Angola
Mine Ban Policy
Policy
The Republic of Angola signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified on 5 July 2002, becoming a State Party on 1 January 2003. Angola has not formally reported any legal measures to implement the Mine Ban Treaty.[1] Under Article 13 of Angola’s constitution, any international law approved and ratified by Angola is an integrated part of Angolan law and automatically enters into force at the national level after its publication and entry into force at the international level.[2]
Angola regularly attends meetings of the treaty, most recently the Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November 2018, where it provided a general statement with particular emphasis on clearance progress.[3] Angola also attended the Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014. It did not attend the intersessional meetings in Geneva in May 2019.
Angola hosted a National Mine Action Summit in Luanda on 9–10 August 2010. In August 2011, the Third National Meeting on Demining was held in Luanda.
Angola is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons. Angola is a signatory state to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Production, transfer, use, stockpile destruction, and retention
Angola states that it has never manufactured antipersonnel mines.[4] It is not believed to have exported the weapon in the past. There have not been any confirmed instances of use of antipersonnel mines since Angola ratified the Mine Ban Treaty in 2002.[5]
Angola completed destruction of its stockpile of antipersonnel mines on 28 December 2006, just ahead of its 1 January 2007 treaty deadline. It destroyed 81,045 mines between October and December 2006, in addition to 7,072 antipersonnel mines apparently destroyed in 2003.[6]
As of December 2018, Angola retained 1,304 antipersonnel mines for training and research.[7] Angola reported that the mines are used in training courses for detection and clearance techniques.
[1] In its 2010 report, Angola stated, “Apart from the existing ordinary legislations in the country, no other legal measures were taken within the period under consideration.” Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for the period January 2009 to July 2010), Form A.
[2] A new constitution to replace the interim constitution (in effect since the country’s independence in 1975) was approved by the National Assembly of Angola on 21 January 2010 and promulgated by the president on 5 February 2010. The Constitution of Angola, Article 13 (“Direito Internacional”), states: “1. O direito internacional geral ou comum, recebido nos termos da presente Constituição, faz parte integrante da ordem jurídica angolana. 2. Os tratados e acordos internacionais regularmente aprovados ou ratificados vigoram na ordem jurídica angolana após a sua publicação oficial e entrada em vigor na ordem jurídica internacional e enquanto vincularem internacionalmente o Estado angolano” (“1. International law or policy, received pursuant to this Constitution, is an integral part of Angolan law. 2. International treaties and agreements regularly approved or ratified shall become Angolan law after its official publication and international legal entry into force”).
[3] Statement of Angola, Mine Ban Treaty Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 26 November 2018.
[4] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for the period April 2006 to March 2007), Form E.
[5] There have been sporadic and unconfirmed reports of new use of antipersonnel and antivehicle mines since the end of the war, with allegations focused on criminal groups. The government acknowledged using antipersonnel mines while it was a signatory to the Mine Ban Treaty, from December 1997 to April 2002, until it signed a peace agreement with the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, UNITA). See, Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 121–122.
[6] See, Landmine Monitor Report 2007, pp. 141–143.
[7] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 2019.