Team:Edinburgh/mapxmlswaziland



Swaziland <![CDATA[The Kingdom of Swaziland signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified it on 22 December 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 June 1999. Swaziland has stated that an interministerial committee was set up in March 2006 “to look into the question of legislation,” but no further progress has been reported.

Swaziland has stated that it has never possessed antipersonnel mines, including any mines for training purposes.

In 1988, the Mozambican army and the Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Forces (USDF) conducted joint mine clearance activities near Lomahasha, near the border with Mozambique, in an area approximately 100m wide and 4,500m long and removed 66 PMD-6 mines, one mortar round and one POMZ mine. At that time, Swaziland believed they had removed all known mines. The mined area was the result of the conflict between opposing factions during the Mozambican civil war.

In October 2006, at Swaziland’s request, personnel from the Mine Ban Treaty Implementation Support Unit and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) visited the SHA. The mission concluded that the area was most likely not dangerous because there were no signs of mines, such as craters or dead animals, and no recorded casualties. The Department of Agriculture had constructed dwellings on the land and maize was being cultivated. Furthermore, ploughing had taken place to a depth of 30cm.

GICHD recommended that the SHA be subject to technical survey, by opening 20 to 30 survey lanes to determine whether the area contained mines. It was further suggested that cultivated land, areas with dwellings, and rocky zones could be excluded. It was agreed that if any mines were found, the area was to be marked and then re-assessed to decide if a full clearance operation was necessary. The findings of the mission were subsequently endorsed by an instructor from the Nairobi-based International Mine Action Training Centre who visited Swaziland at the end of November 2006.

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