NAM’s Kuala Lumpur Declaration: Mine Users & Producers “deplore” Mine Use

(Wednesday 26 February 2003 ) Non-Aligned Movement deplores the use of antipersonnel mines a its summit in Kuala Lumpur.

Recent mine users India, Pakistan, and Myanmar (Burma) are among the NAM members deploring mine use, as are ten of the 14 remaining mine producers: Cuba, Egypt, India, Iraq, Iran, Korea DPR, Myanmar (Burma), Pakistan, Singapore and Vietnam.  These governments are among twenty-eight NAM member states that have not yet joined the 1997 treaty prohibiting the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines (Mine Ban Treaty).

In Paragraph 93 of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration, the Heads of State or Government “continue to deplore the use, in contravention of international humanitarian law, of anti-personnel mines in conflict situations aimed at maiming, killing and terrorising innocent civilians, denying them access to farmland, causing famine and forcing them to flee their homes eventually leading to depopulation and preventing the return of civilians to their place of original residence.’

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines welcomed the landmines language in the Declaration, and congratulated Malaysia, a leader in the movement to eradicate antipersonnel mines, on its new role as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement.  The ICBL, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Co-Laureate, was one of just a few non-governmental organizations invited to attend the Summit.

For the first time, NAM States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty invited those States that have not yet done so to consider becoming parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, in Paragraph 93 of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration.

Eighty-five of the 113 NAM member states have joined the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, of which seven have signed but not yet ratified: Brunei, Burundi, Ethiopia, Guyana, Indonesia, Sudan, and Vanuatu.  Another NAM member state, Palestine, is not eligible to join the treaty at this time.  The Mine Ban Treaty currently has 146 members, including fifteen signatories.

NAM includes some heavily mine-affected states in its membership, such as Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, and Colombia.  These governments have all ceased mine use and are States Parties to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.  Casualties continue, however, and more funds and assistance are required to clear emplaced mines and destroy stockpiled mines. According to the ICBL´s Landmine Monitor, 1,368 new mine casualties were recorded in Afghanistan in 2001, 660 in Angola, and 813 in Cambodia.  These casualties join thousands of existing mine survivors requiring continued medical care and assistance, in places where such services are often inadequate, for decades to come.

Eleven NAM members have joined the Mine Ban Treaty since the last Summit: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Liberia, Maldives, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.  The heads of state of 56 NAM governments are attending the Kuala Lumpur Summit, which ended yesterday.

For more information:

• Contact. Liz Bernstein, ICBL Coordinator, Tel. 1 (202) 547-2667, Email. mediaSPAMFLTER@SPATMFLTERicbl.org