Landmines being cleared up

2003-09-09 12:22

Washington - Eighteen countries destroyed their stockpiles of anti-personnel mines in the past year as efforts to rid the world of these dangerous weapons gathered speed, an international monitoring group reported on Tuesday.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines said in its annual report that 2002 witnessed both a marked decrease in the use of land mines and the funds available to clear away existing minefields.

"We're pleased with the degree of progress around the world this year," said Stephen Goose, executive director of the Arms Division at Human Rights Watch, a founding member of the campaign. "But the United States could speed this progress if it showed more leadership on the landmine issue."

The report said 136 nations have ratified a 1997 ban on anti-personnel mines. Another 12 countries have signed the accord but not yet ratified it.

Only six nations - India, Iraq, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Russia - used anti-personnel mines last year. The number marked a decrease from at least nine governments identified in the 2002 report and 13 singled out in 2001.

Armed opposition groups used anti-personnel mines in 11 countries, compared to 14 the previous year, according to the report.

Thirty-one US soldiers were killed or injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2002 and the first five months of 2003.

The United States apparently did not use anti-personnel mines in the Iraq conflict, although it deployed more than 90 000 mines to the Gulf region for possible use in Iraq, the report said.

At the same time, the United States remained the largest donor to international mine clearance programmes, contributing to them a total of $76,9-million in its fiscal year 2002, according to the campaign.

However, the amount represented a decrease of nearly $5-million from the previous year, and nearly $24-million over the past two years.

"The Bush administration cannot seem to decide if it wants to play a leadership role in ridding the world of anti-personnel mines, or to reverse the progress of the past decade," commented Goose. "US participation in the Mine Ban Treaty would make a significant difference in securing the support of other non-signatories."

Ten countries have joined the treaty since the last annual report, including Afghanistan and Belarus.

- AFP