Key developments
since March 1999: The Mine Ban Treaty entered into force for Portugal on 1
August 1999. For the first time Portugal publicly revealed details of its AP
mine stockpile, when it reported possessing 272,410 mines in its Article 7
report.
Mine Ban Policy
Portugal signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December
1997, and deposited its instrument of ratification at the United Nations on 19
February 1999. The treaty entered into force for Portugal on 1 August
1999.[1] The treaty was
incorporated into national legislation by virtue of publication in the
Diário da República (the official journal of Portuguese
legislation), but this did not constitute full implementation legislation with
penal sanctions.[2]
Portugal was represented at the First Meeting of States Parties of the Mine
Ban Treaty in Maputo in May 1999 by the State Secretary for National Defense,
Pereira dos Penedos.[3] In his
statement to the plenary, he expressed concern about the new mine incidents in
the Balkans. Portugal has attended four of the intersessional meetings of the
Standing Committees of Experts, two on Technology and one each on Stockpile
Destruction and the General Status and Operation of the Convention.
Portugal voted for UN General Assembly Resolution 54/54B in support of the
Mine Ban Treaty in December 1999, as it had for similar resolutions in 1997 and
1998.
On 1 February 2000 Portugal delivered its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report to
the UN, covering the period 3 December 1997 to 31 January
2000.[4]
With
regard to the issue of joint military operations involving non-signatory states
using AP mines, the Ministry of Defense has said that Portugal accepts that
other members of NATO could use antipersonnel mines in joint operations as long
as Portugal does not gain any benefit from such use, since the philosophy of
Portugal is to fulfil all its obligations, while creating awareness of the mine
problem and excluding no
parties.[5]
Regarding the Base das Lajes on Terceira Island in the Atlantic Azores
Islands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials stated that “the base is
American but under Portuguese sovereignty, so the Treaty of Ottawa should apply
to the base.”[6]
Portugal is a party to Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Conventional
Weapons (CCW). The government attended the First Annual Conference of Amended
Protocol II in December 1999, but has not submitted its transparency report as
required under Article 13.
Although Portugal is not a member of the Conference on Disarmament (CD), it
continues to support efforts through the CD to deal with antipersonnel mines,
provided they do not detract from the total prohibition enacted by the Mine Ban
Treaty. Portugal has stated, “Portugal accepts the principle of
complementarity of all international and regional fora, leading to the
universalization of the Ottawa Convention. In no case, will be acceptable any
negotiation which can set up exceptions to the ultimate goal of the Ottawa
Convention.”[7]
Production, Transfer and Use
Portugal stopped the regular manufacture of
antipersonnel mines in the late 1970s, with sporadic production up to 1988 (the
last being for export to
Nigeria).[8] It is now thought
that at least eight different types of antipersonnel mine were produced, which
have been found in nine
countries.[9] It is reported
that all production facilities have been closed, rather than converted to other
products.[10] Portugal stopped
using mines at the end of its colonial wars in 1974.
A representative of the Ministry of Defense has stated that Portugal reserves
the right to eventually study alternatives to antipersonnel mines and if such
studies are initiated these will be carried out in full respect of the spirit of
the Mine Ban Treaty.[11]
Stockpiling and Destruction
In its Article 7 report, Portugal reported
possessing 272,410 mines, including imported Claymores, Valmara and VS-50 mines,
as of 31 January 2000.[12]
Portugal plans to destroy its stock of mines in a one-year period, beginning
in October 2000, at Alcochete in a muffle furnace after disassembly of some
parts, conforming to safety standards (Decree 336/83 of 19 July 1983) and
environmental standards (Decrees 239/97 of 20 November 1997, 236/98 of 1 August
1998, 273/98 of 2 September
1998).[14]
Mine Action and Victim Assistance
Portugal is not a country affected by mines.
Portugal has donated $150,000 to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for
Mine Clearance, two-thirds of which was destined for
Angola.[15] Portuguese soldiers
have helped demining in Angola through a program of bilateral assistance.
