Team:Edinburgh/mapxmlvanuatu



Vanuatu <![CDATA[The Republic of Vanuatu signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified on 16 September 2005, becoming a State Party on 1 March 2006.

Vanuatu submitted its second Article 7 report covering the period from 1 August 2006 to 31 December 2007. The report confirms that Vanuatu has no stockpiled antipersonnel mines, including for training purposes, and has never produced antipersonnel mines. Vanuatu has also stated that it has never used antipersonnel mines.

The precise nature and extent of contamination on the islands of Vanuatu still remains to be clarified. In August 2006, Vanuatu declared in its initial Article 7 report that it was affected by World War II mines. It declared confirmed mined areas on Moso island, Port Havana on North Efate island, and Luganville on Espiritu Santo island as requiring “urgent” demining, as well as suspected mined areas on Aore, Fanafo, Mavea, and South Santo islands. It called for technical assistance in addressing the problem. At a May 2007 regional workshop in Vanuatu, the Vanuatu Police Force gave a presentation on the threat, suggesting that the problem was primarily from unexploded ordnance (UXO) dating back to World War II rather than mines; it was also stated, however, that the precise extent of the problem was unknown as no survey had been conducted.

In its latest Article 7 report Vanuatu stated that: “Vanuatu does not consider that there are areas under its jurisdiction or control that contain or are suspected to contain anti-personnel mines. Note that this information supersedes the information provided in the report submitted on 31 August 2006.” In June 2008, Vanuatu told the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies that it was “pleased and confident to report” there are no mined areas on territory under its jurisdiction, although it confirmed the presence of UXO. It also noted, however, that the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) had accepted its request to do a preliminary survey of contamination in the South Pacific, which it hoped would further clarify the situation of landmines on Vanuatu. It is not known whether information on any mined areas has been requested or obtained from the United States, which had two military bases on the islands.

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