Author(s):
Chayer Amelie <amelie@icbl.org> .
Monday 01 March 2010
ICBL Ambassador Jody Williams discusses with Steve Costner from the U.S. State Department, at the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World, in November 2009. Photo: Giovanni DIffidenti
Press release - For immediate release
Geneva, 1 March 2010 -- Eleven years after the Mine Ban Treaty became binding international law, activists worldwide are stepping up their call on the United States to join.
The U.S. announced last November that it had initiated a review of its landmine policy. Members of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) are visiting dozens of U.S. embassies worldwide on the 1 March anniversary to urge the U.S. to decide to join the Mine Ban Treaty without further delay.
"We are glad that the U.S. has decided to take a fresh look at its stance on banning antipersonnel mines," said Sylvie Brigot, Executive Director of the ICBL. "During the policy review process, it is crucial that decision-makers listen to the voices of landmine survivors and mine-affected communities."
The United States has not used antipersonnel mines since 1991, has had an export ban in place since 1992, and has not produced since 1997.
"The human cost of landmines far outweighs their military utility. An overwhelming majority of states have formally recognized this," said Zach Hudson, coordinator of the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines. "The national security argument does not stand. Surely if we have been able to defend our country for the last 19 years without using landmines, we have already found alternative solutions."
The United States participated in an official Mine Ban Treaty meeting as an observer for the first time at the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World, in December 2009. It is the world's largest individual contributor for mine action and victim assistance programs, and it should match its financial commitment with a political commitment to end the threat of the use of landmines.
"The urgent need for increased assistance to landmine survivors was among the highlights of the Cartagena Summit," explained Firoz Ali Alizada, ICBL Treaty Implementation Officer and a landmine survivor himself. "Given the magnitude of the challenges ahead on victim assistance, we need all states, including the United States, to commit formally to the Mine Ban Treaty. By doing so they will strengthen the ban on this weapon as the only acceptable norm, and help ensure landmine survivors see their rights respected and receive full assistance."
Adopted in 1997, the Mine Ban Treaty entered into force on 1 March 1999, just 15 months after it was negotiated - the shortest time ever for a modern international treaty. The treaty comprehensively bans all antipersonnel mines, requires destruction of stockpiled mines within four years, requires destruction of mines already in the ground within 10 years, and urges extensive programs to assist the victims of landmines.
ENDS
More information and interviews:
Amelie Chayer, ICBL
tel.: +33 (0)6 89 55 12 81
email: media@icbl.org
Background & Figures
Eighty percent of the world's countries (156 countries) have joined the Mine Ban Treaty. Another two states have signed, but still not ratified. China, Russia, and the United States are among the 37 states that have not yet joined. But nearly all of those states are in de facto compliance with most of the treaty's provisions. Every NATO member has foresworn the use of antipersonnel mines except for the U.S., as have other key allies, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Australia, and Japan. In the Western Hemisphere, only the U.S. and Cuba have not joined the Mine Ban Treaty.
Some 44 million antipersonnel mines have been destroyed from stockpiles since the Mine Ban Treaty was adopted; only 13 of the more than 50 countries that manufactured antipersonnel mines in the early '90s still have a production capacity; trade in antipersonnel mines has virtually stopped; and large tracts of land have been cleared and returned to productive use. Landmines still contaminate 70 states.
International Campaign to Ban Landmines: www.icbl.org
Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor: www.lm.icbl.org
