LM Report 2004

Bahrain

Key developments since May 2003: In April 2004, Bahrain attended its first Mine Ban Treaty-related meeting—a regional seminar on military and humanitarian issues surrounding the treaty held in Amman, Jordan.

Key developments since 1999: Bahrain has voted in favor of every pro-ban UN General Assembly resolution since 1996. Bahrain has not revealed if it has a stockpile of antipersonnel mines. The status of US landmines stockpiled in Bahrain is not known following combat operations in Iraq.

Bahrain has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. It has made no official statements on its landmine ban position since October 1998, when its representative stated the government’s support for the treaty in the United Nations General Assembly.^[1]

While Bahrain did not participate in the Ottawa Process leading to the Mine Ban Treaty, it has voted in favor of every pro-ban UN General Assembly resolution since 1996, including UNGA Resolution 58/53 promoting universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty on 8 December 2003. In April 2004, Bahrain attended its first Mine Ban Treaty-related meeting, when it participated in a regional seminar on military and humanitarian issues surrounding the treaty in Amman, Jordan.

Bahrain is not believed to have produced or exported antipersonnel mines and it remains one of the only countries for which Landmine Monitor does not have a clear indication whether antipersonnel mines are stockpiled. In 2000, Landmine Monitor reported for the first time that the US stockpiled 3,124 antipersonnel mines in the country, but the status of this stockpile is not known following the conflict in Iraq.^[2] Bahrain is not mine-affected. Landmine Monitor has never recorded any contribution by the government to any international mine action programs.

[1] UN General Assembly First Committee, Press Release GA/DIS/3116, 20 October 1998.
[2] U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Section E, Appendix 1, Enclosure 5 of Solicitation Number F44650-99-R0007 “Operation, Maintenance, And Support of Pre-positioned War Reserve Materiel in Southwest Asia” shows the planned on-hand balances of munitions stored at facilities located near Manama.