India/Pakistan continue to lay landmines
ICBL | 16.09.2002 10:12
34 Million Landmines Destroyed
World Embraces Ban Five Years After Treaty
Handful Of Countries Continue To Use
Author/Origin: ICBL (
icbl@icbl.org)
(13-Sep-2002) More than 34 million stockpiled antipersonnel mines have been destroyed by 61 states, including seven million in the past year, according to a global report released today by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).
“Five years after the Mine Ban Treaty was negotiated in Oslo and first signed in Ottawa, it is clear that the world is embracing a new international norm rejecting the antipersonnel mine,” said ICBL Ambassador Jody Williams, who shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize with the ICBL.
According to the report, the export of antipersonnel landmines has nearly ceased, the number of countries producing the weapon has decreased from 55 to 14, mine action programs have expanded, there are fewer new mine casualties than in the past, and use of antipersonnel mines has fallen off.
“Perhaps the most encouraging development noted in this report is the decrease in the number of governments and rebel groups using antipersonnel mines,” said Williams. Nine governments were reported to have used antipersonnel mines in the reporting period (since May 2001), compared to at least 13 governments in the previous year. And two of the nine governments, Angola and Sri Lanka, stopped use in 2002 with cease-fires and have not resumed.
Eight countries became States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty since the last annual report, including three that have recently used antipersonnel mines but now spurn the weapon--Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Eritrea—as well as regional leaders Nigeria and Chile. There are 125 States Parties to the treaty, and another 18 countries have signed but not yet ratified. More than a dozen governments have pledged to join in the near future, including Afghanistan, Greece, Indonesia, Turkey, and Yugoslavia.
The ICBL singled out non-treaty signatories India and Pakistan as especially deserving of criticism. Since December 2001, both countries have engaged in massive new mine-laying operations along their common border, possibly the biggest anywhere in the world in decades, resulting in numerous civilian casualties. These operations likely mean than more mines went into the ground globally than in the previous reporting period.
The ICBL also condemned extensive ongoing use of antipersonnel mines by the governments of Myanmar and Russia (in Chechnya), and lesser-scale ongoing use by Nepal and Somalia. In addition, despite a declared use moratorium in place since 1996, Georgian forces apparently laid antipersonnel mines in the reporting period.
In Afghanistan, there were reports of limited use of mines and booby-traps by Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters, as well as the Northern Alliance. There were no instances of use of antipersonnel mines by the United States or coalition forces. In another disturbing development, Iran, which ostensibly instituted an export moratorium on antipersonnel mines in 1997, has apparently provided mines to combatants in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Mine clearance organizations in Afghanistan are encountering many Iranian-manufactured antipersonnel mines dated 1999 and 2000.
Among Mine Ban Treaty States Parties, the ICBL is most concerned about the failure of Tajikistan to meet treaty requirements. It has not submitted required transparency reports, not adopted any national implementation measures, not started or even planned for stockpile destruction, and most disturbingly, has apparently consented to use of antipersonnel mines by Russian forces inside Tajikistan.
New casualties due to landmines or unexploded ordnance (UXO) were reported in 69 countries in 2001. A majority of these countries (46) were at peace, not war. The number of new mine/UXO casualties each year is now estimated by Landmine Monitor to be some 15-20,000 per year. Landmine Monitor identified at least 7,987 reported new casualties in 2001, roughly the same number as in 2000, but many casualties continue to go unreported.
“While the number of new reported mine casualties in some of the worst affected countries has fallen in recent years, landmines continue to take an appalling civilian toll. The needs of hundreds of thousands of landmine survivors around the world will have to be met for decades to come,” said Sheree Bailey of Handicap International Belgium, coordinator for victim assistance for Landmine Monitor.
Ninety countries are affected by landmines and/or unexploded ordnance, including several from World War II. In 2001 and early 2002, some form of mine clearance was underway in 74 of those countries. While on a global scale mine clearance and other mine action programs have expanded greatly over the past decade and particularly since 1997, a number of these programs have suffered financial crises recently.
Global mine action funding has totaled over $1.4 billion in the past decade, including $237 million in 2001. However, the 2001 figure, which is roughly the same as in 2000, represents the first time since 1992 that a significant increase has not been registered.
“It is increasingly clear that at current levels of mine action funding and demining, many mine-affected states will not meet the ten-year treaty deadline for completion of clearance,” said Janecke Wille of Norwegian People’s Aid, acting chair of the ICBL Mine Action Working Group.
The 922-page Landmine Monitor Report 2002: Toward a Mine-Free World is the fourth annual report by the ICBL. On Monday, September 16, the ICBL will present the report to diplomats attending the Fourth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva. The Landmine Monitor initiative is coordinated by a “Core Group” of five ICBL organizations: Human Rights Watch is the lead organization and others include Handicap International Belgium, Kenya Coalition Against Landmines, Mines Action Canada, and Norwegian People’s Aid. A total of 115 Landmine Monitor researchers in 90 countries systematically collected and analyzed information from a wide variety of sources for this comprehensive report.
For additional details, see “Major Findings,” “Key Developments” and the Executive Summary of Landmine Monitor Report 2002. These are also available in Arabic, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. All the information will be available at
http://www.icbl.org/lm/2002 once the embargo is lifted.
