Mauritania

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Last updated: 21 July 2015

Five-Year Review: State Party Mauritania ratified the convention on 1 February 2012 and reports that existing legislation is sufficient to enforce implementation of the convention’s provisions. Mauritania has participated in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention and in 2014, condemned new use of cluster munitions, including in South Sudan, Syria, and Ukraine. In its initial transparency report for the convention provided in 2013, Mauritania confirmed it has never used, produced, imported, or exported cluster munitions and has no stockpile, including for training or research purposes.

Policy

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 19 April 2010, ratified on 1 February 2012, and the convention entered into force for the country on 1 August 2012.

Mauritania has reported its ratification legislation, Law 2011-050, under national implementation measures.[1] In April 2014, a government official said that international treaties ratified by Mauritania are automatically incorporated into the domestic law so there was no need for new or amended legislation specific to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[2]

Mauritania provided its initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions in March 2013 and submitted annual updated reports in April 2014 and May 2015.[3]

Mauritania actively participated in the Oslo Process that led to the creation of the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, making many strong contributions towards ensuring the most comprehensive treaty possible.[4] Mauritania did not sign the convention in December 2008, apparently due to political uncertainty, but signed at the UN in New York in April 2010.

Mauritania supports the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It has participated in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention. At the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in San Jose, Costa Rica in September 2014, Mauritania announced the completion of clearance of cluster munition remnants from its territory, formally stating it is now in compliance with the convention’s obligation to clear all contaminated areas.

Mauritania has attended all of the convention’s intersessional meetings in Geneva, including in June 2015. It has also participated in regional workshops on cluster munitions, such as the one held in Lomé, Togo in May 2013.

At the Fifth Meeting of States Parties, Mauritania condemned the use of cluster munitions in South Sudan, Syria, and Ukraine.[5] It has also voted in favor of UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions condemning the use of cluster munitions in Syria, such as Resolution 69/189 on 18 December 2014, which expressed “outrage” at the continued use.[6]

Mauritania has yet to elaborate its views on certain important issues relating to the interpretation and implementation of the convention, such as the prohibition on transit, the prohibition on foreign stockpiling, and the prohibition on investment in cluster munition production. During the negotiation of the convention in Dublin in May 2008, Mauritania called for clarity of language to ensure that the prohibition on assistance with prohibited acts would still be fully applicable during joint military operations with states not party.[7]

Mauritania is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Mauritania has stated that it has never used, produced, or transferred cluster munitions and does not have a stockpile of the weapons, including for research or training.[8]



[1] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for the period 12 January 2012 to 31 December 2012), Form A, 18 March 2013.

[2] CMC meetings with Lt.-Col. Alioune Ould Mohamed El Hacen, National Coordinator, National Humanitarian Demining Programme for Development (PNDHD), Ministry of Interior and Decentralisation, Geneva, 8 and 15 April 2014.

[3] The initial report covers calendar year 2012, while the update provided in April 2014 covers calendar year 2013. The report submitted in 2015 consists of the cover sheet for calendar year 2014, indicating no changes from the previous year.

[4] See ICBL, Cluster Munition Monitor 2010 (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada: October 2010), pp. 163–164.

[5] Statement of Mauritania, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fifth Meeting of States Parties, San Jose, 4 September 2014. Notes by the CMC.

[6] “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution A/RES/69/189, 18 December 2014. Mauritania voted in favor of a similar resolution on 18 December 2013.

[7] For Article 21 on relations with states not party, Mauritania proposed to delete the phrase “notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1” (Article 1 prohibits assistance with banned acts). Statements of Mauritania, Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, 20 May 2008, 23 May 2008, and 27 May 2008. Notes by Landmine Action.

[8] Forms B, C, D, and E of Mauritania’s Article 7 reports were not completed and the cover sheet lists them as “sans objet” or not applicable. Mauritania has stated that it does not stockpile cluster munitions. Interview with Lt.-Col. Alioune O. Mohamed El Hacen, PNDHD, Ministry of Interior and Decentralisation, Vientiane, 10 November 2010; email, 4 April 2011; and Monitor meeting, Geneva, 15 April 2013.


