Thousands killed by landmines

2004-11-17 12:40

Trapeang Veng - More than 8 000 people were killed or maimed last year by landmines, though an international treaty that banned the weapons five years ago has reduced the carnage, an activist group said on Wednesday.

Countries increasingly are shunning landmines since the Mine Ban Treaty came into effect in 1999, but the United States, China and Russia are among those that refused to join and still stockpile millions of the devices, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines said.

Since the treaty, the 143 countries that signed the pact have destroyed more than 62 million stockpiled mines and cleared more than 1 100 square kilometers of land of the weapons, the group said.

Only Myanmar and Russia have used mines since 1999, the report said.

To eradicate weapon

"The international norm established by the... treaty is rapidly taking firm hold around the world, especially in the heavily mine-contaminated countries where it matters the most," campaign leader Jody Williams said.

"Clearly we are succeeding in our struggle to eradicate this weapon," said Williams, who shared the 1997 Nobel prize with the group she helped create.

But challenges remain, include getting more countries to ratify the treaty to remove land mines and getting more aid to victims, she said.

The landmine campaign is a collective of the rights groups Human Rights Watch, Handicap International, Kenya Coalition of NGOs Against Landmines, Norwegian People's Aid and Mines Action Canada. Their report was released on Wednesday in Cambodia and other countries.

Forty-two countries that haven't signed the treaty hold a total of about 180 million mines, the campaign said.

China, Russia and the United States hold the largest stockpiles, the report said.

The number of new landmine victims fell to 8 065 in 2003 from 8 333 in 2002, the report said, with most improvement coming in Afghanistan, Cambodia and Bosnia Herzegovina.

But the real number of landmine cases could be as high as 20 000 because many weren't reported, the report said. Activists estimate that up to 400 000 people worldwide are living with land mine injuries.

"The stark reality is that there is an ever-growing number of mine survivors in the world and in the vast majority of mine-affected countries, neither the national governments nor international donors are doing nearly enough to provide for their needs," said Sheree Bailey of Handicap International.

- AP