Campaign celebrates progress on Mine Ban Treaty fifth anniversary

Author/Origin: Sue Wixley mediaSPAMFLTER@SPATMFLTERicbl.org

(Tuesday 03 December 2002 ) On the fifth anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty, campaigners around the world called on states and armed rebel groups to embrace the emerging international norm that rejects mine use.

Five years ago, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction opened for signature in Ottawa, Canada. The following week, on 10 December 1997, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and its former coordinator, Jody Williams, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

"It is heartening to see such progress since the birth of the treaty five years ago," said Jody Williams, now ICBL ambassador. Williams highlighted the increase each year of the total number of victims of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). "This means that our work is far from over," said Williams. The number of new mine/UXO casualties each year is now estimated by the ICBL's Landmine Monitor to be some 15-20,000 per year.

The Mine Ban Treaty came into force quicker than any multilateral convention and, with 130 States Parties and a further 16 signatories, it is now one of the most widely accepted and fastest growing treaties of its kind.

Since 1997, mine use has decreased and this is in keeping with the overwhelmingly positive trend which has seen trade in antipersonnel mines all but dry up; the number of countries producing the weapon drop to 14 (from 55 in the early 1990s); over 30 million stockpiled mines destroyed; vast tracts of land cleared; and expanded mine action programmes totaling more than $1 billion.

There have been some notable aberrations from this positive pattern, however. Confirmed or compelling evidence that nine governments used antipersonnel mines between May 2001 and June 2002 was presented in the ICBL's Landmine Monitor Report 2002: Toward a Mine-Free World. The ICBL continues to condemn, amongst others, India and Pakistan for their extensive mining of the border between the two countries and Russia for mine use in Chechnya.

Significantly, antipersonnel mine use has halted in key places in the last year, such as Angola and Sri Lanka. Campaigners, who continue to push for the inclusion of a ban on mine use and a commitment to mine action and victim assistance in cease-fire and peace agreements, have welcomed this.

Antipersonnel mine use by armed opposition groups has been reported in at least 14 countries during the reporting period May 2001 through June 2002. The ICBL has called on these groups to refrain from mine use and to respect the growing international norm.

The ICBL continues to criticise the 48 nations that go against the tide and remain outside the Mine Ban Treaty. These include U.S., Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and Egypt.

As preparations get underway for an invasion of Iraq, the ICBL has called on the U.S. not to use antipersonnel mines in Iraq or elsewhere. Every member of NATO except the U.S. has joined the Mine Ban Treaty, and these member states, plus Australia (another potential ally in a U.S. war in Iraq) have been urged to refuse to take part in any joint operations involving antipersonnel mines. Treaty States Parties and signatories should insist that non-signatories refrain from using antipersonnel mines in joint military operations, the ICBL said.

The U.S. military previously used antipersonnel mines during the Gulf War in 1991 and is said to have mines stored in Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and elsewhere for possible use in Iraq.

Today, Iraq is severely affected by mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) as a result of the Gulf War, the Iraq-Iran War and two decades of internal conflict. Mines and UXOs are a problem in the north of Iraq as well as the southern and central regions along the border with Iran, according to Landmine Monitor. New use of antipersonnel mines will only exacerbate an already dire situation.

A year on, Afghanistan is still recovering from the decades of warfare that made it one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world. The ICBL congratulates President Hamid Karzai for his government's accession to the Mine Ban Treaty in September 2002 and appeals to donor countries to make mine action and victim assistance programs a priority in rebuilding the country.

Global campaign

The ICBL, a network of more than 1,400 groups in over 90 countries, continues to work locally, nationally and internationally to eradicate antipersonnel mines. Activists are marking the fifth anniversary with local activities, including letters to non States Parties in Asia-Pacific -- India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This forms part of an Asia Appeal, which aims to boost universalisation of the treaty in this region in the run-up to the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September 2003.

In Ottawa, the 'birthplace' of the treaty, the ICBL's Mines Action Canada, is organising "Without Reservation -- Addressing the Challenges of Achieving a Landmine Free World", an international symposium involving over 100 people from 23 countries representing governments, Canadian and international NGOs, UN and other experts to work on plans for the next five years of the Mine Ban Treaty.

For more information please write to mediaSPAMFLTER@SPATMFLTERicbl.org or contact:

• Sue Wixley, ICBL Advocacy and Communications Officer, +44 (0) 20 7820 9577 (London);
• Liz Bernstein, ICBL Coordinator, +1-202-547-2667 (Washington DC).