Mine Ban Policy

Last updated: 02 November 2011

Mine Ban Policy

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified on 21 July 2000, becoming a State Party on 1 January 2001. Mauritania adopted national legislation including penal sanctions to implement the Mine Ban Treaty on 2 January 2008.[1] A national commission was set up to be responsible for the mine issue and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty in July 2002.[2]

Mauritania submitted its eleventh Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report on 30 April 2011, covering the period from 30 April 2010 to 30 April 2011.[3]

Mauritania attended the Tenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in November–December 2010, as well as intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2011.

Mauritania is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Production, transfer, stockpile destruction, and retention

Mauritania has always reported that it has never manufactured antipersonnel mines. It is not known to have exported mines. Mauritania completed the destruction of its stockpile of 21,168 antipersonnel mines on 5 December 2004, ahead of its deadline of 1 January 2005.[4]

Mauritania initially intended to retain 5,728 mines for training purposes, but decided in 2004 to reduce the number to 728: 100 PMN mines, 161 Model 51 mines, and 467 MP mines. In 2011, Mauritania reported the same number retained for training.[5] No mines were consumed (destroyed) in training activities from 2005 to 2011.

In 2009, Mauritania stated that it was looking at the possibility of gradually destroying the retained mines starting in 2010.[6] With respect to mines retained, in April 2007 Mauritania said that it agreed with the ICBL and others that the number of mines retained for training and development purposes should at most be in the hundreds or thousands.[7]

 



[1] Law No. 2008-06 Relative to the Prohibition of Antipersonnel Mines in Mauritania, 2 January 2008. The legislation bans the acquisition, manufacture, stockpiling, transfer, import, export, and use of antipersonnel mines. It provides penalties of one to three years’ imprisonment and fines of MRO100,000 to 1 million ($442 to 4,417) for violations. The law permits retention of mines for training and development, and sets conditions for implementing Article 8 of the Mine Ban Treaty on compliance.

[2] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, 25 April 2005.

[3] Previous Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 reports were submitted on 2010, and on 30 April 2009, 24 April 2008, 20 April 2007, 26 April 2006, 25 April 2005, 18 June 2004, 30 April 2003, 12 June 2002, and 20 June 2001.

[4] It destroyed 16,168 French-made APID 51 mines in 2001 and 2002, and destroyed the final 5,000 antipersonnel mines on 5 December 2004, including 1,738 Soviet PMN mines, 1,728 French Model 51 mines, and 1,533 “MP” mines, which are most likely Yugoslav PMA-3 mines. The quantities provided for each type of mine total 4,999, not 5,000. See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 422–423.

[5] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Forms B and D, 30 April 2011.

[6] Statement of Mauritania, Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 25 May 2009. Notes by the Monitor.

[7] Statement of Mauritania, Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 27 April 2007. Notes by the Monitor. In May 2006, Mauritania called on other States Parties to reduce the number of mines retained as much as possible. Statement of Mauritania, Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 12 May 2006. Notes by the Monitor.


Mine Action

Last updated: 07 November 2018

 

Treaty status

Mine Ban Treaty

State Party
Article 5 deadline: 1 January 2021
Clearance completed

Mine action management

National mine action management actors

National Humanitarian Demining Programme for Development (Programme National de Déminage Humanitaire pour le Développement, PNDHD)

Mine action strategic plan

National mine action strategic plan for 2016–2020

Operators in 2017

Army Engineer Corps

Extent of contamination as of end 2017

Landmines

None

Cluster munition remnants

None

Land release in 2016 and 2017

Landmines

1km2 (835,467m2 reduced by technical survey and 164,533m2 released by clearance). 93 antipersonnel mines and 35 antivehicle mines destroyed

Progress

Landmines

Clearance of mined areas is complete and a proposal has been submitted to the government that a declaration of compliance with their Article 5 obligations be made

 

Contamination

At the end of 2017, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania reported no known or suspected areas containing antipersonnel mines following technical survey and clearance of an area with an estimated size of 1km2, in Ain Bintilli district, Tiris Zemmour region.[1] The area contained both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines.[2]

