Halt Mine Use in Burma/Myanmar

(Wednesday 28 April 2004 ) New ICBL Campaign

Carrying rice. Burmese landmine survivor carries his rice allotment from the distribution center in a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border. Photo: Nonviolence International

This campaign specifically focuses on halting landmine use in Burma/Myanmar at the soonest possible time. Since mid-2003, Burma/Myanmar is one of only two countries whose formal military forces were known to be using ap mines regularly, but they have done so consistently since the Mine Ban Treaty came into force.

As one of the few remaining landmine producer and users, Burma, or Myanmar as its military junta calls it, is a problem state for the mine ban movement. This campaign will focus on activities which will encourage the combatants to completely halt any new mine use out of humanitarian concern, regardless of the political situation and the likelyhood or not of pending cessation of hostilities agreements, while maintaining focus on the long term goal of bringing Burma/Myanmar into the Mine Ban.

This campaign takes as its inspiration and precident the agreement achieved by the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army and the Government of Sudan to halt any mine use, and to undertake certain, limited demining activities together, prior to any formal ceasefire.

End Mine Use in Burma is an ICBL campaign. Coordination is being undertaken by Thai CBL campaign member Nonviolence International (contact at: - burma atsign icbl.org -) The campaign has a near-term goal to bring all combatants within Burma/Myanmar into informal talks on cessation of landmine use for humanitarian reasons. Neighboring countries who are MBT parties, and UN Agencies and INGOs with activities within the country, will be asked to undertake specific activities to encourage all mine using parties within the country to agree to a halt on use, and to support the goals and activities of this campaign.

In Burma/Myanmar today:

• The armed forces of the ruling military junta and at least 14 other armed organizations continue to lay mines;
• Loggers and drug traffickers are also allegedly using mines;
• Neighbours, Bangladesh and Thailand, alledge Myanmar forces and Burmese NSAs of using mines illegally across their joint borders;
• Landmine pollution affects 9 out of 14 states and divisions in Burma/Myanmar;
• Many people are injured or killed by mines every month (although complete and detailed statistics remain illusive);
• No humanitarian demining is taking place within the country;
• Mine survivors receive little assistance, and what care is available may be economically prohibitive;
• Myanmar is one of the world's few remaing producers of the anti-personnel landmine;
• The National League for Democracy (of which Aung San Suu Kyi is General Secretary) has stated that they would promote the countries immediate accession to the Mine Ban Treaty "as a matter of national urgency" once they can convene the Parliament to which they were elected.
• Burma has not joined the Mine Ban Treaty.

Read the latest Landmine Monitor Report on Burma for further background on the situation.