A Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will be held in Edinburgh, United Kingdom October 24-27, 1997. The secretary-general of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, recently told Human Rights Watch, "I take the issue of landmines very seriously. It is on the agenda for the heads of government to discuss in Edinburgh and I will be pushing for it to be a priority."
Nearly two-thirds of the members of the Commonwealth have already committed to signing the international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines in December in Ottawa, Canada. Several Commonwealth countries, most notably Canada and South Africa, have been at the forefront of the movement to eradicate this insidious, indiscriminate weapon from the face of the earth. However, a half-dozen Commonwealth members have indicated that they are not prepared to sign the treaty: Bangladesh, Cyprus, India, Pakistan, Singapore, and Sri Lanka. Three of those nations--India, Pakistan, and Singapore--continue to produce antipersonnel mines. Twelve members of the Commonwealth appear to be undecided about whether to sign the treaty: Australia, Brunei, Gambia, Kenya, Kiribati, Maldives, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
At least fourteen Commonwealth countries are suffering from an estimated two to five million landmines planted in their soil. Landmines plague Commonwealth members in Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and Europe. The most heavily infested are Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. Others affected include Bangladesh, Cyprus, India, Malawi, Malaysia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Uganda, and Zambia. The Falkland/Malvinas Islands (administered by the United Kingdom, claimed by Argentina) are also strewn with mines. In many of these countries antipersonnel mines pose a daily threat to rural development and free trade movement, the very focus of the Edinburgh meeting.
Mines continue to be laid in several Commonwealth countries--including India, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, and Uganda--by government troops, opposition forces, or criminals. In 1996 landmines were available in Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia in exchange for food and second-hand clothing. Mines can be bought in South Africa for as little as U.S.$25.
Thirty-four of the fifty-two active members of the Commonwealth are committed to the ban treaty. (Nigeria and Sierra Leone have had their memberships suspended). Many have already taken steps domestically to prohibit the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of antipersonnel landmines. Five former producers--Canada, South Africa, Uganda, United Kingdom and Zimbabwe--have decided to ban future production. Nearly all Commonwealth nations have declared a formal ban or comprehensive moratorium on antipersonnel mine exports. Singapore, recognized as one of the biggest producers and exporters of mines in the developing world, has announced only a limited export moratorium, on so-called "dumb" mines.
Given the overwhelming majority view, it should be an achievable goal for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to issue a declaration of support for the treaty signing in Ottawa and the urgent need to ban antipersonnel mines. Human Rights Watch urges the Commonwealth governments that have not committed themselves to the December ban treaty to do so immediately. It is expected that more than one hundred nations worldwide will sign the treaty in December.
Members of the Commonwealth should lead in implementing regional and international landmine resolutions, such as those of the Organization of American States (OAS), Organization of African Unity (OAU), Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the U.N. The Commonwealth should follow the example of the Central American states, Caribbean states, and Southern African Development Community and seek to make the Commonwealth a mine-free zone.