LM Report 2003

Seychelles

The Republic of Seychelles signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1999, ratified on 2 June 2000, and became a State Party on 1 December 2000. Under existing law, it is illegal for anyone other than the military to handle any type of explosives. Domestic legislation to implement the Mine Ban Treaty is in preparation and in July 2003, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told Landmine Monitor that the final draft “Antipersonnel Mines Prohibition Bill 2003” would be presented to the National Assembly within the next two months.^[1]

Seychelles submitted its initial Article 7 report, originally due 30 May 2001, on 14 April 2003.^[2] In the report, Seychelles officially confirms that it has not produced antipersonnel mines, that it has no stockpile (with no mines retained for training), and that it is not mine-affected.^[3]

Seychelles did not attend any Mine Ban Treaty-related meetings in 2002 or the first half of 2003, due to resource constraints, but it voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74 on 22 November 2002, supporting the universalization and implementation of the treaty. Seychelles is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II, but did not attend the Fourth Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in December 2002.

[1] Response to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire, from William Bell, Technical Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Seychelles, 12 February 2003; telephone interview with William Bell, Technical Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 30 July 2003; Article 7 Report, Form A, 14 April 2003, which states, “Draft legislation is underway.”
[2] The report covers the period from December 2000 to December 2002.
[3] Article 7 Report, Forms B, C, D, and E, 14 April 2003.