Author(s):
Site Admin <webmaster2@icbl.org> .
Friday 12 January 2007
Text of the letter sent to the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, on 11 January.
H.E. General Pervez Musharraf 11 January 2007
President, Islamic Republic of Pakistan
President's Secretariat
Islamabad, PAKISTAN
Your Excellency,
I am writing to you on behalf of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a worldwide network of organizations working for the eradication of the scourge of landmines and their devastating humanitarian effects. The ICBL, a coalition of over 1,400 organizations in 90 countries, received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts.
We wish to express our extreme concern about and opposition to any plans Pakistan may still have to lay antipersonnel landmines along the border with Afghanistan. Senior Pakistani officials revealed the mine-laying plans in late December. The ICBL is heartened by the news coming from the joint Pakistani-Canadian government press conference in Islamabad on 9 January that Pakistan might be reconsidering its plan. We call on Pakistan to announce officially that it has decided against mining the border with Afghanistan.
Such mine-laying would only further jeopardise the safety of people living in areas along the border; many communities there are still affected by the presence of landmines left behind from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. There is no evidence that antipersonnel mines have been effective in preventing infiltration by insurgents or others engaged in illegal activity. We believe the results of mine-laying would be to put the people of Pakistan at greater risk, without accomplishing your security objectives, and engendering harsh condemnation from most of the international community.
We strongly urge your government to explore alternatives for border surveillance that do not entail the use of antipersonnel landmines. We believe that such a course of action is bound to prove beneficial in the long term and will win Pakistan the support of the vast majority of the world’s states, which have already renounced the use of these weapons on account of their indiscriminate nature and disproportionate humanitarian impact.
A total of 153 countries in the world, including some with difficult border situations, are party to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, and thus have committed to never use, produce or transfer antipersonnel mines. A new international norm against this weapon is firmly taking hold. Today, only two governments are known to be actively laying antipersonnel mines. Pakistan should not join that very small club of shame.
We are aware that Pakistan has expressed support for the goal of the eventual elimination of antipersonnel mines. We hope that Pakistan will not take actions directly in contradiction to the goal, but instead will move closer toward it with steps such as a moratorium on use and production, increased resources for mine action and victim assistance, and participation as an observer in the meetings of Mine Ban Treaty States Parties. We look forward to further dialogue with your government.
Sincerely
Sylvie Brigot
Executive Director
International Campaign to Ban Landmines
