Nov 28, 2011
Landmines continue to exact pain and loss of lives, mostly of children and civilians. In Afghanistan, for example, all deaths by landmines are on those under 18. In an attempt to eliminate forever the use of landmines, Handicap International calls for the universalization of the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty.
The Ottawa Treaty, officially known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, intends to eliminate anti-personnel landmines around the world.
As of September 2011, there were 158 States Parties to the treaty and 38 states which are not party to it. Among the countries which have not signed the treaty are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (People’s Republic of China, Russia and the United States) and, among others, India, Israel and both Koreas, where landmines remain active in the Demilitarized Zone.
A party to the treaty must not only cease the production and development of anti-personnel mines, but must also destroy its stockpile within four years, although it may retain a small number of mines for training purposes. The treaty also calls on States Parties to provide assistance to mine-affected persons in their own country, and to assist other countries in meeting the Mine Ban Treaty obligations.
In its last annual report, recently released in Bangkok, Handicap International found that at least three States which are not party to that treaty used anti-personnel landmines in 2011. According to this organization, Libya, Burma and Israel used these weapons in 2011. Also, independent armed groups in Afghanistan, Colombia, Burma and Pakistan also used landmines between 2010 and 2011. Paul Vermeulen, Head of Advocacy and Institutional Relations at Handicap International calls the persistent use of landmines “unacceptable and extremely worrying.”
In addition to the countries still using landmines, other countries such as Belarus, Greece, Turkey and Ukraine have not yet met the deadline for destroying their stockpiles, in violation of the treaty. The Landmine Monitor 2011 reports that during this year there have been thousands of new victims of anti-personnel landmines. According to Handicap International, “79 countries and territories are still contaminated by these weapons.”
It is estimated that more than 500,000 survivors of accidents caused by landmines and unexploded remnants of war still need lifelong assistance, and the funds allocated for this provision fall short of meeting the victims’ needs. It is estimated that only 10 percent of funding is allocated to victims’ assistance.
There has been some progress, however. Since the treaty’s entry into force in March 1999, signatory nations have destroyed more than 44 million mines. In 2010, decontamination of mined land reached an unprecedented level: Almost 177 square miles of land were demined and more than 1.6 million unexploded remnants of war were destroyed, according to Landmine Monitor 2011. On December 2, 2009, Rwanda was declared free of landmines. On June 18, 2010, Nicaragua was also declared free of landmines and on June 14, 2011, Nepal became the second country to be landmine-free in Asia.
In addition to the treaty, there are two basic clauses of international humanitarian law that prohibit the use of landmines: the first, all means and methods that “fail to discriminate between those taking part in the fighting and those, such as civilians, who are not, the purpose being to protect the civilian population, individual civilians and civilian property,” and second, those means and methods that “cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering.”
From November 28 to December 2, the 11th Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty will be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, one of the most affected land-mine countries in the world. This meeting will be a special occasion to remind States of their obligations, particularly in terms of victims’ assistance. It will also be useful to remind people of the barbaric nature of the use of these mines.
Dr. Cesar Chelala is a co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award.
No comments:
Post a Comment