LM Report 2000

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FIJI

Mine Ban Policy

Fiji signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified on 10 June 1998. Fiji has not yet enacted domestic implementation legislation. It submitted its Article 7 transparency report on 12 November 1999. Fiji voted for UN General Assembly Resolution 54/54B in support of the Mine Ban Treaty in December 1999, as it had in previous years. Fiji was not present at the First Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Maputo in May 1999 and has not participated in the intersessional meetings of the ban treaty. It is neither a member of the Conference on Disarmament nor a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

In March 2000, ICBL Ambassador and Cambodian mine survivor Tun Channereth travelled to Nadi, at the invitation of the UNICEF regional office, and advocated in support of Pacific nation accession, ratification, and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty at two meetings of parliamentarians from the Pacific region.^[1] He met and spoke with many Fijian parliamentarians and politicians, school children, local media and NGOs.

Fiji’s Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Boladuadua, told the ICBL delegation that he would look into preparation of domestic legislation and would consider putting the landmine issue on the agenda of the Heads of State Meeting of the Pacific Forum later in 2000.

Production, Stockpile, Transfer, and Use

It is believed that Fiji has never produced, transferred, or used AP mines. Fiji declared no stockpile of AP mines, including for training, in its Article 7 transparency report. Landmines have not been used in the recent coup nor are they believed to have been used in previous coups.

Landmine Casualties

In September 1999 three Fijian peacekeepers were slightly injured when a landmine exploded beneath their UN armored personnel carrier in south Lebanon.^[2]

[1] UNICEF, Report on the Pacific visit of Tun Channareth, ICBL Ambassador, March 22-31, 2000, p. 7.
[2] "3 Lebanon peacekeepers hurt," Associated Press (Tyre, Lebanon), 25 September 1999.