Luxembourg signed the
1997 Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, but it has not yet ratified.
Luxembourg participated fully in the Ottawa Process diplomatic meetings to
develop the treaty, as well as the Oslo negotiations. Luxembourg also voted for
the key 1996, 1997 and 1998 UN General Assembly resolutions in support of a ban
on antipersonnel landmines.
Luxembourg first stated its support for a ban in April 1996, during the
review conference of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). On 25 April
1996, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Poos, and the Minister of the Public
Forces, Mr. Bodry, received a delegation of Luxembourg non-governmental
organizations which had collected signatures on a petition calling for a total
ban on landmines. The two ministers used this occasion to announce their support
for an immediate ban on the production, stockpiling, export and use of an
antipersonnel landmines.[1]
During its tenure as President of the European Union in the second half of
1997, Luxembourg focused on European policy on AP mines and on 28 November 1997,
those efforts resulted in the adoption of a Joint Action on antipersonnel
mines.[2]
On 22 September 1998, a Member of Parliament put a question to the Minister
of Foreign Affairs, asking why the ratification has not been introduced
yet.[3] In his answer to the
question, on 9 November 1998, the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated, “The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs had decided to seize the opportunity of the
ratification of the Ottawa Convention to ratify also two other protocols related
to disarmament, particularly the protocol II [of the CCW]?. Therefore the
Ministry has decided to submit them to a ‘bloc’ ratification?.The
Government Council of 9 October 1998 has approved the bill for the three
ratifications. The bill was tabled to the Council of State on 22 October
1998.”[4] Subsequently,
the bill was tabled at the Chamber of Representatives on 22 November
1998.[5] As of 20 March 1999,
ratification had not yet been voted on by the Parliament because comments from
the Council of State had not yet been
forthcoming.[6]
The commentary on the legislation notes, “Some of the restrictions
included in the Mine treaty are already established in the national legislation.
The law of 15 March 1983 on arms and ammunition forbids in its first category
(prohibited arms) among others, the arms and other devices destined to strike a
blow at persons or goods by fire or explosion.” There is also the Grand
Ducal regulations of 31 October 1995 related to the import, export, and transit
of arms, ammunition and material that serves especially for military use , and
related technology. In that regulation, there is a list of the products for
which the import, export and transfer are forbidden. On 7 April 1997, a
ministerial regulation included antipersonnel landmines in that
list.”[7]
Another law is needed, however, as the existing legislation does not cover
the States and the activities of the Public Forces. The Bill is composed of
three articles : the first one is the endorsement of the ban mine convention,
the second specifies the prohibited acts and the third states the sanctions in
case of non-compliance of the
law.[8]
Luxembourg is a party to the CCW and its original Protocol II on landmines.
As described above, ratification of amended Protocol II and the additional
Protocol to the CCW is linked to ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Production, Transfer and Stockpiling
Luxembourg has never produced or exported
antipersonnel landmines. Luxembourg has imported some mines in the past for the
armed forces, of American and Belgian
origin.[9] No additional
information could be found on this matter.
On 25 April 1996, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Public
Forces announced the beginning of the destruction of stockpiles, with the
exception of a small number for mine clearance
training.[10] That destruction
was completed in August
1997.[11] There was no
additional costs for the destruction of the stocks, as army technicians
destroyed the mines.[12]
The number of mines destroyed was 9,600, which has been confirmed by the
Deputy Chief of Staff.[13] The
Army has kept 500 mines of each type in stock for training purposes; these
include: Belgian M35bg and U.S. M2A1 and M16 bounding antipersonnel mines. These
mines are going to be used for training of deminers. The training requires 2-4
mines every 4 months to train contingents going on UN
missions.[14]
Mine Action
Luxembourg is not currently affected by mines, but
unexploded ordnance from World War One and World War Two are still a problem,
requiring intervention by EOD specialists in 1999. In Luxembourg, UXO
clearance is the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Forces. Clearance is
carried out by the Demining Service, which responds to about 200 requests every
year.[15]
In 1998, the Luxembourg government gave approximately U.S. $600,000 to the
UXO Lao Trust Fund. The majority of that grant is earmarked for the salaries of
the Lao deminers in Savannaketh
province.[16] Luxembourg has
contributed a total of $226,567 to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in
Mine Clearance.[17] In 1997,
Luxembourg contributed to victim assistance projects through a grant of
4,187,970 F.lux (U.S. $114,742) given to the
ICRC.[18]
[14]LM Researcher
conversation with Claude Peffer, deminer, during the opening of an exhibition on
“Children in Cambodia,” 25 September 1997. This was confirmed by the
Lieutenant-Colonel Ries, 22 March 1999.
[15]Claude Peffer, Demining
Service of the Luxembourg Army, “Antipersonnel landmines, a global
flea,” Presentation on the occasion of the opening of “Children in
Cambodia,” 25 September 1997.
[16]Handicap International,
management file for Laos.
[17] UN General Assembly,
“Report of the Secretary-General: Assistance in Mine Clearance,”
A/53/496, 14 October 1998, p. 29.
[18]Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Development Cooperation Activity Report, 1997.
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