For more information or to schedule an interview, email. media@icbl.org or contact:
Sue Wixley, ICBL, in Geneva at +41 (079) 470-1637
Mary Wareham, Human Rights Watch, in Geneva at +41 (079) 470-1642 or +1 (202) 352-2968
World Embraces Ban Five Years After Treaty
Handful Of Countries Continue To Use
Author/Origin: ICBL (
icbl@icbl.org) (13-Sep-2002) More than 34 million stockpiled antipersonnel mines have been destroyed by 61 states, including seven million in the past year, according to a global report released today by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).
“Five years after the Mine Ban Treaty was negotiated in Oslo and first signed in Ottawa, it is clear that the world is embracing a new international norm rejecting the antipersonnel mine,” said ICBL Ambassador Jody Williams, who shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize with the ICBL.
According to the report, the export of antipersonnel landmines has nearly ceased, the number of countries producing the weapon has decreased from 55 to 14, mine action programs have expanded, there are fewer new mine casualties than in the past, and use of antipersonnel mines has fallen off.
“Perhaps the most encouraging development noted in this report is the decrease in the number of governments and rebel groups using antipersonnel mines,” said Williams. Nine governments were reported to have used antipersonnel mines in the reporting period (since May 2001), compared to at least 13 governments in the previous year. And two of the nine governments, Angola and Sri Lanka, stopped use in 2002 with cease-fires and have not resumed.
Eight countries became States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty since the last annual report, including three that have recently used antipersonnel mines but now spurn the weapon--Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Eritrea—as well as regional leaders Nigeria and Chile. There are 125 States Parties to the treaty, and another 18 countries have signed but not yet ratified. More than a dozen governments have pledged to join in the near future, including Afghanistan, Greece, Indonesia, Turkey, and Yugoslavia.
The ICBL singled out non-treaty signatories India and Pakistan as especially deserving of criticism. Since December 2001, both countries have engaged in massive new mine-laying operations along their common border, possibly the biggest anywhere in the world in decades, resulting in numerous civilian casualties. These operations likely mean than more mines went into the ground globally than in the previous reporting period.
The ICBL also condemned extensive ongoing use of antipersonnel mines by the governments of Myanmar and Russia (in Chechnya), and lesser-scale ongoing use by Nepal and Somalia. In addition, despite a declared use moratorium in place since 1996, Georgian forces apparently laid antipersonnel mines in the reporting period.
In Afghanistan, there were reports of limited use of mines and booby-traps by Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters, as well as the Northern Alliance. There were no instances of use of antipersonnel mines by the United States or coalition forces. In another disturbing development, Iran, which ostensibly instituted an export moratorium on antipersonnel mines in 1997, has apparently provided mines to combatants in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Mine clearance organizations in Afghanistan are encountering many Iranian-manufactured antipersonnel mines dated 1999 and 2000.
Among Mine Ban Treaty States Parties, the ICBL is most concerned about the failure of Tajikistan to meet treaty requirements. It has not submitted required transparency reports, not adopted any national implementation measures, not started or even planned for stockpile destruction, and most disturbingly, has apparently consented to use of antipersonnel mines by Russian forces inside Tajikistan.
New casualties due to landmines or unexploded ordnance (UXO) were reported in 69 countries in 2001. A majority of these countries (46) were at peace, not war. The number of new mine/UXO casualties each year is now estimated by Landmine Monitor to be some 15-20,000 per year. Landmine Monitor identified at least 7,987 reported new casualties in 2001, roughly the same number as in 2000, but many casualties continue to go unreported.
“While the number of new reported mine casualties in some of the worst affected countries has fallen in recent years, landmines continue to take an appalling civilian toll. The needs of hundreds of thousands of landmine survivors around the world will have to be met for decades to come,” said Sheree Bailey of Handicap International Belgium, coordinator for victim assistance for Landmine Monitor.
Ninety countries are affected by landmines and/or unexploded ordnance, including several from World War II. In 2001 and early 2002, some form of mine clearance was underway in 74 of those countries. While on a global scale mine clearance and other mine action programs have expanded greatly over the past decade and particularly since 1997, a number of these programs have suffered financial crises recently.
Global mine action funding has totaled over $1.4 billion in the past decade, including $237 million in 2001. However, the 2001 figure, which is roughly the same as in 2000, represents the first time since 1992 that a significant increase has not been registered.
“It is increasingly clear that at current levels of mine action funding and demining, many mine-affected states will not meet the ten-year treaty deadline for completion of clearance,” said Janecke Wille of Norwegian People’s Aid, acting chair of the ICBL Mine Action Working Group.
The 922-page Landmine Monitor Report 2002: Toward a Mine-Free World is the fourth annual report by the ICBL. On Monday, September 16, the ICBL will present the report to diplomats attending the Fourth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva. The Landmine Monitor initiative is coordinated by a “Core Group” of five ICBL organizations: Human Rights Watch is the lead organization and others include Handicap International Belgium, Kenya Coalition Against Landmines, Mines Action Canada, and Norwegian People’s Aid. A total of 115 Landmine Monitor researchers in 90 countries systematically collected and analyzed information from a wide variety of sources for this comprehensive report.
For additional details, see “Major Findings,” “Key Developments” and the Executive Summary of Landmine Monitor Report 2002. These are also available in Arabic, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. All the information will be available at
http://www.icbl.org/lm/2002 once the embargo is lifted. For more information or to schedule an interview, email.
media@icbl.org or contact: Sue Wixley, ICBL, in Geneva at +41 (079) 470-1637
Mary Wareham, Human Rights Watch, in Geneva at +41 (079) 470-1642 or +1 (202) 352-2968
ICBL