ICBL calls on Mongolia to join Mine Ban Treaty

(Tuesday 26 June 2001 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia)

Representatives of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), 1997 Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate, will call for speedy accession by Mongolia to the Mine Ban Treaty at a conference in Ulaanbaatar on 27 June.

"We urge Mongolia to join the Mine Ban Treaty and help rid the world of antipersonnel landmines", said Yukie Osa from AAR Japan, representing the ICBL. "The ICBL congratulates the Mongolian government for organizing a conference on the landmine crisis," added Osa.

The milestone event, "Sharing Our Future in a Mine Free World", is being organized by the governments of Mongolia and Canada, and takes place from 27 to 29 June in the Mongolian capital. The Conference will explore the landmine situation in Mongolia and the practical implications of accession to the Mine Ban Treaty.

The ICBL notes that Mongolia has stated its commitment to the aspirations of the treaty, which bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of antipersonnel landmines, and calls on it to take this commitment a step further.

"Joining the treaty is the best way to reinforce Mongolia’s pledge to build a mine free future for everyone", said Tungaa Johnstone, a researcher for Landmine Monitor. The ICBL’s Landmine Monitor is an unprecedented initiative to monitor the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and assess how the worldwide landmine problem is being addressed. According to Johnstone, "the only practical solution to the mine crisis is a comprehensive ban on all antipersonnel landmines -- including those used defensively and on borders."

Campaigners believe that if Mongolia were to join the treaty it would send an important message to Russia and China, who have stated their intentions to eliminate all antipersonnel landmines at some point but have not yet announced a deadline or taken any concrete steps. "Mongolia does not need to wait for its neighbours. We can show moral leadership in the region by banning mines unilaterally", added Johnstone.

Representatives from the Mongolian armed forces and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence are expected to attend the conference, along with Mongolian parliamentarians and NGOs. Also represented will be members of the Canadian parliament, foreign affairs ministry and defence ministry, government officials from China, Japan and Thailand and ICBL researchers and campaigners from Japan, Mongolia and Russia.

According to Landmine Monitor research, government and military officials have stated that Mongolia has never used, produced or exported antipersonnel mines. However, the Ministry of Defence has recently acknowledged that Mongolia has a significant stockpile of antipersonnel mines obtained from the former Soviet Union. While Mongolia does not appear to have a problem with landmines planted in the ground, it is affected by other unexploded ordnance left over from World War II and the former Soviet Army bases in Mongolia. Only limited clearance efforts have occurred.

Out of the 140 countries that have joined the Mine Ban Treaty, 117 states have ratified so far. Now that the treaty has entered into force, states may no longer sign it, but rather they become bound without signature through a one step procedure known as accession. The ICBL is campaigning for a total of 120 ratifications by the Third Meeting of States Parties, due to be hosted by Nicaragua in September 2001.

Landmine Monitor 2000 reported new landmine victims in 71 countries. There are currently 88 mine affected countries worldwide.

For more information please visit the ICBL website (www.icbl.org), write to mediaSPAMFLTER@SPATMFLTERicbl.org or contact:
· Liz Bernstein, ICBL Coordinator, +1-202-547-2667
· Sue Wixley, ICBL Advocacy and Communications Officer, + 44-(0)20-7820-9577