Burkina Faso
Key Developments
Burkina Faso submitted an Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) Article 7 report covering January 2022 to December 2023, providing detailed information on incidents related to improvised explosive devices (IEDs), including improvised mines. In 2023, nine of the country’s thirteen regions recorded IED incidents, with a concentration in the Centre-North, East, and Boucle du Mouhoun regions. For the second consecutive year, Burkina Faso recorded more civilian than military victims of explosive devices. The National Commission for the Control of Arms (CNCA – Commission Nationale de Contrôle des Armes) has prepared a five-year national strategy to counter IED threats and a three-year action plan for 2023–25. It validated four new national standards in 2023: on explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), national stockpile destruction planning, animal detection systems, and IED disposal, bringing the total number of national mine action standards (NMAS) to 12.
Five-Year Overview
The explosive ordnance threat that began in the northern regions neighbouring Mali and Niger has expanded in the last five years to cover 11 of Burkina Faso’s 13 regions. Between 2019 and 2023, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) recorded 1,232 casualties of whom half were civilians. A large number of IEDs are victim-activated, which means they are generally considered anti-personnel (AP) mines in international law. Successive coups d’état in January and September 2022 have led to a reduction in international funding for mine action channelled through the national authorities. In recent years, the number of civilian victims has increased as they appear to be deliberately targeted by IEDs used by non-State armed groups (NSAGs) with a view to blockading areas and controlling supply routes. NSAGs have also learnt to produce more IEDs, and faster, employing components such as fertiliser, sugar, fuel, and batteries. In 2024, the CNCA even reported the dropping of explosive devices from drones.Presentation of Burkina Faso, UN National Directors Meeting (NDM27), Side event, 30 April 2024.
Recommendations for Action
- Burkina Faso should request a new APMBC Article 5 deadline from the other States Parties as a matter of priority.
- Burkina Faso should formalise its data collection, analysis, and sharing processes in order to establish an effective information management database.
- In its reporting on contamination, Burkina Faso should seek to disaggregate AP mines, including of an improvised nature, from other IEDs and AV mines.
- When circumstances allow, Burkina Faso should develop a civilian mine clearance capacity in addition to its military counter-IED capabilities, seeking international assistance, as required.
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