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]

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

* 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

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

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]

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]

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 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

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

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]

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]

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 consistently attends meetings of the treaty, most recently the Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November 2018, where it announced that it had completed its Article 5 mine clearance obligations.[3] Mauritania also attended the intersessional meetings of the treaty in May 2019. Mauritania consistently submits annual updated Article 7 transparency reports.

Mauritania is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons. Mauritania is party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

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. It has since reported the same number each year; no mines have been consumed in training activities from 2005 to 2019.

In 2009, Mauritania stated that it was looking at the possibility of gradually destroying the retained mines starting in 2010.[5] 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.[6]

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]