LM Report 2000

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BENIN

Bénin signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified on 25 September 1998. It submitted its Article 7 transparency report on 15 October 1999. This report is in French and covers the period from 1 August to 31 December 1999.^[1] The report states that there are currently no legal measures in place to implement the treaty.^[2] An interdepartmental commission comprised of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry for Industry has been set up to propose a text for national legislation to be adopted relating to antipersonnel mines.^[3]

Bénin attended the First Meeting of States Parties in Maputo in May 1999, with a representative from the Ministry of Defense. Benin has not attended any of the intersessional meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty. In September 1999, President Mathieu Kérékou stated that he will do everything in his capacity to further the ban on antipersonnel mines.^[4] In December 1999, Bénin voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 54/54B in support of the Mine Ban Treaty. A conference organized by the ICRC in Cotonou on 9 August 1999 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions included the ban treaty in its discussions.^[5]

Bénin is a state party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons, but not to the original or amended Protocol II. It is not a member of the Conference on Disarmament.

There is no production of AP mines in Bénin and transfer of AP mines is not allowed.^[6] According to its Article 7 report, Bénin does not possess any stockpiled AP mines, including any for training. This was confirmed in an interview with the Ministry of Defense.^[7] While Benin has the national capacity and resources for mine clearance, no further information was available on Bénin’s contributions to humanitarian mine action.^[8]

[1] Interview with Colonel Mathias Adjou-Moumouni, Ministry of National Defense, Cotonou, 28 April 2000.
[2] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A. “Aucune mesure juridique en la matière n'existe aujourd'hui.”
[3] Interview with Joseph Agani, official in charge of antipersonnel mine policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cotonou, 18 July 2000.
[4] Letter from Joseph H. Gnonlonfoun, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Jean Noel Sersiron, President, Handicap International, dated 9 September 1999.
[5] Email from Isabelle Daoust, Coordinator, Advisory Service, ICRC office in Abidjan.
[6] Interview with Colonel Mathias Adjou-Moumouni, Ministry of National Defense, Cotonou, 28 April 2000.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.