Policy

The Republic of Botswana signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified on 1 March 2000, becoming a State Party on 1 September 2000. Legislation to enforce the antipersonnel mine prohibition domestically has not yet been enacted.

Botswana has attended some meetings of the treaty, including the Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November 2018. Botswana did not attend the Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014. More recently, it also did not attend the intersessional meetings in Geneva in May 2019. Botswana submitted its initial Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report on 28 September 2001, and did not submit an updated report until April 2018.

Botswana is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons. Botswana is party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Use, production, stockpiling, and transfer

Botswana has never used, produced, or exported antipersonnel mines. In 2001, Botswana reported retaining seven inert antipersonnel mines and three antivehicle mines for training purposes. In April 2018, Botswana reported holding 1,102 antipersonnel mines for training and research, possessed by the Botswana Defence Force (425 blast mines and 677 fragmentation mines). It did not provide any information regarding the origins of the mines or how long it possessed them.[1]

During the Rhodesian war, landmines were planted in northern Botswana, including RAP1, RAP2 and Shrapnel No. 2 mines of Rhodesian origin.[2] However, no known incidents have occurred since 1980 and all mines have reportedly been cleared.