World Races to Ban on Landmines

WORLD RACES
TO BAN ON LANDMINESZimbabwe, ringed with more than one million landmines, has become the twentieth country to ratify the Mine Ban Treaty -- hitting the half-way milestone to the forty ratifications needed for the treaty to become binding international law. The treaty is on track to enter into force more quickly than any other treaty in history, demonstrating the urgency of the ban and the emergence of the new international standard against this insidious weapon.

The Mine Ban Treaty, signed by 126 nations since last December, prohibits the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of antipersonnel landmines. The twenty nations that have ratified
are: Belize, Bolivia, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Djibouti, Fiji, Holy See, Hungary, Ireland, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Niue, Peru, San Marino, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, and Zimbabwe.

Nearly every geographic region is represented in those ratifying
thus far, as is appropriate to a treaty signed by two-thirds of the
world's nations. Signatories include all of the Western Hemisphere except the U.S. and Cuba, all of the European Union except Finland, 39 African states, and 17 in the Asia-Pacific region.

Rapid ratification of the treaty by governments is a top priority
for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in December 1997 for its efforts to eliminate the indiscriminate killer that claims more than 26,000 victims -- almost all civilians -- each year.

The ICBL calls on those governments that have signed the treaty
but not yet ratified to do so without delay. Only after 40
ratifications, and a six month waiting period, do the crucial deadlines for
destruction of stockpiled mines within four years and of mines
already in the ground within ten years go into effect.

The number of official ratifications is expected to increase
rapidly, as many governments have apparently already passed necessary legislation, but not yet formally deposited it at the U.N.:
Andorra, Austria, Bosnia, Botswana, Guinea, Italy, Mozambique, Norway, South Africa, Spain and Yemen. Among those expected to pass ratification legislation soon are Belgium, Colombia, France, Germany and Sweden.

It is of concern that some of the states where landmines have been used most extensively have yet to ratify -- such as Angola,
Bosnia, Cambodia, and Sudan. It is also notable that countries where the U.S. has mines stockpiled have not ratified; three such countries -- Greece, United Kingdom, and Japan do not appear close to ratification, while four others -- Norway, Germany, Italy and Spain are expected to ratify soon. The ICBL believes that it would be a violation of the treaty to permit the U.S. to maintain those mines indefinitely.

In many cases, governments of good will have not yet ratified
simply because passage of necessary legislation can be a lengthy process.

But the twenty who have put ratification on the fast track must be
commended for their leadership. The ICBL is pleased to be at the half-way mark to forty so rapidly, but neither twenty nor forty is
enough. The humanitarian nature of the landmine crisis dictates
that all countries that have signed follow through by ratifying it
promptly.

The ICBL, working with pro-ban governments such as Canada and Norway, has been very active throughout 1998 not only encouraging treaty signatories to ratify, but also pressing recalcitrant nations to sign.

The ICBL has taken its message (through conferences and
delegations) to hold-outs such as Russia, South Korea, East/Central Europe states, and former Soviet republics, as well as Japan, Burkina Faso/Organization of African Unity, South Africa, and Thailand.

Even those who have not signed the treaty have taken positive
steps this year. Ukraine is starting to destroy its huge stockpile of
antipersonnel mines. Russia has permanently stopped production of "blast" antipersonnel mines. The United States has stated that it will sign the treaty by 2006, assuming its search for alternatives is completed. The ICBL, while welcoming progress, believes these countries could demonstrate their humanitarian commitment to this issue by signing now rather than later.

Continued and rapid momentum toward the entry into force of the
Mine Ban Treaty can be contrasted to previous international law on antipersonnel mines. The very weak Convention on Conventional Weapons, which merely restricts certain uses of certain types of mines, has taken more than two years to get the number of ratifications that the Mine Ban Treaty has reached in six months.

Major upcoming events include a regional conference held in Amman, Jordan in July, and an international meeting in Dublin, Ireland in September to develop the ICBL's "Landmine Monitor" system for tracking and evaluating implementation of and compliance with the treaty.

For further information contact: Stephen Goose, Human Rights
Watch, Chair of ICBL Treaty Working Group, Washington, D.C.:
+1-202-371-6592