Oman fulfils Convention obligation by destroying its stockpile of anti-personnel mines

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Geneva – “The Sultanate of Oman is honoured to declare that we have completed the destruction of anti-personnel mines according to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention well ahead of our 2019 deadline,” said Colonel Yahya Adbulla Sulaiman Al Amri who presented the statement before the Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties taking place at the UN in Geneva until 30 November.

Oman, one of the newest States Parties, said that finalising its destruction obligation shows that the Sultanate “is fully committed to implementing the obligations under the Convention within our deadlines.”

In 2015 the year that the Sultanate joined the Convention, Oman reported over 15,000 stockpiled anti-personnel mines under its ownership or possession.

“Operations carried out by the Sultanate’s Armed Forces began on 13 September 2015 and concluded on 25 September this year.

All stockpiled anti-personnel mines have been destroyed, opting to keep a small number permitted for training purposes under the Convention.”

During the destruction phase, Oman “took every effort to carry out the destruction in an environmentally-friendly manner and internationally-approved facilities through controlled explosions in Wadi Al Maawil and Wadi Adawnab where neither water nor air qualities or wildlife were affected thanks to small controlled explosions,” added the Delegation.

The Convention President, Ambassador of Afghanistan to Switzerland and the UN in Geneva H.E. Suraya Dalil congratulated Oman for its steady resolve. “Stockpiling destruction is one of the successes of the Convention, Oman’s destruction efforts guarantee that those landmines will never be used. Oman should be very proud for its contribution towards a world free of these weapons,” said Ambassador Dalil. In this photo (L-R) HRH Prince Mired of Jordan, Ambassador Dalil and the Delegation of the Sultanate of Oman.

While the Sultanate of Oman has declared completion of its stockpile destruction obligation, it still has a mine clearance obligation under the Convention.

The Convention is the prime humanitarian and disarmament treaty aimed at ending the suffering caused by landmines by prohibiting their use, stockpiling, production and transfer, ensuring their destruction and assisting the victims of these weapons. It was adopted on 18 September 1997 and entered into force on 1 March 1999. Together, the 164 States Parties have destroyed more than 51 million landmines and 158 States Parties have fulfilled their stockpile destruction obligation.