São Tomé and Principe
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
UPDATE: São Tomé e Príncipe ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 27 January 2020, becoming the 108th State Party. This profile will be updated in full in due course.
Summary: Signatory São Tomé e Príncipe has pledged to ratify the convention, but does not appear to have taken any steps to achieve that goal. It voted in favor of a key United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention in December 2018. It has participated in meetings of the convention, most recently in September 2018. São Tomé e Príncipe states that it has never used cluster munitions and it is not known to have produced, transferred, or stockpiled them.
Policy
The Democratic Republic of São Tomé e Príncipe signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008.
Government officials have pledged to ratify the convention, but there do not appear to have been any steps towards achieving this goal. [1] A representative attended the convention’s Eighth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2018, but did not provide an update on ratification.
During the Oslo Process, São Tomé e Príncipe participated in the formal negotiations of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Dublin in May 2008, where it supported a comprehensive ban without exceptions. [2]
São Tomé e Príncipe has participated in the convention’s Meetings of States Parties in 2010, 2012–2013, and 2017–2018. It has attended regional workshops on the convention, most recently in Kampala, Uganda in May 2017.
In December 2018, São Tomé e Príncipe for the first time voted in favor of an annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution that calls on states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.” [3]
São Tomé e Príncipe is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling
São Tomé e Príncipe has stated that it has never used cluster munitions. [4] It is not known to have ever produced, transferred, or stockpiled cluster munitions.
[1] Government representatives informed the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) that draft ratification would soon be submitted to parliament in 2011. CMC meeting with Carlos Manuel Moreno, First Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Lassalete Neto Boa Morte, Ministry of Defense, in Vientiane, November 2010. Notes by the CMC.
[2] For details on São Tomé e Príncipe’s policy and practice regarding cluster munitions through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), p. 149.
[3] “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 73/54, 5 December 2018. São Tomé e Príncipe was absent for the vote on previous UNGA resolutions promoting the convention in 2015–2017.
[4] Statement of São Tomé e Príncipe, Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference, Oslo, 3 December 2008.
Mine Ban Policy
Policy
The Democratic Republic of São Tomé e Príncipe signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 30 April 1998 and ratified it on 31 March 2003, becoming a State Party on 1 September 2003. It has not enacted new legislation specifically to implement the Mine Ban Treaty.
São Tomé e Príncipe has not attended any recent meetings of the treaty. It did not attend the Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014. On 13 December 2007, São Tomé e Príncipe submitted its initial Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 transparency report, due 24 February 2004, but has not submitted subsequent reports.
São Tomé e Príncipe is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons. São Tomé e Príncipe is a signatory state to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Use, production, transfer, and stockpile
São Tomé e Príncipe has never used, produced, exported, or imported antipersonnel mines, including for training purposes.