A Landmine Free World is Possible

FCNL: A Landmine Free World is Possible


The United States stands in the way of a landmine-free world. The U.S.
Senate should take concerted action to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty. This
week (November 29-December 3) more than 140 governments gathered in Nairobi,
Kenya, to discuss how the international community can build on the progress
of the past five years and decide which actions they must take to build a
mine-free world.



It has been five years since the Ottawa Mine-Ban Treaty came into force.
Since then, global cooperation in pursuit of a mine-free world has yielded
significant results. A total of 76 states have ratified or acceded to the
treaty since 1999 and 67 states before that year. The summit in Nairobi is
encouraging the 42 non-signatory countries to sign the treaty and to adopt
an action plan on future demining, stockpile destruction, and victim
assistance requirements.



One country conspicuously absent from these historic proceedings is the
United States. The U.S. has not signed the mine-ban treaty and continues to
reserve the right to produce and use antipersonnel mines – although it has
not produced any mines for more than seven years. Other states that have
not signed the treaty, such as China, Cuba, and India, sent delegations to
Nairobi. The U.S. did not. The failure of the U.S. to engage the
international community on this issue provides cover to other states that
have refused to sign this life-saving treaty. Many states claim that they
will not take this issue seriously until the U.S. ratifies the treaty.
While antipersonnel mines continue to kill or maim thousands worldwide, the
U.S. continues to insist that landmines are an essential war-fighting tool.
It is time for the U.S. to renounce all use of these indiscriminate weapons.



Action: Contact your senators. Tell them how disappointed you are that the
U.S. continues to hold on to its landmines and refuses to join the
international community in banning these weapons. Ask them to communicate
to the administration-- either directly or through floor speeches -- that
they regret the administration’s decision to perpetuate this man-made human
tragedy. Tell them that a mine-free world is possible, if only governments
have the will to make it so.