On Landmine Treaty Anniversary, ICBL Raises Concerns About Afghanistan, U.S. Mine Policy Reversal

(Monday 03 December 2001 Washington DC)

Today marks the fourth anniversary of the opening for signature of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which prohibits all use, production, stockpiling and trade of antipersonnel landmines. The treaty has been ratified by 122 nations and signed by another 20. While nearly all of Europe, Africa, and Latin America are on board, as well as many key nations in Asia, countries refusing to join include the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and Egypt.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which together with Jody Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, calls on the 20 signatory nations to ratify and the 50 non-signatory nations to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty with great urgency. Nations joining the treaty in recent months include Algeria, Chile, Eritrea, and Nigeria.

The ICBL's groundbreaking Landmine Monitor initiative has documented the significant progress that has been made globally to eradicate antipersonnel mines since the initial signing of the Mine Ban Treaty. This includes a marked reduction in the use of antipersonnel mines, an encouraging decline in the number of new mine victims, ever more land cleared of mines, sharply decreased production, a virtual halt to trade, and destruction of tens of millions of stockpiled antipersonnel mines.

"Despite great progress, we are still faced with a global landmine crisis that claims some 15,000 to 20,000 new victims each year, nearly all of them civilians," said Elizabeth Bernstein, ICBL Coordinator. The ICBL expressed particular concern about the landmine situation in Afghanistan and about reports of a possible reversal of U.S. landmine policy. In the United States, the Bush administration is nearing completion of a review of U.S. landmine policy. According to information received by the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines, the Pentagon has recommended that the U.S. abandon its commitment to ban antipersonnel mines as soon as possible and reject the existing target date for joining the Mine Ban Treaty in 2006. "The U.S. has for years called itself a leader in efforts to alleviate the humanitarian disaster caused by landmines, and the Bush administration has loudly laid claim to that mantle, pointing to its funding for mine clearance programs. A decision to abandon the U.S. commitment to eventually ban the weapon would make a mockery of U.S. mine action programs and constitute a betrayal of mine victims everywhere," said Ms. Bernstein.

In Afghanistan, already one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, the ICBL has expressed its concerns about the dangers posed by mines to refugees and internally displaced persons. The ICBL has called on all parties to the conflict to refrain from using antipersonnel mines, and has called on other NATO countries, all of which have committed to the Mine Ban Treaty, to insist that the U.S. not use antipersonnel mines, and to refuse to assist in any way with possible U.S. mine use, as required by the Mine Ban Treaty.

To commemorate the fourth anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty opening for signature, ICBL members are holding events worldwide, including launch of two new youth advocacy tools, the Youth Campaign Kit and Youth Website.

Next week Jody Williams and the ICBL will participate in events to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway from December 6-12, including a Centennial Symposium, an appeal for fellow laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma and numerous other events.

For additional information, write SPAMFLTER@SPATMFLTERicbl.org">mediaSPAMFLTER@SPATMFLTERicbl.org or contact:

• Liz Bernstein, ICBL Coordinator, Washington, DC, at +1 202 547 2667
• Sue Wixley, ICBL Advocacy and Communications Officer, +44 20 7820 9577