Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs

Treaties      Social and Economic Costs      Recent U.S. Presidential Actions
Efforts to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs      Action Alerts!

Treaties

March 1, 2008 marked the eighth anniversary of the Ottawa Treaty to Ban Antipersonnel Land Mines. The treaty commits its parties to:

1. Cease military deployment of landmines
2. Destroy mine stockpiles
3. Clear mine-infested land
4. Assist the victims injured by landmines.

In 2004, Human Rights Watch's Campaign to Ban Landmines "praised the remarkable progress in eliminating antipersonnel landmines around the world.... The landmines treaty became binding international law more quickly than any other major treaty in history." One sign of success is that 156 countries (as of June 30, 2008) have ratified, acceded, or approved The Ban Mine Treaty. (Countries that have not signed include China, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States.)

The Landmine Monitor Report 2006 reported that "more land was demined in 2005 than ever before, but global funding for mine action decreased for the first time, raising concerns about future progress in eradicating mines and efforts to meet the needs of the increasing number of survivors." More than 90 countries or disputed territories are contaminated by unexploded weapons, and more than 50 by anti-vehicle mines, according to the first global survey of their impact on civilians, aid workers and peacekeepers; the report is published by Landmine Action, an independent group.å

Challenges that remain include:

• Universalizing the treaty
• Increased funding for landmine clearance
• Major funding for rehabilitation of those harmed by landmines

A treaty to ban cluster bombs, which cause horrific civilian casualties and long-term impacts (such as in the Middle East) similar to landmines, is in the final stages of negotiations. Movement towards the comprehensive ban came despite efforts to water down the treaty by countries with stockpiles of the weapon. Currently, 82 countries endorse the strongly worded draft of the treaty.

Social and Economic Costs

Recent U.S. Presidential Actions

President Clinton instructed the U.S. government to move towards 2006 compliance with the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. However, on February 27, 2004, the Bush Administration announced a new policy that reversed of a ten-year policy to eliminate all antipersonnel landmines. (See Human Rights Watch's questions and answers in relation to this policy.)

Bush's decision was denounced by mine ban advocates, organizations, and policy-makers. Two such groups are the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, who see the policy as a "huge step backward in foreign policy"... "because we know that this does not reflect the values and aspirations of the people of our country."

In 2004, as a response to the failure of the Bush administration to send a delegation to the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World, the USCBL (United States Campaign to Ban Landmines) sent letters expressing frustration to the Senate and Secretary of State Powell. The letters urged the U.S. government to rethink its landmine policy and begin to exercise leadership toward a mine-free world.

In 2005, the Bush Administration took an important step forward when it became the first military power to ban non-detectable landmines. However, the U.S. currently plans to deploy a new system of remote-controlled antipersonnel mines in Iraq. The new mine system, which is called Matrix, allows a soldier with a laptop computer, based miles away from a target, to detonate Claymore mines via radio signal. They can propel lethal fragments from 130 to 200 feet across a 60-degree arc.

Efforts to Ban Landmines

Worldwide, there are many campaigns to ban landmines. The Catholic Campaign to Ban Landmines is sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) brings together more than 1,400 non-governmental organizations in 90 countries. ICBL publishes the comprehensive Landmine Monitor Report, prepared by a committee of experts on mine clearance.

The U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines has expanded its mission to include advocacy toward a prohibition on the use, production, and transfer of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. In September 2007, the United Nations adopted a "new and ambitious position on cluster munitions."

In 2007, Senators Dianne Feinstein (CA) and Patrick Leahy (VT), introduced Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act of 2007, S. 594. It would ban the use of cluster bombs in or near civilian areas and prohibit the use, sale, and transfer of almost the entire existing U.S. arsenal of cluster bombs.

Action Alerts!

Now is the time to push the United States to sign the landmine treaty:

Gratitude to the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines
for use of its graphic.

Modified July 1, 2008.