Policy

Somalia acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 16 April 2012, and the treaty entered into force for the country on 1 October 2012. Somalia has not yet instituted national implementation measures, but stated that it is aware of its obligation and is “committed to doing so in the future and to reporting on these measures.”[1]

Somalia submitted its initial Article 7 report for the Mine Ban Treaty on 30 March 2013, and submitted updated transparency reports in 2018 and 2019.

Somalia attended the Mine Ban Treaty’s Fourth Review Conference in Oslo, Norway in November 2019, but did not attend the intersessional meetings held in June–July 2019. Somalia made a statement at the Fourth Review Conference where it expressed support for the convention and the Oslo Action Plan.[2]

Somalia is a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Somalia is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Several Somali factions previously renounced use of antipersonnel mines by signing the Deed of Commitment, administered by Geneva Call.

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Somalia has stated that it has never had production facilities for antipersonnel mines within the country.[3] Somalia has also stated that it possesses no stockpile and has not retained mines, and that searches have not turned up any unknown stockpiles.[4] Previously, in its initial Article 7 report, Somalia stated that “large stocks are in the hands of former militias and private individuals” and that it was “putting forth efforts to verify if in fact it holds antipersonnel mines in its stockpile.” Some factions involved in armed conflict in Somalia are believed to possess mines.[5] Previously, demobilizing militias have turned in mines,[6] and some mines were turned in by armed groups for destruction in the past.[7]

No transfers of antipersonnel mines have been reported since 2012. The Monitor reported transfers in previous years.[8] No open sale of antipersonnel mines has been reported since 2009.[9]

Use

There have been no allegations of use of antipersonnel mines by government forces in Somalia. Previously, reports of use by al-Shabaab insurgents have been alleged in several news reports, but the Monitor is not in a position to verify these reports.[10] Recent reports alleging landmine use by al-Shabaab appear to refer to command-detonated bombs rather than victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs).[11]

Non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in Somalia use IEDs in large numbers, and media reports often refer to command-detonated IEDs and bombs as “landmines.”[12] Victim-activated mines and other explosive devices are prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty, but command-detonated mines and devices are not. Monitor analysis of media reports indicates that most, if not all, of the recovered explosive weapons and explosive attacks attributed to mines involve command-detonated or time-detonated bombs. In 2019, the United Nations Security Council’s Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea documented use of large bombs, but no improvised landmines.[13] Previously, in October 2011, Somali authorities and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces discovered an IED-manufacturing facility in Mogadishu, after which the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) noted, “The presence of improvised pressure plates indicates that [al-Shabaab] intends to employ Victim Operated IEDs, against vehicles or dismounted troops.”[14]

In the past, antipersonnel mines were used by various factions in Somalia, but in recent years the Monitor has not been able to verify any reports of new use by any of the NSAGs operating in the country.