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Country Reports
Kiribati, Landmine Monitor Report 2004

Kiribati

Key developments since 1999: Kiribati acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 7 September 2000 and became a State Party on 1 March 2001.

The Republic of Kiribati acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 7 September 2000, after it had evaluated the financial implications of joining the agreement, and the treaty entered into force on 1 March 2001.[1] Both of the Article 7 reports submitted by Kiribati note that domestic implementation legislation is not under consideration by the government because there are no antipersonnel mines in the country; Kiribati “does ... not use, stockpile, produce, [or] transfer ... anti-personnel mines.”[2]

Kiribati has been absent from voting on annual pro-mine ban resolutions since 1999, including the 2003 vote on Resolution 58/53. In June 2004, Kiribati said it does not maintain an office in the UN in New York, but it would be willing to support future resolutions by proxy vote done on its behalf by the New Zealand mission to the UN.[3] A 2003 report described the unexploded ordnance from World War II, especially on Tarawa, as residual, with no casualties reported in recent years and few indications of detrimental effects on land use.[4]


[1] A New Zealand diplomat noted in March 1999 that Kiribati “wishes to evaluate the requirements that membership would have on scarce personnel resources and the effect of any financial obligations before acceding.” Fax from Grahame Morton, International Security and Arms Control Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand, 30 March 1999.
[2] See Article 7 reports submitted 4 December 2001 (for the period 7 September 2000-28 August 2001) and 4 June 2004 (for the period since May 2003).
[3] Article 7 Report, 4 June 2004. This report is titled, “Landmine Monitor Report for Kiribati – 2004.”
[4] John Borrie, Explosive remnants of war: a global survey, Landmine Action, London, June 2003, p. 35.