Mauritania

Impact

Last updated: 15 February 2021

Jump to a specific section of the profile:

Treaty Status | Management & Coordination | Impact (contamination & casualties) | Addressing the Impact (land release, risk education, victim assistance)

Country summary

Mauritania’s landmine and cluster munition contamination is a legacy of the conflict over Western Sahara between 1975–1978.

Mauritania declared fulfilment of its clearance obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty in November 2018 and under the Convention on Cluster Munitions in September 2014. However, in June 2020 Mauritania submitted a request to extend its Article 5 Mine Ban Treaty clearance deadline by one year as it has discovered new mined areas.[1] In its Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report for 2019, Mauritania also reported having discovered previously unknown cluster munition contamination.[2]

The National Humanitarian Demining Programme for Development (Programme National de Déminage Humanitaire pour le Développement, PNDHD) has planned to conduct an assessment of suspected and confirmed areas to establish the full extent of contamination.

Risk education and victim assistance were included in Mauritania’s National mine action strategic plan for 2016–2020.

The PNDHD is the focal point for victim assistance, the government of Mauritania provides a grant for victim assistance services to the PNDHD and to the national rehabilitation center.[3] Although some sort of victim assistance exist through the PNDHD and the national rehabilitation center, few specific activities or services have been reported.

Treaty status

Treaty status overview

Mine Ban Treaty

State Party

Article 5 clearance deadline: 31 January 2022 (third request)

Convention on Cluster Munitions

State Party

Article 4 clearance deadline: 1 August 2022*

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

State Party

* Mauritania which declared itself free of cluster munition in September 2014, reported finding new contaminated areas in 2020.

Clearance deadline extension requests

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.[4] In November 2018, at the Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, Mauritania declared that it had fulfilled its Article 5 obligations.[5] In July 2020, at the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings, Mauritania submitted a request for extension of its Article 5 deadline until 31 January 2022 following the discovery of additional mine-contaminated areas.[6]

Under Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Mauritania is required to destroy all cluster munition remnants located in cluster munition contaminated areas under its jurisdiction or control by 1 August 2022. In September 2014, at the Fifth Meeting of States Parties to the convention, Mauritania submitted a declaration of compliance with its Article 4 clearance obligations.[7] In January 2020, Mauritania reported newly discovered cluster munition-contaminated areas in the Tiris Zemmour region with an estimated total of 36km2.[8]

Management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination overview

Mine action commenced

2000

National mine action management actors

PNDHD

Mine Action legislation

2008 law on the prohibition of antipersonnel mines in Mauritania

Mine Action strategies and operational plans

National mine action strategic plan for 2016–2020

Mine Action Standards

Not updated since 2006

 

Coordination

Created in 200, the PNDHD coordinates mine action operations in Mauritania.[9] Since 2007, the program has been the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior and Decentralization, with oversight from an interministerial steering committee.[10] The PNDHD has its headquarters in the capital, Nouakchott, and a regional mine action center (RMAC) in Nouadhibou.

Strategies and policy

In 2017, Mauritania reported that a national mine action strategic plan for 2016–2020 had been developed. The objectives included: the 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.[11]

Information management

The national mine action database is held at the PNDHD. As of June 2020, the PNDHD was using version 6 of the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) software.[12]

National standards

The Mauritanian National Mine Action Standards were approved in 2007 and are reported to be in line with International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) although adapted to the local geography and equipment.[13] They include standards for technical and non-technical survey (NTS) that were developed with the support of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA).[14]

Risk education management and coordination

Risk education management and coordination overview

Government focal points

PNDHD

 

Coordination

Risk education is coordinated by the PNDHD and provided to the authorities, local officials, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local people, including teachers.[15]

Victim assistance management and coordination

Victim assistance management and coordination[16]

Government focal points

PNDHD

Coordination mechanisms

None

Plans/strategies

No victim assistance strategy; victim assistance is included in the mine action strategy

Disability sector integration

 

Income-generation projects are funded by the PNDHD in coordination with the regional network of persons with disabilities

Survivor inclusion and participation

Each year the PNDHD requests survivors’ organizations the identification of the needs of survivors and the prioritization of activities

 

Coordination

No specific coordination mechanism was reported. The government of Mauritania provides a grant to the PNDHD and to the National Orthopedic and Functional Rehabilitation Center (Centre National d’Orthopédie et de Réhabilitation Fonctionnelle, CNORF) for victim assistance services.[17]

