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Table of Contents
Country Reports
QATAR, Landmine Monitor Report 2000
LM Report 2000 Full Report   Executive Summary   Key Findings   Key Developments   Translated Country Reports

QATAR

Key developments since March 1999: The Mine Ban Treaty entered into force for Qatar on 1 April 1999. Landmine Monitor has discovered that the United States has antipersonnel mines stockpiled in Qatar, and has plans to add to that stockpile.

Mine Ban Policy

Qatar signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified it on 13 October 1998. The treaty entered into force for Qatar on 1 April 1999. It is not known if Qatar has enacted national legislation implementing the treaty. Qatar was one of the 139 countries to vote in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 54/54B supporting the Mine Ban Treaty on 1 December 1999.

Qatar did not attend the First Meeting of States Party to the Mine Ban Treaty in Maputo in May 1999. Qatar did not participate in any of the treaty’s intersessional meetings in 1999 and 2000. Qatar has not submitted its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 transparency measures to the UN Secretary General, which was due by 27 September 1999. Qatari diplomats offered no explanation for this inaction.[1]

Qatar is not a party to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but did attend the First Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II (Landmines) in December 1999 in Geneva. Qatar is not a member of the Conference on Disarmament.

Production, Stockpile, Transfer, and Use

Qatar is not believed to have ever produced or exported antipersonnel mines. The Qatari Armed Forces are not known have ever imported, stockpiled, or used AP mines. Qatari military engineers do train for tactical demining operations but this is conducted in France, Jordan, and the United Kingdom.[2] No Qatari soldiers suffered mine injuries during the liberation of Kuwait in 1991.[3]

Landmine Monitor has discovered that the United States is stockpiling 216 ADAM projectiles containing 7,776 antipersonnel mines at the Al Karana area in Doha, Qatar as part of U.S. Army Pre-Positioned Stocks Five (APS-5).[4]

Additionally, based on U.S. Air Force plans for its war reserve ammunition stockpiles in the Persian Gulf region, U.S. Gator antipersonnel mines, as well as Claymore mines, may be introduced and stockpiled at the Al Udeid area in Qatar in the near future. U.S. Air Force documents indicate that the Al Udeid storage facility will eventually contain 142 CBU-89 Gator mine systems, each with twenty-two antipersonnel mines, and 141 M18/M18A1 Claymore mines.[5]

Qatari diplomats stated that the “mine issue has not been discussed between Qatar and the USA.”[6] It is not known if the government of Qatar regards the U.S. equipment stored on its territory as being under Qatari jurisdiction and control. It is also not known if any bilateral arrangement exists between Qatar and the U.S. such as a basing agreement or status of forces agreement. The equipment is stored on territory that is leased by the U.S.[7] It is also not known if Qatari nationals are involved in the operation or maintenance of the storage facilities hosting the U.S. equipment as employees of joint venture companies formed with the U.S. company that won the Air Force contract, DynCorp Technical Services of Fort Worth, Texas.

Mine Action

Qatar is not mine-affected. Qatar donated $200,000 to the (Slovenia) International Trust Fund for Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1999.[8] It is not known if there have been additional donations or any in-kind contributions for mine action.

<JORDAN | TUNISIA>

[1] Interview with Minister Khalifa Ahmed Al-Sowaidi, Chargé D’Affaires and Brigadier General Hamad A. Hinzb Al-Marri, Military Attaché, Embassy of the State of Qatar to the U.S., Washington, DC, 16 February 2000.
[2] Interview with Minister Al-Sowaidi and Brigadier General Al-Marri, 16 February 2000.
[3] Ibid.
[4] U.S. Army Operations Support Command, Solicitation DAAA09-99-R-0118: “Maintenance and Supply/Service for Army Pre-Positioned Stocks (APS-5) Equipment in Doha, Qatar,” 21 January 2000. Exhibit N, Technical Exhibit #11 of this solicitation titled “Ammunition in Qatar” shows the presence of 72 M691 ADAM projectiles (forty-eight hour self-destruct time) and 189 M731 ADAM projectiles (four hour self-destruct time). Each ADAM projectile contains thirty-six antipersonnel mines.
[5] U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command, Solicitation F44650-99-R0007: “Operation, Maintenance, and Support of Pre-Positioned War Reserve Materiel in Southwest Asia” 9 August 1999. Section E, Appendix 1, Enclosure 5 of this solicitation shows the planned on-hand balances of munitions stored at the Al Udeid facility to include 142 CBU-89 Gator units (with a total of 3,124 AP mines) and 141 M18/M18A1 Claymore mines.
[6] Interview with Minister Al-Sowaidi and Brigadier General Al-Marri, 16 February 2000.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Letter to Landmine Monitor from Ambassador Saad Mohamed Al-Kobaisi, Qatari Ambassador to the U.S., 9 September 1999.