At the end of 2015, Mauritania had reported it had released all known areas of antipersonnel mine contamination. This totaled 40 mined areas covering 67km2.[3] However, other contaminated areas were thought to exist close to Western Sahara, which depending on the demarcation of the border, could be inside Mauritanian territory and thus within its jurisdiction.[4] In its request for a second extension to its Article 5 clearance deadline, Mauritania stated that it “suspects that the security system along the border with Western Sahara, which comprises fortifications and minefields, crosses Mauritanian territory, especially since there is no natural border between the two.”[5]

Mauritania’s mine contamination was a legacy of the conflict over Western Sahara in 1975–1978. A 2006 Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) had found a total of 65 suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) covering 76km2 and affecting 60 communities. This proved to be a significant overestimate of the actual extent of the mine threat. In 2010, Morocco provided detailed maps of minefields laid during the Western Sahara conflict. The minefields had been partially cleared using military procedures prior to the entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty.[6]

Program Management

The National Humanitarian Demining Program for Development (Programme National de Déminage Humanitaire pour le Développement, PNDHD) coordinates mine action operations in Mauritania.[7] Since 2007, the program has been the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior and Decentralization, with oversight from an interministerial steering committee.[8] The PNDHD has its headquarters in the capital, Nouakchott, and a regional mine action center (RMAC) in Nouadhibou.

Strategic planning

In March 2017, Mauritania reported that a national mine action strategic plan for 2016–2020 had been developed with primary aims and targets, including verification of Mauritania’s borders and clearance of any newly identified contamination by 2020; continuing risk education and victim assistance; and maintenance of national mine clearance capacities.[9]

The main aims of Mauritania’s workplan for 2017–2020 were to achieve clearance of the remaining contaminated areas, establish a strategy for residual contamination, and declare their compliance with Article 5 before 1 January 2021.[10]

As of July 2018, clearance of mined areas was complete and a proposal had been submitted to the government of Mauritania that a declaration of compliance with their Article 5 obligations be made.[11]

Quality management

In 2017, the PNDHD deployed its quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) capacity during clearance of the Sebkhat Fogra minefield.[12]

Information management

The national mine action database is held at the PNDHD. As of December 2017, Mauritania had strengthened its information management capacity by providing additional training to an information management specialist and migrating to Version 6 of the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) software.[13]

Operators

In accordance with a 2006 decree, all clearance activities were conducted by the Army Engineer Corps operating under the PNDHD.

Land Release

Mauritania reported that nationally funded technical surveys and administrative checks carried out in late 2016 and early 2017 resulted in the identification and confirmation of a mined area in Sebkhat Fogra, Ain Bintilli district covering an estimated 1km2and containing both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines.[14] It stated that assessments undertaken had confirmed that the area was located within Mauritanian territory and that the area had been clearly marked with warning signs in Arabic and French.[15] Mauritania reported that it had released all 1km2 by 15 December 2017 (835,467m2 reduced by technical survey and 164,533m2 released by clearance).[16] During the clearance, 93 antipersonnel mines and 35 antivehicle mines were found and destroyed.[17]

Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the five-year extension request granted by States Parties in 2015), Mauritania was required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 January 2021.[18] Mauritania has now completed clearance and is working towards making a formal declaration of compliance with its Article 5 obligations.

In September 2017, the PNDHD reported that funding had been secured from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for clearance of the remaining area and that it expected to deploy teams following a two-week refresher training course. Clearance was completed on 15 December 2017. It stated that no further suspected mined areas remained on Mauritanian territory and no further survey or efforts to clarify the border demarcation were required.[19]

Previously, in June 2017, Mauritania projected that with external funding of US$75,000 it could complete clearance of the newly confirmed 1km2 area by the end of the year and declare itself in compliance with Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 at the forthcoming Meeting of States Parties in December 2017. It appealed for donor support to reach this goal.[20]

