Vice-Speaker, expressed support for accession to the treaty, and a Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative spoke of accelerating the accession process. In May 2007, in response to an ICBL letter, Bahrain wrote, “His Highness the Prime Minister and his Government are tackling this issue with sincere concern and full commitment.” During a March 2007 ICBL mission, several Bahraini officials and legislators expressed support for accession to the treaty.
[2] Notes from ICBL meeting with Mohamed Ghassan Shaiko, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Manama, 12 April 2005.
[3] Amb. Satnam Jit Singh, “Mission Report – Bahrain, 26–30 September 2004,” 30 September 2004.
[4] Oral response by Amb. Karim Ebrahim Al-Shakar, Undersecretary of International Affairs, Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the request by attendees of the Monitor report release event for Bahrain to join the Mine Ban Treaty and draft an accession law, Manama, 2 January 2011.
[5] Letter from Amb. Fouad Darwish, Director of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 24 November 2008.
[6] Various officials expressed this to ICBL members during advocacy visits in 2008 and 2009, as well as to the ICRC during a mission to Bahrain in November 2008.
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