Portugal also participates in INAROE (Instituto Nacional Angolano para a
Remoção de Objectos Explosivos) with training in mine removal
provided by Portuguese
officers.[16]
Government representatives state that Portugal is willing to get more
involved in mine action and victim assistance, especially in relation to the
PALOPs (African Countries with Portuguese Official Language, which includes the
heavily mined countries of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau). It is also
willing to diversify its actions to other areas, for example to Bosnia, where
Portuguese soldiers are already present. Toward this end, a donation to the UN
of between $150,000 and $200,000 is budgeted for
2000.[17]
The Jesuit Refugee Service-Portugal provides support to JRS-Angola for
education to mine victims in Luena, including elementary schooling and training
in tailoring or carpentry.[18]
On 25 March 2000 Esperança, a young Portuguese training association
mainly formed by Angolans living in Portugal, organized a race with the help of
the Câmara de Lisboa (town council of Lisbon), denouncing the mine
situation in Angola. Esperança organized a photographic exhibition on
landmine victims at the Expo site in Lisbon on 25 May 2000, and is planning to
launch a rehabilitation center in Luanda to offer skills-training in subjects
such as IT, tailoring, carpentry, mechanics.
Portuguese law concerning the disabled and war victims is very extensive. In
1999, under the auspices of Portuguese Technical-Military Cooperation, the
Ministry of Defense started a project to assist children who are amputee war
victims, involving the Hospital Militar de
Coimbra.[19]
[1] Officials indicate that due to an error
in official publication in the Diário da República (the official
journal of Portuguese legislation), the treaty formally did not have force of
law domestically until 23 February 2000. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states
this was only an error in formalities, which had no impact on the implementation
of the treaty. Interview with Dra. Fátima Mendes, Director of the
Direction of Services for Defense and Security Organizations, and Dr. Antonio
Ressano, Chair of the Conventional Weapons Export Desk, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Lisbon, 28 March 2000. [2]
Diário da Républica - II Série, n°273, 23 November
1999, and I-Série-A n°45, 23 March
2000. [3] In addition to its UN-assessed
contribution for the FMSP, Portugal donated $11,000 to Mozambique to offset its
costs of hosting the Meeting. [4] Mine
Ban Treaty, Article 7 Report, submitted 1 February 2000, available at:
http://domino.un.org/Ottawa.nsf. [5]
Interview with Dr. Saldanha Serra, General Direction for National Defense
Policy, Ministry of Defense, Lisbon, 29 March
2000. [6] Interview with Dra.
Fátima Mendes, Director of Direction of Services for Defense and Security
Organizations, and Dr. Antonio Ressano Garcia, Chairman of the Conventional
Weapons (Arms) Export Desk, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lisbon, 28 March
2000. [7] Report of the Portuguese
Delegation to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), 7
December 1999, p. 2 ; interview with Dra. Mendes and Dr. Ressano Garcia,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lisbon, 28 March 2000; interview with Dr. Saldanha
Serra, Ministry of Defense, Lisbon, 29 March
2000. [8] Report to the OSCE, 7 December
1999; Article 7 Report. [9] Article 7
Report; Jane’s Defense Equipment Library, CD ROM Issue 14, December 1999.
The mines include M412, M421, M432, , M966b, M969b, MAPS (also known as
M411--an improved version of the M969), M972, and M996. Mines have been found
in Angola, Iraq, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Africa, Zambia
and Zimbabwe. [10] Article 7
Report. [11] Interview with Dr. Saldanha
Serra, Ministry of Defense, Lisbon, 29 March
2000. [12] Article 7 Report. No mention
is made of the types M412, M421, M432, M996 and M972 AP mines known to have been
produced previously. These older mines were likely destroyed in the
past. [13] Human Rights Watch Fact
Sheet, “Antivehicle Mines with Antihandling Devices,” prepared for
the First Meeting of the Standing Committee of Experts on the General Status and
Operation of the Convention, 10-11 January
2000. [14] Interview with Dr. Saldanha
Serra, Ministry of Defense, Lisbon, 29 March 2000. Article 7 Report; Report of
the Portuguese Delegation to OSCE, 7 December 1999, p. 3. Landmine Monitor 1999
reported that Portugal had destroyed part of its stockpile after 1996; the
Article 7 report indicates no destruction during the reporting period of 3
December 1997 to 31 January 2000. [15]
UN General Assembly, “Secretary General 's report: Assistance in Mine
Clearance,” A/53/496, 14 October 1998, p.
29. [16] Interview with Dr. Saldanha
Serra, Ministry of Defense, Lisbon, 29 March
2000. [17] Interview with Dra. Mendes
and Dr. Ressano Garcia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lisbon, 28 March
2000. [18] Interviews with Dra.
Rosário Farmhouse, JRS-Portugal, Lisbon, March
2000. [19] Interview with Dr. Saldanha
Serra, Ministry of Defense, Lisbon, 29 March 2000.
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