Team:Edinburgh/mapxmlsouthafrica



South Africa <![CDATA[South Africa signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997, ratified on 26 June 1998, and the treaty entered into force on 1 March 1999. South Africa was part of the core group of countries leading the Ottawa Process.

Numerous South African companies are involved in mine action, most notably Mechem Consultants, a subsidiary of the state-owned arms company Denel that has been engaged in mine action activities for over four decades. In March 2004, Mechem began surveying roads in southern Sudan, under contract with the UN Office for Project Services, using the Mechem Vehicle Mounted Mine Detection System (MVMMDS), “an electronic landmine and UXO detection system mounted on a mine protected vehicle platform,” which automatically marks suspected areas that are subsequently manually demined. Mechem is also working with the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action on a road clearance project in Western and Eastern Equatoria.

In the past, landmines were used in South Africa, though not extensively. Ex-combatants from both the former apartheid regime and the African National Congress (ANC) admitted during the Truth and Reconciliation hearings to laying mines. The ANC publicly apologized for the civilian deaths and injuries resulting from the use of antipersonnel landmines.

In April 2002, a South African deminer under contract with Empresa Mocambicana de Desminagem, Lda (EMD) was seriously injured in a mine accident in Mozambique. ]]> <![CDATA[]]>