Laws and policies

Since December 2017, persons with disabilities can apply for a disability card which provides free access to health care services in public hospitals, and access to transportation and health care services in private hospitals at discounted rates.[18] As of 2019, there was a need to improve the distribution of disability cards.[19]

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is prohibited, and the law mandates access to public buildings. However, the law was not enforced and persons with disabilities generally did not have access to buildings.[20]

In April 2020, the Ministry of Social Affairs, Childhood, and Family and the National Health Insurance Fund (Caisse nationale d’assurance maladie, CNAM) signed an agreement for 2,000 persons with disabilities to benefit from health insurance. The Ministry and the CNAM will have to determine to whom they will issue the beneficiary cards.[21]

Impact

Contamination

Contamination (as of December 2019)[22]

Landmines

8.08km² (CHA: 4.71km2 and SHA:3.37km2)

 

Extent of contamination: Medium

Cluster munition remnants

36km2

Extent of contamination: Medium

ERW

It is not reported to what extent the newly identified areas contain other ERW

Note: CHA=confirmed hazardous area; SHA=suspected hazardous area; ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Mine contamination

In 2018, Mauritania had reported it had released all known antipersonnel mine-contaminated areas, representing a total of 40 areas and covering 67km². However, other contaminated areas were believed to exist close to Western Sahara, which could be in Mauritanian territory due to unclear border demarcation.

In 2020, Mauritania reported a total of more than 8km² of newly discovered landmine contaminated area, of which 4.71km² are CHA and 3.37km² are SHA.[23] However, it remains unclear whether all of the mined areas identified are on Mauritania’s territory.

New mine-contaminated areas have been identified through NTS conducted by the PNDHD and other specialists in the regions of Dakhlet Noudahibour and Tiris Zemmour (CHAs), and Adrar and Tagant (SHAs).[24]

Cluster munition remnants contamination

In its Article 7 report covering calendar year 2019, Mauritania reported having discovered previously unknown cluster munition contaminated areas, dating from 1980 and 1990.[25] These areas are located in the region of Tires-Zemmour in the north of Mauritania, bordering Western Sahara.[26] The area is estimated to total 36km². The annex to its Article 7 report contained photographs of the munitions which are reported to be BLU 63, MK118, and M42.[27]

Casualties

Casualties overview[28]

Casualties

All known casualties (between 2008 and 2019)

625 (including 370 killed, 253 injured, 2 survival outcome unknown)

Casualties in 2019

Annual total

1 (decrease from 3 in 2018)

 

Survival outcome

1 injured

Device type causing casualties

1 antipersonnel mine

Civilian status

1 civilian

Age and gender

1 adult (man)

 

 

Casualties in 2019: details

Mauritania reported one antipersonnel mine casualty in 2019.[29] The Monitor has recorded a total of 625 casualties based on PNDHD updates and reporting. However, the PNDHD has reported recording a total of 618 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties repeatedly since 2016, while also reporting additional annual casualties.[30] For 2019, the PNDHD reported again the total of 618 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties, including 368 killed, 248 injured, and two casualties for whom the survival outcome was unknown.[31] Mauritania however indicated that the total number of casualties was likely higher, particularly among migrants, smugglers and shepherds crossing mined areas.[32] The casualties were predominantly men (86%), and most incidents occurred while farming, herding or fishing.[33]

Cluster munition casualties

No cluster munition casualties were identified in Mauritania. The national casualty data is not disaggregated according to the type of device (mine or cluster munition). However, reporting indicates that casualties among livestock were reported.[34] It is possible that casualties may have occurred that were not disaggregated from casualties of mine/other ERW types.

Addressing the impact

Mine action

Operators and service providers

Clearance Operators

National

Army Engineer Corps

International

 

NPA (since 2011)

Clearance activities in Mauritania are conducted by the Army Engineer Corps under the direction of the PNDHD. NPA previously undertook clearance activities in Mauritania from 2011 to 2015. The PNDHD reported that NPA will assist in the undertaking of survey of the newly identified contaminated areas.[35]

Clearance

No land release of mined areas or cluster munition contaminated areas took place in 2019, although the PNDHD reported conducting survey to confirm the newly identified contaminated areas.[36]

Mauritania which had reported fulfilment of its clearance obligations in September 2014, has since discovered additional contaminated areas requiring assessment.