Mauritania has explained thatthe reasons for its inability to meet its initial Article 5 deadline of 1 January 2016 included lack of financial resources, insufficient progress in demining, use of only manual clearance, and difficult soil and climatic factors.[21] In its second extension request, Mauritania undertook to initiate and maintain dialogue with stakeholders with the aim of acquiring relevant topographic and cartographic information to determine the exact location of its northern border and to develop plans to address any contaminated areas identified within its jurisdiction.[22]

In September 2017, Mauritania reported that survey of areas along the border had not revealed any further evidence of the presence of mines and no further dialogue with stakeholders on border clarification needed to be undertaken.[23] As of July 2018, Mauritania’s priorities for survey and clearance were to focus on any residual contamination.[24]

 

The Monitor acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review (www.mineactionreview.org), which has conducted the primary mine action research in 2018 and shared all its country-level landmine reports (from“Clearing the Mines 2018”) and country-level cluster munition reports (from “Clearing Cluster Munition Remnants 2018”) with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.



[1] Email from Alioune ould Menane, National Coordinator, PNDHD, 23 July 2018.

[2] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2016), Form D; statement of Mauritania, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 8 June 2017; and email from Alioune ould Menane, PNDHD, 29 March 2017.

[3] Analysis of Mauritania’s Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, submitted by the Committee on Article 5 Implementation to the Mine Ban Treaty 14thMeeting of States Parties, 17 November 2015, p. 2.

[4] Ibid., 21 April 2014. 


[5] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 2 April 2015, p. 4. In the original French: “nous suspectons que le dispositif de sécurité le long de la frontière avec le Sahara occidental, composé de fortification et champs de mines interfère en territoire Mauritanien surtout qu’il n’existe aucune frontière naturelle.” 


[6] Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request (revised), 6 September 2010, p. 3; and email from Melissa Andersson, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), 17 September 2015. 


[7] Decree No. 1960/MDAT/MDN establishing the PNDHD, 14 August 2007. 


[8] Decree No. 001358/MDAT establishing the Steering Committee of the PNDHD, 3 September 2007. 


[9] Email from Alioune ould Menane, PNDHD, 29 March 2017; and interview, in Geneva, 5 September 2017.

[10] Email from Alioune ould Menane, PNDHD, 23 July 2018.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form D.

[14] Statement of Mauritania, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 8 June 2017.

[15] Ibid.; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2016), Form D.

[16] Emails from Alioune ould Menane, PNDHD, 23 July and 18 September 2018.

[17] Ibid., 23 July 2018; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form D.

[18] It submitted the request in April 2015, despite being on track to complete clearance of all known areas containing antipersonnel mines by the end of the year. Under the five-year extension, the Mauritanian government would enter into a dialogue with “all of the stakeholders in the Western Sahara conflict” so as to clarify “the status of the suspected areas.” Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 2 April 2015, p. 4. 


[19] Interview with Alioune ould Menane, PNDHD, in Geneva, 5 September 2017; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form D.

[20] Statement of Mauritania, Committee on Article 5 Implementation, Geneva, 8 June 2017.

[21] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 3 February 2010, pp. 3–4. 


[22] Decision on the request submitted by Mauritania for a Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 4 December 2015.

[23] Interview with Alioune ould Menane, PNDHD, Mine Ban Treaty Intersessional Meetings, in Geneva, 5 September 2017.

[24] Email from Alioune ould Menane, PNDHD, 23 July 2018.


Support for Mine Action

Last updated: 15 September 2015

Since 2008, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania has contributed approximately US$4.4 million or 47% of its total mine action budget. In 2014, Mauritania contributed $850,000, and reported it would increase its national contribution to $950,000 in 2015.[1]

In March 2015, Mauritania submitted a request to extend its mine clearance deadline until 2021 but did not include a projected budget for the requested extension period or a resource mobilization strategy.

