Brunei signed the Mine
Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, but has yet to ratify. Compared to neighboring
Malaysia and the Philippines, Brunei's support for a total ban on antipersonnel
mines evolved more gradually. Starting out as an observer in the Ottawa
strategy conference on 3-5 October 1996, it moved to vote in favor of U.N.
General Assembly Resolution 51/45 S dated 10 December 1996, urging states to
vigorously pursue an international agreement banning APMs. As a member of the
ASEAN, Brunei was also co-signatory to the final declaration of the
12th EU-ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (in February 1997 in
Singapore), wherein the parties "agreed to attach a high priority to efforts to
deal with the suffering and destruction caused by the indiscriminate use of
anti-personnel mines and called on states to work towards an agreement banning
the use, stockpile, production and transfer of APMs."
However, Brunei failed to endorse the pro-ban treaty Brussels Declaration in
June 1997, and attended only as an observer to the Oslo treaty negotiations in
September 1997. Yet, it voted in favor of the 1997 U.N. General Assembly
Resolution 52/38A supporting the December 1997 treaty signing, and then signed
the treaty on 4 December 1997. It subsequently endorsed the UNGA Resolution
A/C.1/53/L.33 dated 4 November 1998 welcoming new state-signatories to the Mine
Ban Treaty, urging its full realization, and inviting all state parties to the
First Meeting of State Parties in Mozambique in May 1999.
Brunei's signing of the MBT has been described as largely a "political
decision" on the part of its monarch, His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who
responded positively to the urging of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Anan as well
as of pro-ban foreign leaders led by Canadian officials during the 1996 APEC
summit held in Canada.[1] The
position of most ASEAN member states also helped Brunei assume a pro-treaty
stance.[2]
Brunei has not ratified the treaty. According to an officer in the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, discussions among concerned agencies, particularly the
Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs, have yet to be held in order to move
the process forward, including possibly drafting an instrument of ratification
in coordination with the Attorney-General's office, for approval of the
concerned Ministers.[3]
As a small state with a population of approximately 300,000 and a total land
area of 2,226 square miles, landmines have played a central role in Brunei's
defense strategy. Thus, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense
(MINDEF), Dato Mohd Alimin Abdul Wahab stated, although Brunei supports the ban
on landmines, the current security environment remains fluid and not ideal for
ratification. He indicated Brunei needs to retain the option of using these
mines should it be necessary to the state's security since it cannot not rely on
any other country or agency to defend it, and for this reason, it may not be in
the position as yet to meet all the responsibilities of
ratification.[4]
Ratification requires the Cabinet's endorsement and the King's approval.
Notably, His Majesty Hassanal Bolkiah sits concurrently as Prime Minister and
Minister of Defense and his brother, His Royal Highness Mohammad Bolkiah, is
the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Brunei has not signed the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling and Use
The MINDEF claims that Brunei is not a landmine
producer. Neither does it produce any military hardware, including ammunition
and guns, as these are all brought from abroad. Nor does Brunei have any intent
to go into research and development of armaments. There are also no reports of
Brunei exporting or being used as a transit point for the transfer of
mines.[5]
In 1984 Brunei imported 600 M-18A1 Claymore mines from the United
States.[6] It is not known what
other mines Brunei possesses. APM stocks are maintained in Explosive Safety
Houses in designated camps, but there has been no need for their use for warfare
or defense purposes. "If there should be any need for it, it would be in a
situation of war," said MINDEF's Permanent Secretary, indicating that landmines
have been retained largely for training
purposes.[7] It is doubtful the
number of APMs is very large, considering that Brunei's armed forces and police
force are small, with only approximately 5,000 and 4,000 men, respectively.
There are no plans for the destruction of stocks.
Landmine Problem
Brunei is not mine-affected. There have been no
reported incidents of injuries or deaths resulting from landmines.
Mine Action
Brunei has not participated in any humanitarian
mine action program although it sent two members of its police force as
observers to the peacekeeping operation in Cambodia in 1992. The MINDEF does
not see Brunei contributing to humanitarian mine action in the near future due
to its limited capability.
[1]Interview with Ministry of
Defense Permanent Secretary Dato Mohd Alimin Abdul Wahab at the Bolkiah
Garrison, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, 11 February 1999. To quote:
"There were initial reservations ... (But) (I)t was His Majesty himself who said
that we should subscribe (to the MBT)."
[2] Ibid. He said, "We have
to see our situation as not exclusive to the fact that our neighbors have got a
similar position on landmines because then we feel more comfortable ...not just
purely as an ASEAN thing but an ASEAN spirit...taking stock of how we project
our own survival in the years to come."
[3] Telephone interview with
Mr. Yahya Idris, Acting Deputy Director, Department of International
Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Darussalam, 11 February 1999.
[4] Interview with MINDEF
Permanent Secretary, 11 February 1999.
[6] U.S. Army, Armament,
Munitions, and Chemical Command (USAMCCOM), Letter to Human Rights Watch, 25
August 1993, and attached statistical tables, provided under the Freedom of
Information Act. (no page number)
[7] Interview with MINDEF
Permanent Secretary, 11 February 1999.
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