Red Internacional de Boicot a Bush

The problem

There are an estimated 60-70 million antipersonnel landmines in over seventy countries, killing or maiming thousands of men, women and children each year. Anti-personnel mines are indiscriminate weapons that lay dormant until triggered by footsteps and cannot distinguish between civilians and soldiers. They continue to kill or injure long after fighting has stopped.

The treaty

Sometimes referred to as the Ottawa Convention, the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and their Destruction (Mine Ban Treaty) is the international agreement that bans antipersonnel landmines.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines considers the treaty the most comprehensive international instrument for ridding the world of the scourge of mines and deals with everything from mine use, production and trade, to victim assistance, mine clearance and stockpile destruction.

In December 1997 a total of 122 governments signed the treaty in Ottawa, Canada. In March 1999 the treaty became binding under international law. Today, the treaty is still open for ratification by signatories and for accession by those that did not sign before March 1999.

The U.S. policy regarding landmines

The U.S. did not and will not become a party to the Mine Ban Treaty because “the terms of Ottawa and critical U.S. national interests were not reconciled”, says the U.S. Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (February 27, 2004).

"Landmines still have a valid and essential role in military operations”, adds the U.S. Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. “Landmines enable a commander to shape the battlefield to his advantage. They deny the enemy freedom to maneuver; enhance effectiveness of other weapons (such as artillery or combat aircraft); allow us to fight with fewer forces against a larger enemy force; and protect our forces, saving the lives of our men and women in uniform. No other weapon exists that provides all the capabilities provided by landmines.”

The United States was, in the past, one of the biggest exporters of antipersonnel mines. From 1969 through 1992, the United States exported 4.4 million antipersonnel mines to at least thirty-two different countries. U.S. mines have been planted in the ground and have caused civilian casualties in more than two-dozen countries.

The United States has antipersonnel landmines stockpiled in at least five states that are states parties to the Mine Ban Treaty: Germany, Greece, Japan, Norway, Qatar, and United Kingdom at Diego Garcia. States parties’ allowing other states to stockpile anti-personnel mines in their territory arguably violates the Article 1 prohibitions.

Conclusion

As the U.S. policy currently stands, the United States keeps company with Russia, China, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Burma, Syria, India, Pakistan, Cuba and others by refusing to join the Mine Ban Treaty. It is one of just fourteen countries that have not forsworn production of mines. In sum, the United States is part of a very small minority opposing a comprehensive ban. The dangers and costs of antipersonnel mines are now well known, and the United States should accede to the treaty.

Further reading:

Sites:
International Campaign to Ban Landmines
U.S. Department of State: FAQ on the New United States Landmine Policy

Book:
Rule of Power or Rule of Law? An Assessment of U.S. Policies and Actions Regarding Security-Related Treaties, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research / Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy, The Apex Press, New York, 2003.
To order this book, contact merchandize@motherearth.org

See also:

Last update: October 2004

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