Campaign urges Central Asian leaders to support landmine ban

(Wednesday 05 November 2003 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan) At the opening of Central Asia’s first meeting on landmines since the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty was opened for signature, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) called on the leaders of the Central Asian republics to support the humanitarian objectives of the treaty by joining it without delay.

“Three-quarters of the world’s nations now accept that the short-term military utility of the antipersonnel mine is far outweighed by its negative, long-term humanitarian impact on innocent civilian populations,” said Ms. Elizabeth Bernstein, ICBL Coordinator. “We call on Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan to abandon this weapon and become part of the solution, by banning antipersonnel mines without delay,” she said.

Long term work: The Kyrgyz Medical Academy held a meeting of the Student Scientific Society of Kyrgyzstan in February 2001 to bring attention to the dangers of nuclear war and landmines in Central Asia. Photo: Kyrgyz Campaign to Ban Landmines/ICBL ImageLibrary

Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are already members of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which prohibits use, production, trade, and stockpiling and requires destruction of mines in the ground within ten years. In the last two months alone, six new governments have joined the treaty--Belarus, Burundi, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, Sudan, and Turkey making a current total of 141 member countries.

“Signing the international treaty and destroying stockpiled mines are just one component of the humanitarian response to the global landmine crisis,” said Dr. Cholpon Galieva, IPPNW-Kyrgyzstan. “Mines have to be removed from the ground before innocent civilians fall victim, and, of course, long-term care and rehabilitation for landmine survivors will be needed for decades to come,” she added.

According to the ICBL’s Landmine Monitor research, 82 countries around the world are affected to some degree by the presence of uncleared landmines and/or unexploded ordnance. In 2002 and through June 2003, new landmine casualties were reported in 65 countries; including Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The vast majority of casualties were civilians with only 15 percent of reported casualties in 2002 identified as military personnel. Furthermore, non mine-affected countries in the region are not immune from the dangers of mines. In January 2003, a Kazak civilian was killed by a landmine on the Uzbek side of the border.

“We are extremely concerned that Turkmenistan is retaining such a large number of mines. The ICBL believes this constitutes a violation of the Mine Ban Treaty,” said Dr. Roman Dolgov, of IPPNW-Russia, the ICBL's representative in the Russian Federation.

Turkmenistan, a State Party, has reported that it destroyed its stockpile of more than 1.1 million antipersonnel mines in advance of its 1 March 2003 deadline. It has chosen, however, to retain 69,200 mines for demining training. The treaty allows States Parties to keep mines for training purposes, but it must be “the minimum number absolutely necessary.” Most States Parties deciding to retain mines are keeping only a few hundred or a few thousand, and no other State Party is keeping more than 17,000.

Civil society and government representatives from around the region are attending the conference, entitled “Landmines in Central Asia and CIS Countries: Defining the Problem and Identifying Solutions.” The conference has been organized by the non-governmental Kyrgyz Committee of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, with support and participation provided by the ICBL, 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate. The conference is the first since a regional meeting was held in Turkmenistan in 1997.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:

• Sue Wixley, ICBL, +996 (312) 284-251
• Cholpon Galieva, IPPNW-Kyrgyzstan, Tel. +996 (312) 680-452
• Click here to send an email