While Mauritania had previously declared that it had completed clearance of all known mined areas in November 2018. It subsequently discovered additional contaminated areas and submitted an extension request of its Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance deadline in June 2020 and approved at the Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties in November 2020. During the one-year extension, Mauritania plans to develop a workplan to address the new mine-contaminated areas. To complete the demining work in the north of the country, Mauritania has estimated that it requires US$5,500,000, of which $3,000,000 will be provided from the national budget over a five-year period.[37] It is expected that the government funding should cover the cost of demining teams, including their equipment and support vehicles and the cost of regional offices and logistical support. The remaining $2,500,000 were still to be mobilized.[38]

Risk education

Operators and service providers

Risk education operators

Type of organization

Name of organization

Type of activity

Governmental

PHDHD

Coordination of risk education

 

Beneficiary numbers

Risk education beneficiary numbers are not provided in Mauritania’s Article 7 reporting for the Mine Ban Treaty or the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Implementation

Risk education in Mauritania is led by the PHDHD and provided to administrative authorities, NGOs, elected officials, shepherds, nomads, and fisherfolk.[39] Messages have been disseminated through awareness and information campaigns in all areas where there were confirmed or suspected hazardous areas. Risk education has also been included at schools near contaminated areas. Training courses have been provided for teachers to promote risk education in their communities. School notebooks, caps, and t-shirts with safety messages were distributed to schoolchildren.[40]

In August and September 2019, the PNDHD conducted risk education campaigns focusing on cluster munition contamination in the Tiris Zemmour region.[41]

Victim assistance

Providers and activities

Victim assistance providers[42]

Tpe of organization

Name of organization

Type of activity

Governmental

PNDHD

Funding of income-generating activities

National

CNORF

Physical rehabilitation, prosthetics and psychological support

 

Medical care and rehabilitation

Medical care for mine/ERW survivors is covered by the state.[43] Survivors receive physical rehabilitation and psychological support services at the CNORF.[44]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

The PNDHD funds income-generating activities for the most vulnerable mine/ERW survivors.[45]



[2] Mauritania Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019).

[3] Ibid., Form H.

[4] Mauritania submitted its 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.” Mauritania Mine Ban Treaty Second Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 2 April 2015, p. 4.

[5] Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention press release, “Mauritania 31st Country to Declare Itself Mine-Free,” 29 November 2018.

[8] Mauritania Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form F and Annex 1.

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

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

[11] See, ICBL, “Country Profile on Mine Action: Mauritania,” 7 November 2018..

[14] Ibid., p. 5.

[15] Mauritania Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 14.

[16] Interview with Alioune ould Menane, National Coordinator, PNDHD, 7 February 2019; Mauritania Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019); and Mauritania Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form H.

[17] Mauritania Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form H.

[18] Kissima Diagana, “Une carte pour faciliter l’accès des personnes handicapées aux services” (“A card to facilitate persons with disabilities’ access to services”), Initiatives News, 25 December 2017.

[19] US Department of State, “2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Mauritania,” Washington, DC, 11 March 2020.

[20] US Department of State, “2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Mauritania,” Washington, DC, 11 March 2020.

[21]Mauritanie : assurance maladie pour 2000 personnes handicapées” (“Mauritania: health insurance for 2000 persons with disabilities”), Sahara Media, 14 April 2020.

[22] Mauritania Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p.4; Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 7 January 2020, p. 3; and Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form F and Annex 1.

[23] Mauritania Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 11.

[24] Ibid., p. 4; and Statement of Mauritania, Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings (virtual), Committee on Article 5 Implementation, 2 July 2020.

[25] Mauritania Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form F.

[26] Ibid., p. 13.

[27] Ibid., Annex 1.

[28] Unless otherwise indicated, casualty data for 2019 is based on the Monitor analysis of media report for 2019 (from 1 January to 31 December); and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019).

[30] See for example, email from Lt.-Col. El Hacen, PNDHD, 12 June 2017; and Mauritania Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form G, 30 April 2017.

[31] Mauritania Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 12.

[33] Mauritania Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 12.

[34] Mauritania Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form H.

[36] Ibid., p. 2.

[37] Ibid., p. 10.

[38] Ibid.

[39] Mauritania Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 14.

[41] Mauritania Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form G, p. 16.

[42] Ibid., Form H, p.18; and Mauritania Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019).

[43] Ibid.

[45] Ibid.; and Mauritania Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form H.