The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Bahamas,
Janet G. Bostwick, signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and made the
statement: “The Bahamas produces no antipersonnel mines, has never used or
stockpiled them, or engaged in any way in their transfer. However, we are
morally obligated to play a meaningful role in global efforts to rid the world
of them.”[1]
The Bahamas ratified the treaty on 31 July 1998, the thirtieth nation to do
so. It has not enacted domestic implementation legislation. The Bahamas
endorsed the Brussels declaration, but did not participate in the Oslo
negotiations. It voted in favor of the key 1996, 1997 and 1998 UN General
Assembly resolutions on landmines and also supported relevant resolutions and
declarations of CARICOM and the Organization of American States (OAS). The
Bahamas is not mine-affected.
[1]Statement made by the
Honorable Janet G. Bostwick, Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the Treaty Signing
Conference, Ottawa, Canada, December 1997. See also, response to Landmine
Monitor questionnaire completed by the High Commission for the Commonwealth of
The Bahamas, in Ottawa, 2 February 1999.