Djibouti
Mine Action
Contamination and Impact
Mines
With the completion of mine clearance by France in May 2008 around its ammunition storage area (ASA) at La Doudah, there were no known mined areas remaining in Djibouti. At a regional seminar for French-speaking countries in October 2008, Djibouti reported that it was “mine free since the completion of demining at La Doudah.”[1] In June 2008, however, a border conflict between Djibouti and Eritrea at Ras Doumeira had raised fears of the possibility of new contamination.[2] Moreover, in November 2009 Djibouti reported that it had a residual problem of antipersonnel mines.[3]
Cluster munition remnants and other explosive remnants of war
Djibouti is thought to have a small residual problem with explosive remnants of war (ERW), primarily unexploded ordnance (UXO). There is not known to be a problem with cluster munition remnants.
Mine Action Program
There is no ongoing mine action program in Djibouti, although a national mine action center continues to function.[4]
Land Release
Formal mine clearance operations by Djibouti on suspected hazardous areas apart from the French ASA at La Doudah ended in 2003 and only sporadic clearance of UXO has occurred since then under the auspices of a national mine action center.[5]
Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty
Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Djibouti was required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2009. Although it has not formally declared fulfillment of this obligation, Djibouti is not included on the Mine Ban Treaty Implementation Support Unit’s (ISU) list of States Parties with remaining Article 5 obligations and Djibouti has not requested an extension to its deadline.[6] Djibouti has not submitted a Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report since 2005. In March 2012, the director of the ICBL wrote to Djibouti’s Minister for Foreign Affairs to inquire about residual contamination. As of 1 August 2012, no reply had been received.
[1] Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), “Annexe 2: Synthèse d’informations—Djibouti” (“Annex 2: Information Overview—Djibouti”), Seminar of African Francophone Actors of Mine and ERW Action, Benin, 20–22 October 2008, www.gichd.org.
[2] See, for example, International Crisis Group, “CrisisWatch, No. 59,” p. 2, 1 July 2008, www.crisisgroup.org; and Barry Malone, “Djibouti president accuses Eritrea over border fight,” Reuters (Addis Ababa), 14 June 2008, www.alertnet.org.
[3] “Djibouti: Synthèse d’informations de l’action contre les mines et les restes explosifs de guerre (dont sous-munitions)” (“Djibouti: Overview of information on mine action and ERW (including submunitions)”), 30 September 2009, Second African Francophone Seminar on Mine and ERW Action, Dakar, Senegal, 2–4 November 2009.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] ISU, GICHD, “Clearing Mined Areas: 40 States Parties in the Process of Implementing Article 5, List of countries,” www.apminebanconvention.org.