STATE COMPLIANCE WITH THE MINE BAN TREATY by Jacqueline C. Perez A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida August 2010 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not have been possible without the support and assistance of many individuals. I wish to thank the professors in the Department of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University, who have worked so hard to impart their knowledge and offer insightful feedback toward my studies. I am indebted to my committee: Jeffrey S. Morton, who has not only guided me in this project but also into the study of international relations; Aimee Kanner Arias, who has made me a better student and writer; and to Sam Hawkins, who helped me realize my interest in political science during my freshman year as an undergraduate student. I am grateful to the Florida Atlantic University Jupiter Lifelong Learning Society for assisting in the funding of this research. I would also like to thank Pamela Brannon for offering her support and feedback throughout this process. I would not have been able to accomplish this without my family and friends who have given me endless amounts of encouragement. Michael O’Neill has provided an unfounded amount of support and insightful critique. I would also like to thank my dogs, Mugsy and Tico Eddy Templeton, for being patient with me and understanding that mommy had work to do. Finally and most importantly to God who has made all things possible. iii ABSTRACT Author: Jacqueline C. Perez Title: State Compliance with the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Jeffrey S. Morton Degree: Master of Arts Year: 2010 Landmines have inflicted an insurmountable amount of physical and psychological harm, inhibiting social and economic development far after the conflict has ended. In an effort to create a world free of the weapon, a campaign to ban landmines was launched by non-governmental organizations. The Mine Ban Convention entered into force in 1999, requiring nation-states to immediately ban the use, production and transfer of anti-personnel landmines (APLs), destroy stockpiles within four years and remove landmines already planted within ten years. This study examines the level of legal compliance with the Mine Ban Convention. An empirical analysis is conducted using a data base constructed from reports published by the Landmine Monitor. This study finds that the treaty is a successful work in progress with a majority of Parties in compliance; 44 million stockpiled APLs have been destroyed and eleven states have completed mine clearance. 170 million stockpiled APLs and countless emplaced mines remain, indicating the world is still far from the goal of a mine-free world. iv STATE COMPLIANCE WITH THE MINE BAN TREATY TABLES ............................................................................................................................ vii GRAPHS ............................................................................................................................ ix FIGURES ............................................................................................................................ x ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................ xi I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANDMINES ................................................................... 7 Early Development ........................................................................................................... 7 Modern Development ..................................................................................................... 12 III. INTERNATIONAL LAW ON THE LIMITATION OF WEAPONS ........................ 19 Jus in Bello ..................................................................................................................... 20 Early International Humanitarian Law ........................................................................... 25 Modern International Humanitarian Law ....................................................................... 26 The Consideration of Disarmament ............................................................................... 31 The Road to Ottawa........................................................................................................ 32 Mine Clearance .............................................................................................................. 38 IV. THE MINE BAN CONVENTION ............................................................................. 40 The Articles and Obligations.......................................................................................... 40 States Parties and non-States Parties .............................................................................. 45 V. COMPLIANCE OF THE MINE BAN CONVENTION ............................................. 47 VI. REGIONAL ASSESSMENT OF THE MINE BAN CONVENTION ....................... 71 v VII. THE FUTURE OF THE MINE BAN CONVENTION AND THE OBSTACLES TO A MINE-FREE WORLD .................................................................................................. 94 APPENDIX A. THE DATABASE ................................................................................. 105 APPENDIX B. THE MINE BAN CONVENTION ........................................................ 111 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 127 vi TABLES Table 1. Explanation of the Data Base .............................................................................. 48 Table 2. The Status of Key Provisions of the Mine Ban Convention as of 2009. ............ 49 Table 3. Past and Current Users of APLs.......................................................................... 50 Table 4. Past and Current Producers of APLs ................................................................... 51 Table 5. Status of APL Producing Nation-States in 2008 ................................................. 52 Table 6. Nation-States and Areas Affected by Landmines. .............................................. 57 Table 7. Reporting Totals of all states, Parties and non-Parties, of APL Stockpiles ........ 59 Table 8. APL Totals among all states, Parties and non-Parties, to the Convention .......... 60 Table 9. States Parties with Remaining Stockpiles ........................................................... 62 Table 10. States Parties without Stockpiles ...................................................................... 65 Table 11. Distribution of the Number of APLs of all States ............................................. 66 Table 12. The Distribution of the Number of APLs Legally Retained by Parties ............ 68 Table 13. Mine-Affected States and Areas According by Region .................................... 73 Table 14. Parties to the Convention According to Region ................................................ 73 Table 15. Reporting of Parties and non-Parties of APL Stockpiles According to Region. ........................................................................................................................................... 76 Table 16. Regional Totals of APLs of all states (Parties and non-Parties). ...................... 80 Table 17. Original and Current Stockpiles Among Parties According to Region ............ 82 Table 18. States Parties by Region without Stockpiles ..................................................... 85 vii Table 19. The Distribution of the Number of APLs Legally Retained According to Region ............................................................................................................................... 89 Table 20. Nation-States with NSAG Landmine Use in the Last Ten Years ..................... 91 Table 21. Nation-States with NSAG Landmine Use 2008-2009 ...................................... 91 Table 22. Non-Parties with Large Stockpiles.................................................................... 99 viii GRAPHS Graph 1. Party Compliance with Article 4 ........................................................................ 54 Graph 2. Party Compliance with Article 5 ........................................................................ 55 Graph 3. Original Distribution of APLs ............................................................................ 63 Graph 4. Current Distribution of APLs ............................................................................. 64 Graph 5. Original Stockpiled APLs .................................................................................. 83 Graph 6. Current APLs Stockpiled ................................................................................... 84 Graph 7. APLs Retained Under Article 3 ......................................................................... 88 ix FIGURES Figure 1. Early Mines used by the Romans (Croll 2008: 3) ............................................... 8 Figure 2. The Caltrop (Croll 2008: 6) ................................................................................. 8 Figure 3. The Fougasse (Croll 20008: 12) ........................................................................ 10 Figure 4. The German S-Mine (Youngblood 2006: