Anti-personnel Mines

50th Session Issues

Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on their destruction

by
Hasan Hasan

Landmines are among the most insidious weapons commonly used in armed conflict. They are too often used indiscriminately and cause immense suffering, especially among civilians who are protected by universally accepted law from acts of war. What is more, they continue to claim victims for decades after the fighting has stopped. Landmines Must Be Stopped, ICRC

Anti-personnel mines (AP) are explosive devices, which may be planted in the path of an enemy to hinder movement or deny access to certain territory. Anti-personnel mines are generally concealed and rigged to be set off by an enemy's presence, contact, or by remote control. They produce casualties by direct explosive force, fragmentation, shaped-charge effect, or the release of harassing agents or lethal gas. Many remain active for decades and may have been planted before some of their victims were born. Anti-personnel mines are buried indiscriminately in areas of conflict such as Angola, Afghanistan, or Cambodia, totaling 10 million or more in about 70 countries.

Landmines are not always intended to kill; they are often deliberately designed to maim, frequently requiring amputation of an arm or leg. They do not discriminate between soldiers and civilians. The people most likely to encounter them are the rural poor (peasant farmers and children). Because they are cheap and abundant, landmines have littered the landscape of developing countries, disrupting transportation and agricultural production. Their presence also delays the return of refugees to their country of origin.

Limbless and blind children are the visible evidence of the anti--personnel mine path of destruction. During the last 15 years, these devices have killed and maimed more than one million victims. In El Salvador, about 76% of those killed or injured are children. In Angola, there are around 70,000 amputees, most of whom are women and children. In Cambodia one out of every 236 citizens is an amputee.

De--mining is one of the most critical tasks facing the United Nations. Over the past decade, the LFN has been increasingly called upon to operate de-mining programs in war-torn countries or post-war environments that are infested with landmines and unexploded ordinance (UXO). The UN not only performs de-mining, but also assists nations in the development of their own sustainable de-mining capacity. UN programs include mine awareness, mine marking, and mine surveys.

De-mining activity in the UN is divided into two areas of responsibility: The De-mining Unit, within the Department of Peace-Keeping Operations (DKPO), plans and advises regarding de-mining activities carried out under UN Auspices and maintains contact with governments and organizations who participate in these activities. The Mine Clearance and Policy Unit, within the Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), serves as the focal point for coordinating all humanitarian de-mining and related activities. The UN has set goals for the evolution of de-mining technology by the year 2000 calling for 99.9% probability of detection, I 00% discrimination of non-explosives, I 00% classification by type, and a 50-fold increase in global de-mining capacity.

These goals are achievable if funding is provided beyond current levels. A 50 to I increase in de-mining capacity will close the gap between the number of mines laid and removed. The UN set up the Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance on 30 November 1994. The Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) opened on 25 September 1995. The Convention amended Protocol 11 (annexed to the CCW on 3 May 1996) to strengthen the restrictions on landmines.

UNICEF, joining a growing number of organizations, reported that it will not deal with the dozens of companies that manufacture or sell these deadly devices. UNICEF is trying to put pressure on such companies to stop production and distribution and has joined the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (LTNHCR) in supporting the boycott of these companies, many of them with household-name recognition.

There are many obstacles hindering UN de-mining efforts: local farmers install and remove their own mines to protect crops; no definition of "cleared" minefields has been agreed upon by the UN, individual states, and de-mining companies, because commercial insurance concerns determine the meaning; many AP-affected zones are infested with metal fragments from other ordinance, increasing de-mining time markedly since every metal object must be treated as an AP-mine until proven otherwise; and maps marking the locations of landmines are not always reliable or available.

In addition, mine-clearance activities are quite dangerous. On average, one de-miner is killed per 2,000 mines removed, with most of the causalities due to inexperience. Professional de-mining operations are expensive; but organized by former military engineers and experts using local labor, they have demonstrated a near-zero casualty rate.

It is estimated that for every mine cleared (at a cost of$300-$ 1,000), twenty new ones are planted (at a cost of as little as $3 each). In 1993, according to UN reports, while about 100,000 AP-mines were cleared, 2 million more replaced them. An additional 100 million landmines were estimated to be stockpiled.

The development of new de-mining technologies is difficult because of the tremendous diversity of environmental conditions in which landmines are employed and because oft he variety of these mines. They range in type and size from those small enough to fit a child's hand to large anti-tank mines. The diversity of mines, requires a diversity of equipment to neutralize them. The requirement to develop equipment for use by de-miners with different training levels, cultural backgrounds, and educational levels adds another challenge. An additional challenge is to improve the detection of those made with plastic and low-metal content, while at the same time discriminating them from non-explosive debris. This will require improved metal detectors, ground penetrating radar and infrared and ultraviolet sensors.

Each year the General Assembly passes a resolution on "Assistance in Mine Clearance." But countries afflicted with landmines also need economic and humanitarian aid from the international community to recover from the consequences of landmines: physical, emotional and economic burdens which face the victims, their families, and their communities. Some countries have proper care for victims, but most do not since it is very expensive.

One of the greatest achievements in this field was the birth of the Ottawa Treaty. On 2-4 December 1997, 122 nations signed the "Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction" in Ottawa, Canada. This followed the Landmine Conference also held in Ottawa in October 1996 where the Canadian government introduced the "Ottawa Process," setting forth its "Agenda of Action on Anti-Personnel Mines," which won the support of 50 governments. By the time it entered into force on I March 1999, the number of signatory states had grown to 133 with 65 states having ratified it. The Ottawa Treaty is truly universal because it involves governments, rebel groups, and non-state actors (NSA's).

To enhance efforts toward an AP free world, it is vital to open the Ottawa Treaty Review meetings to participation from the over 1,000 groups which have joined together in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). NGO representatives should also be included in their governments delegation to these meetings. All anti-personnel mine affected countries should be encouraged to take unilateral steps to ban them; resources for de-mining should be increased; countries and regions that have banned landmines should encourage other countries to follow suit; and resources for assisting and rehabilitating victims in all afflicted countries need to be increased. Also, those who have produced and supplied landmines should be responsible for assisting with de-mining and programs for victims. They should also assist governments of affected countries to implement national de-mining policies that are transparent and meet the needs of all sectors of society.

Despite efforts such as those of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Jody Williams and Princess Diana to promote a ban on landmines, the public lacks awareness of the landmine issue. It is very important to broaden the base of participation by civil society in national campaigns by including organizations such as student groups, trade unions, women's organizations, professional groups, disability advocacy groups and others not yet actively involved in the campaign. National campaigns and NGOs should document the socioeconomic impact of anti-personnel mines on their societies to provide critical information and raise public consciousness to strengthen ICBL advocacy efforts for humanitarian de-mining and victim assistance.

Until all countries have co-operated in eliminating all stockpiles of these weapons, there is no guarantee that they will not be used. Without a dedicated and comprehensive effort to tackle the root of the problem, our best efforts can only mitigate the effects of anti-personnel mines. To speed the process of reaching a world free of landmines, regional groups must be encouraged to initiate the establishment of zones free of AP mines at the regional level and the international community must strengthen de-mining, mine awareness and assistance programs.

Estimated Number of landmines & Most affected countries and territories

Afghanistan-------------- 9 to10 million
Angola ------------------ 9 million
Iraq --------------------- 5 to10 million
Kuwait ------------------ 5 million
Cambodia -------------- 4 to7 million
Western Sahara --------- 1-2 million
Mozambique ------------ 1-2 million
Somalia ----------------- 1 million
Bosnia & Herzegovina -- 1 million
Croatia ----------------- 1 million

source: UN and U.S. State Department

Questions

How can you get more countries to ratify the Ottawa Convention?
How do you get states that are large producers of AP mines to endorse a treaty which bans them?
What kind of assistance and how much is appropriate for those countries which suffer from landmines?
Who should be responsible for de-mining efforts? Who should pay for the removal of Anti-Personnel Mines?
What kind of public awareness efforts should be undertaken by the UN system?
What can regional organizations and/or NGOs do to assist in these areas?

Sources

Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, May/June 1994, Vol. 50, Issue 3, p. 12.

Canadian International De-mining Center: http://eagle.uccb.nc.ca/demine/index.htrnl

Conclusion of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transport of Anti-Personnel Mines and Their Destruction (Anti-Personnel Mines Ban Treaty) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Sept. 30, 1998. www.infjapan.org/announce/1998/9/930-2.htrnl

ICRC, Anti-personnel Mines in Central America: Conflict and Post-Conflict, Feb 1, 1996 www.icrc/uniec/icrcnews.nsf February 25, 1998.

Inter American Defense Board (IADB), 7/16/1.997, www.jid.org/bdOO006.html

Landmines: From Words to Action, United Nations Publications (I 997).

Landmine Information Center: www.care.org/newscenter/landmines/index.html

NGO Committee on Disarmament www.igc.apc.org/disann/index.html

NGO News and Views, Mine Action In Ottawa, www.igc.apc.org/disarm/nvl297.htmi Dec. 1998, pp. 9, 109, Ill.

The United Nations Disarmwnent Yearbook, 1996, Vol.2 1, Center for Disarmament Affairs, NY, 1997; pp. 107--Ill, 150--155, 143--145.

Towards a Global Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines, 12/97, www.dfait-maerci.gc.ca/english/foreignnp/disarm/mines/reportlfhtin

UN: www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/banmines/resources.html

United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs, "DHA News," September--December 1993 UNDHA, Landmines Database, Country Report Nicaragua, www.un/org/depts/landmine/country/nicaragua.htm Sept. 1995.

UNICEF, www.unicef.org/sow96pk/hidekill.htrnl

United States Campaign to Ban Landmines, http://www.vvaf.org/landmine/us/can-do/petition.html US Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of International Security and

Peacekeeping Operations, Hidden Killers: The Global Landmines Crises, December 1994, 5 University of Alberta: http://fararnir.mece.ualberta.ca/landmine.html