Team:Edinburgh/mapxmsaudi



Saudi Arabia <![CDATA[The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. Officials have on many occasions said that while the kingdom supports the humanitarian purposes and respects the spirit of the treaty, Saudi Arabia does not want to forego its option to use antipersonnel mines in the future. In July 2008, Saudi Arabia told Landmine Monitor that it “is still in the process of studying” the treaty. It noted that it has “a number of legislations and procedures…that regulate importing, producing and storing anti-personnel mines.”

Landmine Monitor has reported previously that Saudi Arabia has never produced, exported or used antipersonnel mines; however, it has imported a small number in the past, which it continues to retain. In July 2008, Saudi Arabia wrote to Landmine Monitor, “Recently the Kingdom has not produced nor exported any type of mines…. The Kingdom possesses a stockpile of old anti-personnel mines however; these mines have never been used. There are no stockpiles of American-owned anti-personnel mines inside the Kingdom.”

In August 2007, Saudi border police reportedly seized ammunition and weapons, including five antivehicle mines, being smuggled into Saudi Arabia at the Saudi-Yemeni border area of Nagran.

Saudi Arabia is not a mine-affected country, but some parts are affected by the presence of unexploded ordnance, possibly including (cluster) submunitions remaining from the 1991 Gulf War. The engineering corps of the Saudi army reportedly has a unit in every region of the kingdom responsible for clearance upon request.

In 2007, the Saudi Red Crescent Society donated US$200,000 (€145,868) to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for persons with disabilities and mine survivor projects. Landmine Monitor reported $50,000 in 2006 from Saudi Arabia for mine action in Azerbaijan; media reports also noted a $500,000 donation for mine action programs in Yemen. In 2008, Saudi Arabia donated $500,000 to the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre Southern Lebanon ]]> <![CDATA[]]>