Antipersonnel mines and cluster munitions are indiscriminate weapons that injure and kill civilians in every corner of the globe, every day. They don't recognize ceasefires and claim victims long after the end of conflicts. They instill fear in communities and are a lethal barrier to development.
Landmines
Placed under or on the ground, antipersonnel mines explode from the contact or presence of a person. When triggered, they kill or cause injuries like blindness, burns, destroyed limbs and shrapnel wounds.
Until the Nineties, antipersonnel landmines had been used by almost all armed forces of the world, in one form or another. Thanks to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, landmine use has dramatically dropped. But the weapon still poses a significant and lasting threat.
There are dozens of reasons to ban antipersonnel landmines and to campaign for this goal. Some of the moral, humanitarian, socio-economic and diplomatic arguments are given here.
Cluster Munitions
Dropped from the air or fired from the ground, cluster munitions are canisters that open up in mid-air to release many explosive submunitions. They have a wide area effect and their submunitions often fail to explode upon impact, leaving behind a threat similar to that of landmines.
Cluster munitions have killed and injured thousands of civilians during the last 40 years and continue to do so today. The first massive use was in South East Asia in the 60s and 70s: In Laos alone, up to 27 million submunitions remain from the U.S. bombings.
Cluster munitions pose an indiscriminate threat both during the attack and after the end of conflicts. Unexploded submunitions threaten lives and limbs, hamper provision of relief and impede post-conflict reconstruction.
