| Acronym Institute Home Page | Calendar | UN/CD | NPT/IAEA | UK | US | Space/BMD |
| CTBT | BWC | CWC | WMD Possessors | About Acronym | Links | Glossary |
Back to the Contents of News Review Special Edition
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction - the Ottawa Convention, or Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) - entered into force on March 1, 1999. Three years on, 131 had joined the Convention, with an additional 15 signatory states yet to ratify. (Note: on March 31, São Tomé e Principe became the 132nd state to accede to the treaty.) Forty-five states parties are 'mine-affected', with APL remaining on their territory. Forty-eight states have so far stayed outside the treaty, including major APL-possessor states such as China, India, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Sri Lanka and the United States.
The run-up to the landmark was marked by statements generally mixing support for the Convention and praise for its achievements to date with cautionary words about the scale of remaining tasks and appeals to all belligerents in any war in Iraq to refrain from the use of anti-personnel landmines (APL).
On February 27, Ambassador Jean Lint of Belgium, President of the Convention's Fourth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva last September (see Disarmament Diplomacy No. 67, October/November 2002), stated: "This Convention is about states taking meaningful action to disarm, promote peace, and address the humanitarian impact of anti-personnel mines. And action is exactly what we have seem from the 55 states parties that have either eliminated anti-personnel mines from their arsenals or will soon complete their destruction programmes." In fact, Article IV of the Convention commits each state party "to destroy or ensure the destruction of all stockpiled anti-personnel mines it owns or possesses, or that are under its jurisdiction or control, as soon as possible but not later than four years after the entry into force of this Convention for that state party" - for those mine-possessing countries among the 134 original states parties, a deadline of March 1, 2003. Noting that this deadline seemed set to be met with only one exception - Turkmenistan - Lint continued: "The compliance rate of this Convention is extremely impressive... Our actions have demonstrated our firm belief that the humanitarian impact of these weapons necessitates their elimination. At the same time we, the 55 states that have destroyed mines, have demonstrated that our armed forces can live without these weapons. We encourage states that have not yet joined the Convention to follow our lead."
Also speaking on February 27, Susan B. Walker of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), reflected: "At a time when there is a great deal of pessimism surrounding multilateral affairs, this Convention serves as a beacon of hope that citizens and their governments, working in partnership, can make a difference. The actions taken by states parties to destroy almost 30 million mines mean these weapons will never threaten to take life or limb of an innocent civilian, or affect the socio-economic development of some of the world's poorest countries."
The ICBL has been at the forefront of urging the United States, a non-MBT state, not to use landmines in any conflict with Iraq - and of reminding Britain and Australia, US military allies but also MBT members, that Article I of the treaty calls on all states parties "never under any circumstances" to "assist, encourage or induce, in any way, anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a state party under this Convention."
As of April 1, there was no indication the United States had used APL in the war. Iraq, however, had. On March 21, reacting to newswire reports from the previous day, the ICBL condemned Baghdad "for using anti-personnel landmines at the outset of the conflict with the United States. Reuters reported on Thursday that Iraqi troops were laying mines near the Kuwaiti border when they were intercepted by US Marines. There have been other reports that Iraqi forces were laying mines around Kirkuk in the north and elsewhere in the country. ... The ICBL calls on Iraq to halt immediately its deployment of anti-personnel mines and calls on the US to give assurances that it will not use any type of anti-personnel mine during the conflict." On April 2, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that "Iraq has violated international humanitarian law by storing anti-personnel landmines inside a mosque in Kadim Karam in northern Iraq, and placing them around the mosque before abandoning the area on March 27".
Many governments and NGOs have been seeking to use the momentum gained by the success of the Mine Ban Treaty to secure agreements banning comparably indiscriminate weapons, notably 'cluster bombs' designed to disperse large numbers of 'bomblets' over a wide area and known from previous conflicts - including in Kosovo and Afghanistan - to leave a deadly legacy of unexploded ordnance (UXO). As reported in the online version of the last News Review, on December 13, 2002 the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), meeting in Geneva, agreed a mandate for working group negotiations on a legally-binding instrument to deal with the problem of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW).
In the build-up to the Iraq war, many groups called upon coalition forces not to use cluster bombs, given the near certainty of 'collateral' civilian casualties. On March 18, for example, Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK, told reporters: "Every cluster bomb has about 200 [bomblets] inside, and on average about 20 percent of them do not explode on first impact. ... More than 1,600 people were killed in Kuwait by such cluster bombs after 1991... The [British] Prime Minister has spoken of his commitment to the future security of the Iraqi people. If that is so, cluster bombs must not be used, because they will only maim and kill Iraqi civilians." Human Rights Watch and other US-based organisations issued similar messages to the White House.
Such appeals fell on deaf ears. On April 1, Human Rights Watch reported that "US ground forces in Iraq are using cluster munitions with a very high failure rate, creating immediate and long-term dangers for civilians and friendly soldiers". Steve Goose, Executive Director of the Arms Control Division of HRW, expressed outrage at the news: "The United States should not be using these weapons. Iraqi civilians will be paying the price with their lives and limbs for many years." Goose added: "The United States now bears a special responsibility to help clear these deadly remnants of war as quickly as possible." On April 3, UK Defence Minister Geoff Hoon told the House of Commons that British forces had likewise dropped cluster bombs in southern Iraq. According to Ministry of Defence spokesperson Colonel Chris Vernon, speaking to reporters in Kuwait (April 3): "We are not using cluster munitions, for obvious collateral damage reasons, in and around Basra. ... We fully reserve the right - it's a legitimate munition - to use [cluster bombs] against regular forces where appropriate."
Reports: Anti-personnel mine treaty's fourth anniversary coincides with first deadline - almost 30 million mines destroyed, UN Press Release DC/2854, February 27; World has already destroyed 30 million land mines under treaty, Associated Press, February 27; Campaign lauds stockpile destruction but warns of Iraq mine threat, ICBL Press Release, February 28; Iraq - warning against use of cluster bombs, Inter Press Service, March 18; Iraqi use of antipersonnel mines condemned, ICBL Press Release, March 21; US using cluster bombs in Iraq, Human Rights Watch Press Release, April 1; US using cluster bombs in Iraq, investigating claims of civilians killed, Associated Press, April 2; Iraqi landmines found in Mosque, Human Rights Watch Press Release, April 2; UK forces use cluster bombs, BBC News Online, April 3.
© 2002 The Acronym Institute.