The
Republic of Ireland has long been in the forefront of countries working toward
the elimination of antipersonnel landmines. The Irish government was able to
ratify the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) immediately upon signature on 3 December 1997,
because it took as implementing legislation the Explosives (Land Mines) Order
that had been approved by the Dail, the Irish parliament on 12 June 1996. This
Order makes the manufacture, stockpiling, transfer and use of antipersonnel
landmines a criminal offence in
Ireland.[1] The tactical
doctrine and training manuals of the Defence Forces have been amended to comply
with the MBT.[2]
David Andrews was one of the few Foreign Ministers to head a delegation to
the First Meeting of States Parties (FMSP) to the MBT in Maputo in May 1999.
Minister Andrews and officials from the political division, Irish Aid and UN
sections of the Foreign Ministry visited minefields in Mozambique prior to the
meeting. In his address to the FMSP he stated:
This process is unique in many ways. It follows from a coalition of
governments from all quarters of the globe. It includes countries, many of
which have contributed to the causes of the landmine crisis. A particular
strength has been the initiative of the mine-affected countries themselves....
But the fundamental novelty of this process has been the unique partnership
between governments and the peoples they represent. Without the direct action
of non-governmental organizations which coalesced around the International
Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), there would be no
Convention.[3]
Ireland’s initial report under Article 7 of the MBT was deposited with
the UN on 16 August 1999, and its second (annual) report was deposited on 14
April 2000.
Ireland has participated in the meetings of the treaty’s Standing
Committees of Experts. At the January 2000 SCE meeting on General Status and
Operation of the Convention, Dr. Darach MacFhionnbhairr, Head of Disarmament and
Non-Proliferation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke for the Irish
government in reiterating that under the terms of the treaty, antivehicle mines
(AVM) with antihandling devices which function like AP mines – which may
explode from an unintentional act of a person -- are banned by MBT. He proposed
the formation of an informal expert group to examine the AVM
issue.[4]
In December 1999 Ireland co-sponsored the UN General Assembly Resolution
54/54B urging full implementation of the MBT and has voted in favor of all
pro-ban resolutions at the United Nations.
Ireland is a state party to Amended Protocol II of the Convention on
Conventional Weapons (CCW). The government participated in the First Annual
Meeting on Protocol II in December 1999, having submitted its report as required
by Article 13 of the Convention.
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling, Use
The two Article 7
reports[5] of progress toward
implementation of the MBT in Ireland state that Ireland has no stockpile of AP
mines, no minefields and has no AP mine production facilities. Ireland has
retained 129 antipersonnel landmines for research into mine clearance techniques
(as permitted by Article 3.1 of the MBT). It is not known where or when this
small quantity was obtained.
Commercial and homemade explosive devices have been widely used by
paramilitaries in the Irish conflict for many years, but instances of the use of
conventional antipersonnel mines are not known. The recent statement by the
non-state paramilitary Irish Republican Army that it will put its arms
“beyond use” further reduces the possibility of AP mines or other
mines being used in Ireland.[6]
Irish Defence Forces have been trained to deal with landmines during their
participation in many UN peacekeeping operations, and have routinely dealt with
explosive devices in Ireland.
Mine Action Funding
Governmental funding of humanitarian mine action,
including victim assistance, has increased recently from year to year. Since
1994 Ireland has contributed over IRP 3 million (US$2.6 million) to mine action
programs.[7] Beneficiary
countries since 1994 include Bosnia, Yugoslavia (Kosovo), Chechnya, Cambodia,
Angola, Somalia and Mozambique. In 1999 the following organizations received
support from the Irish
government:[8]
[1] For more on the evolution of Irish
national law banning AP mines see Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 629. The law
does not include specific penal sanctions for MBT violations, as called for in
the treaty. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informally indicated a
willingness to address this deficiency, but has been preoccupied with its
intense involvement in the resolution of conflict in
Ireland. [2] CCW, Amended Protocol II,
National Report for Article 13, 9 December
1999. [3] Address by David Andrews TD,
Minister for Foreign Affairs, to the First Meeting of States Parties to the Mine
Ban Treaty, Maputo, Mozambique, 3 May
1999. [4] Oral statement of Dr. Darach
MacFhionnbhairr, Head of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation at the Irish Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, SCE on the General Status and Operation of the Convention,
Geneva, 10-11 January 2000. [5] Mine Ban
Treaty, Article 7 Reports, submitted 16 August 1999, covering 3 December 1997-16
August 1999, and submitted 14 April 2000, covering 16 August 1999-14 April
2000. [6] “Sequence of Statements
Issued by Governments and the IRA,” The Irish Times (newspaper), 8 May
2000, p. 6. [7] Report of Ireland to
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, 25 January 2000, p.
2. [8] Political Division and Irish Aid,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 2000; Abbreviations: HI – Handicap
International, MAC – Mine Action Center, UNDP – UN Development
Program, ITF – International Trust Fund for Demining in
Bosnia-Herzegovina; Trocaire is the Catholic Agency for Development set up in
1973.
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