In 2014, Norway was Mauritania’s sole international mine action donor, contributing NOK4,521,000 ($717,972) toward clearance activities.[2] This is $1 million less than in 2013, when Germany and Norway provided $1,770,428 for clearance operations through Norwegian People’s Aid.[3]

Summary of contributions: 2010–2014[4]

Year

National contributions ($)

International contributions ($)

Total contributions ($)

2014

850,000

717,972

1,567,972

2013

850,000

1,770,428

2,620,428

2012

850,000

1,394,978

2,244,978

2011

985,000

807,158

1,792,158

2010

846,000

194,990

1,040,990

Total

4,381,000

4,885,526

9,266,526

 

 



[1] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Extension Request, 26 March 2015, p. 16.

[2] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Ingrid Schoyen, Senior Adviser, Section for Humanitarian Affairs, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 18 May 2015. Average exchange rate for 2014: NOK6.2969=US$1. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 2 January 2015.

[3] Germany, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form I, 5 May 2014; and email from Ingunn Vatne, Senior Advisor, Section for Humanitarian Affairs, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, 28 April 2014.

[4] See previous Monitor profiles.


Casualties

Last updated: 13 July 2017

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2016

618 (368 people killed; 248 injured; 2 of unknown status)

 

In 2016, no new casualties were identified in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. [1]

The last recorded casualties were in 2012, when four casualties were recorded as the result of a single incident. One adult male was killed and three other people, including two children, were injured while collecting scrap metal in Zoueratt, in northern Mauritania.

The national authorities estimate that the total number of mine/ERW victims is 618. [2] The National Humanitarian Demining Programme for Development (Programme National de Déminage Humanitaire pour le Développement, PNDHD) recorded 203 casualties since the establishment of the database recording mine victims in 2000, of which 29 were members of the security forces. [3] The casualties were predominantly male (86%), and most incidents occurred while herding animals. [4]

As of February 2017, the PNDHD was working on improving the casualty database in order to differentiate the type of weapons that caused casualties. [5] In 2016, Mauritania reported that no cluster munition casualties were identified because cluster munition casualties were not distinguished from other mine/ERW casualties in existing data. [6]

Between 2013 and 2016, 75 mine survivors received medical care and participated in income-generating projects. [7]

Mauritania ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 3 April 2012.



[1] Interview with Lt.-Col. Alioune ould Mohamed El Hacen, Coordinator, National Humanitarian Demining Programme for Development (Programme National de Déminage Humanitaire pour le Développement, PNDHD), in Geneva, Switzerland, 8 February 2017.

[2] Email from Lt.-Col. El Hacen, PNDHD, 12 June 2017; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form G, 30 April 2017.

[3] Email from Lt.-Col. El Hacen, PNDHD, 30 March 2015.

[5] Interview with Lt.-Col. El Hacen, Geneva, in Switzerland, 8 February 2017.

[6] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2015), Form H. Mauritania’s Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report for calendar year 2016 reported that this was unchanged. Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2016), cover page.

[7] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form G, 30 April 2017.


Casualties and Victim Assistance

Last updated: 26 December 2016

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2015

203 (68 people killed; 133 injured; 2 of unknown status)


In 2015, no new casualties were identified in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.[1]

The last recorded casualties were in 2012, when four casualties were recorded as the result of a single incident. One adult male was killed and three other people, including two children, were injured while collecting scrap metal in Zoueratt, in northern Mauritania.

The National Humanitarian Demining Programme for Development (Programme National de Déminage Humanitaire pour le Développement, PNDHD) recorded 203 casualties since 1974, of which 29 were members of the security forces.[2] From this total, the PNDHD recorded 71 casualties between 1999 and 2014.[3] The casualties were predominantly male (86%), and most incidents occurred while herding animals.[4]

Mauritania ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 3 April 2012.



[1] Monitor analysis of media report for 2015 (from 1 January to 31 December); email from Lt.-Col. Alioune ould Mohamed El Hacen, Coordinator, National Humanitarian Demining Programme for Development (Programme National de Déminage Humanitaire pour le Développement, PNDHD), 30 March 2015.

[2] Email from Lt.-Col. Alioune ould Mohamed El Hacen, PNDHD, 30 March 2015.

[3] Previously the Monitor recorded 52 mine/explosive remnants of war casualties in Mauritania (19 killed; 33 injured), since 1999. Based on analysis of the Monitor’s global casualty database 1999–2014.