Team:Edinburgh/mapxmlcuba



Cuba <![CDATA[ The Republic of Cuba has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. Cuba believes that the Mine Ban Treaty does not take into consideration its “legitimate national security concerns.” In a November 2007 statement to the UN General Assembly, Cuba called for more international cooperation on mine action and indicated that it shares the humanitarian concerns over use of the weapon, but said the threat posed by the United States makes it “impossible for [Cuba] to give up the right to the use this kind of arms to preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

On 5 December 2007, Cuba abstained from voting on UN General Assembly Resolution 62/41 calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty, as it has with every previous annual General Assembly resolution on the treaty.

Cuba’s state-owned Union of Military Industries (Union de las Industrias Militares, UIM) is believed, in the absence of any denial or clarification from the government, to continue to produce antipersonnel mines. Cuba has stated several times since 1996 that it does not and has never exported antipersonnel mines. There is no official information available on the size and composition of Cuba’s stockpile of antipersonnel mines. Cuba declined to respond to a questionnaire submitted by Landmine Monitor.

Cuba’s mine contamination remains unchanged from previous years. Cuba maintains minefields around the US Naval Base at Guantanamo in the southeast of Cuba. In 2007, Cuba said it carries out “a strict policy with regard to guaranteeing a responsible use of antipersonnel mines with an exclusively defensive character and for [Cuba’s] national security.” According to an earlier statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, existing minefields are duly “marked, fenced and guarded” in accordance with CCW Amended Protocol II. ]]> <![CDATA[]]>