Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline: 1 February 2025

Recommendations for action

• Oman should present plans for implementation of its Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 obligations at the earliest opportunity, if possible at the Mine Ban Treaty Fourteenth Meeting of States Parties.
• In doing so, Oman should detail any needs for international technical assistance in non-technical and technical survey of suspected hazardous areas (SHAs). 

Contamination

The Sultanate of Oman is suspected to be contaminated by mines, although the precise location and extent of any residual threat is not known. In its initial Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 transparency report, submitted in 2015, Oman declared that there are no confirmed hazardous areas containing mines in the Sultanate, but there are “many” SHAs in the south, particularly Dhofar region.[1]

According to the report, during the mid-1960s to mid-1970s the presence of rebel movements in Dhofar led to “vast” areas being affected by antipersonnel and antivehicle mines. After the end of the conflict in 1975, the government made significant efforts to clear the areas, but it is impossible to be sure that the areas have been fully cleared. This is for four reasons: on the basis of the size of the region (about 99 thousand square kilometres); the lack of maps or marking; and the terrain (which includes mountains and valleys), with many SHAs located on steep slopes. In addition, the rain over the years may have scattered the mines.[2]

In 2001, it had been reported that the Royal Army of Oman had mapped seven zones of SHAs based on historical records of battlefield areas, unit positions, and landmine incident reports.[3]

Programme Management

Oman has no functioning mine action programme. It is expected that survey and clearance will be performed by its army engineers or police explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) personnel.[4] 

Land Release

There are no reports of any land release occurring in 2014. In 2007, the Ministry of Defence reported that “almost 99%” of mined areas had been cleared and all remaining SHAs had been marked and fenced.[5] This information does not appear to be fully consistent with Oman’s initial Article 7 transparency report. 

Article 5 Compliance

Oman adhered to the Mine Ban Treaty in August 2014, the most recent state to do so. Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Oman is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 February 2025. It is too early to say whether it will meet the deadline but it should be possible for it to do so if modern land release approaches are employed successfully.