LM Report 2000

Full Report   Executive Summary   Key Findings   Key Developments   Translated Country Reports

LUXEMBOURG

Key developments since March 1999: Luxembourg ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on 14 June 1999. It has not yet submitted its Article 7 report, due by 28 May 2000. In 1999 and 2000 it has supported mine action and victim assistance projects in Angola, Bosnia, Kosovo and Laos. Luxembourg ratified CCW Amended Protocol II on 5 August 1999.

Mine Ban Policy

Luxembourg signed the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 14 June 1999.^[1] The Treaty entered into force for Luxembourg on 1 December 1999. National legislation was passed to incorporate the MBT into Luxembourg law; it is not known at present whether this includes penal sanctions for treaty violations.^[2]

Luxembourg attended the First Meeting of States Parties (FMSP) to the MBT in May 1999, represented by Marc Courte, Ambassador to the Netherlands. Luxembourg attended one of each of the meetings of the intersessional Standing Committees of Experts on victim assistance, stockpile destruction and technologies for mine clearance. In late June 2000 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that its first Article 7 report, which was due on 28 May 2000, is being prepared.^[3]

Luxembourg sponsored and voted in favor of the UN General Assembly Resolution 54/54B in December 1999, as it had with previous pro-ban UNGA resolutions in 1996, 1997, and 1998. After national elections in June 1999, the new government dissolved the Ministry of Public Forces and transferred its functions to the newly formed Ministry of Foreign Affairs, External Trade, Cooperation and Defense, which now deals with all matters relating to landmines and mine action.^[4]

On 5 August 1999 Luxembourg ratified Amended Protocol II of the Convention on Conventional Weapons. It participated in the First Annual Conference of Amended Protocol II in December 1999.

NGO activities on landmine issues in 1999 included an event on 1 March 1999 to mark the entry into force of the MBT, organized by Handicap International, with the cooperation of the Catholic and Protestant Churches.^[5] Church bells rang throughout Luxembourg. On 25 September 1999, HI also organized the first shoe pyramid in Luxembourg, combined with other activities, to raise public awareness about the landmine problem. Princess Maria Teresa visited the activities organized that day, which were widely covered in the media.^[6]

Luxembourg has never produced or exported AP mines. It imported mines in the past from the U.S. and Belgium. Destruction of its stockpile of 9,600 mines was completed in August 1997.^[7] The Army kept 500 mines of each type it had in stock for training purposes, as permitted under the MBT. These include the Belgian M35bg, and U.S. M2A1 and M16 AP mines.^[8]

Mine Action

In addition to its contributions to the United Nations and European Union, Luxembourg has financed several mine projects related to demining and mine victim assistance.^[9] In 1999 this included Flux 1,480,000 (US$37,000) donated to Handicap International for work raising public awareness in Luxembourg, as well as the following projects:

• Angola: pilot project for airborne detection of minefields through the International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Services; project currently suspended; contribution of Flux 5 million (US$125,000).
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: contribution to the International Trust Fund for Demining and Victim Assistance; Flux 2 million (US$50,000) for rehabilitation of mine victims.
• Kosovo: emergency demining through the UNMAS program; Flux 5 million (US$125,000).
• Laos: support for the UXO-Lao mine action center through the UN Development Program Trust Fund; Flux 15.4 million (US$385,000).

In 2000, mine action projects are being supported in Kosovo and Laos:

• Kosovo: demining in Djakovica region through Handicap International; Flux 2 million (US$50,000).
• Laos: support to UXO Lao through the UNDP trust fund; Flux 10 million (US$250,000).

[1] Letter from Robert Lauer, in charge of security and disarmament questions, Political Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 26 June 2000; see also: http://www.un.org/depts.treaty/final.
[2] Law of 29 April 1999, approving the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfers of Mines and on their Destruction, signed in Ottawa 4 December 1997, ratified 14 June 1999, and published in the Official Journal, No. 50, 6 May 1999, p. 1189.
[3] Telephone interview with Robert Lauer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 27 June 2000.
[4] Letter from Robert Lauer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 26 June 2000.
[5] “Entrée en Vigueur du traité d'Interdiction des mines antipersonnel,” Lëtzebuerger Journal, 27 February 1999, p. 21.
[6] “Journée nationale des lacets bleus et de la pyramide de chaussures,” Lëtzebuerger Journal, 29 September 1999, p. 19; "Pyramide de Chaussures," Tageblatt, 24 September 1999, p. 44; "Samedi 25 septembre, Jour des lacets bleus," Tageblatt, 18 September 1999, p. 44.
[7] Answer to Parliamentary Question No. 504, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 9 November 1998.
[8] Interview with Lt.-Colonel Ries, Deputy Chief of Staff, 22 March 1999.
[9] Letter from Robert Lauer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 26 June 2000.