Ten of the 16 Pacific Forum member states are States Parties to the Mine Ban
Treaty.[1 ]The Cook Islands and
Marshall Islands, unlike Vanuatu which also signed the treaty in 1997, have not
yet ratified the ban treaty.[2 ]Four
other Pacific Forum states need to accede to the treaty (Federated States of
Micronesia, Palau, Tonga and Tuvalu).[3 ]Since 1997, the ICBL, States Parties, UN agencies and international
organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have
provided these governments with information on the Mine Ban Treaty’s
obligations—obligations that are described as minimal for these countries
in terms of financial costs, administrative burden and participation in
international meetings. Unlike other regional fora, the 2004 annual Pacific
Islands Forum failed to include in its final statement any reference to the Mine
Ban Treaty or its First Review
Conference.[4 ]
The Cook Islands and Marshall Islands have not responded to Landmine Monitor
requests for updated information in 2004 and 2005.
The Cook Islands signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997, but
has not yet ratified. In July 2003, the government stated that the national
parliament was considering legislation to ratify the Mine Ban
Treaty.[5 ]The Cook Islands voted in
favor of UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 59/84 on 3 December 2004, calling
for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. The
country has never produced, transferred, stockpiled or used antipersonnel mines,
and is not mine-affected.[6]
The Republic of the Marshall Islands signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4
December 1997, but has not ratified. In June 2003, a Ministry of Foreign
Affairs official told Landmine Monitor that the government was currently
reviewing its position on ratification of the
treaty.[7 ]In 2004, the Marshall
Islands abstained from voting on the annual pro-mine ban UNGA resolution, as it
did for similar resolutions in 2003, 2000, 1999 and 1998. The country is not
believed to have ever produced, transferred, stockpiled or used antipersonnel
mines, but there are considerable quantities of unexploded ordnance left over
from World War II.
[1 ]Ten Pacific Forum member states
are States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty: Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New
Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The
forum’s three observer-member states are Timor Leste, a State Party to the
treaty, and French Polynesia and New Caledonia (territories of France, which is
a State Party).
[2 ]See report on Vanuatu in this
edition of Landmine Monitor.
[3 ]See Pacific Islands
(Micronesia, Palau, Tonga, Tuvalu) report in this edition of Landmine Monitor.
[4 ]See Pacific Forum Press
Statement 56-04, “Thirty-Fifth Pacific Islands Forum Communique,”
Apia, Samoa, 5-7 August 2004.
[5 ]Email from Edwin Pittman,
Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Cook Islands, 16 July 2003.
[6]Interview with James Gosselin,
Legal Adviser for International Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Immigration, Cook Islands, in Wellington, New Zealand, 30 March 2001.
[7 ]Letter to Landmine Monitor
(John V. Head), from Raynard Gideon, Acting Secretary, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade, Marshall Islands, 9 June 2003.