| The Landmine Crisis
Background
Landmines were first used on a wide scale during World War II. Since then, the dangerous weapons have been used extensively in numerous conflicts, from the Vietnam War to the Gulf War, and continue to be used today. Unlike other conventional weapons, landmines were specifically designed to maim, rather than kill, enemy soldiers. This was based on the logic that more resources would be expended by enemy armies on treating and caring for injured soldiers. However, coupled with the eventual realization that landmines could play an effective role in preventing people from accessing farmland and impairing the mobility of entire populations, civilians, too, became victims of these weapons. Today, the majority of the 15,000-plus casualties caused by landmines per year are civilians.
Because the practice of marking and mapping minefields was often neglected during times of conflict, unsuspecting civilians, soldiers and aid workers continue to fall prey to landmines. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that landmines claim victims indiscriminately: they do not distinguish between the footfall of an adult or a child, a soldier or a civilian. When triggered, they cause injuries that range from blindness and burns to excruciatingly painful death as a result of loss of blood or delayed treatment. Characteristically, survivors often require amputations, and, where available, intensive rehabilitation.
Landmines are a problem in every region of the world. More than 80 countries are affected by landmines, many of which are underdeveloped and still reeling from the consequences of ongoing or recently resolved conflict, such as Cambodia, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Many governments do not or cannot provide complete information or issue warnings about the presence of mines, making it even more difficult for civilians to lead normal lives with this dangerous threat in their midst.
There is also a significant developmental dimension to the global landmine problem. The presence of landmines in countries recovering from war makes it extremely costly and difficult to carry out reconstruction and provide aid relief. The problem of unmarked minefields also deprives poor communities of land and infrastructure. The maiming of breadwinners in families and families who have met with blasts impedes the development of local communities. This crisis is enhanced by the fact that landmines destroy livestock and farm animals-hence, decimating food supplies-and cause significant environmental damage, which diminishes a country's potential for sustainable development.
Unfortunately, landmines are still being laid today. Huge stockpiles remain stored in warehouses around the world, and about a dozen countries continue to produce them. These new mines, as well as remnant ones from previous conflicts, maim and kill victims in many countries each day. While the situation has abated in recent years, the problem is still an epic one, and must be dealt with comprehensively.
The extent of the crisis
Between 15,000 and 20,000 people are injured and killed by landmines each year. This means that around 1,500 people fall prey to them each month, and at least two each hour. Cambodia and Colombia each recorded more than 850 casualties in 2004, which represents more than a 10 percent increase in the corresponding numbers of the previous year.
The United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that 30 to 40 percent of all landmine victims are under age 15, and that between 8,000 and 10,000 children become landmine victims each year.
Studies also suggest that typically, female landmine victims suffer more than males. Fewer women receive mobility aids such as artificial limbs and many receive less attention immediately following the blast. As such, the fatality rate for females (43 percent) is significantly higher than that for males (29 percent).
What is being done?
The most significant treaty that has been put in place to address the global landmine problem is Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, also known as the Ottawa Treaty or the Mine Ban Treaty. It completely bans all anti-personnel landmines and calls on signatories to stop all production and development, as well as to destroy all mines in current possession within four years. Additionally, each signatory is asked to clear all of its mined areas within 10 years of signing the treaty.
The treaty came into force on March 1, 1999 after being signed by 122 nations in December 1997. To date, 154 states have signed it. Of the remaining countries that have not done so, China, Russia and the United States are the most prominent.
The Mine Ban Treaty has effectively stigmatized the use of mines and facilitated a decrease in the number of active mines around the world. As of August 2004, 80 countries had destroyed nearly 37.5 million landmines, 65 of which have achieved total stockpile destruction. The impact of the treaty also has led to the emergence of a new global paradigm against the proliferation of these weapons: in its 2005 annual report, Landmine Monitor, an organization that tracks the implementation of Mine Ban Treaty, reported that only four governments made new use of landmines in the period since May 2004. There were also no reported instances of antipersonnel mine transfers, and mine clearance and survey continued at an impressive rate, with more than 135 square kilometres of land in 37 countries cleared.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), an international coalition of more than 1,400 nongovernmental organizations, was formed in 1992 to coordinate local and global efforts to eradicate landmines. It is committed to furthering the purpose of the Ottawa Treaty. ICBL has been agitating, in particular, for all countries to sign the Mine Ban Treaty, and also has raised awareness about the needs and rights of landmine survivors.
UNA-USA's efforts: Adopt-a-Minefield®
In 1999, the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), in partnership with the UN and Ted Turner's Better World Fund, created the Adopt-A-Minefield campaign. Its main goals are to clear minefields, provide assistance to landmine survivors and raise awareness about the global landmine crisis.
The UN identifies minefields throughout the world that are in urgent need of clearance and carries out programs to develop local capacities to address this problem. Adopt-a-Minefield raises funds for actual mine clearance and survivor support and relief by reaching out to individuals, community groups and businesses. An additional component of its work is to raise awareness about the landmine problem. The campaign also serves on the Steering Committee of the US Campaign to Ban Landmines.
The costs of clearing minefields can reach millions of dollars, depending on the size of the field and the complexity of clearance. Adopt-a-Minefield pools together funds raised from sponsors, who either adopt entire minefields (typically between $25,000 and $40,000) or make smaller contributions (as low as $5), and forwards them to the UN and other leading mine action partners for mine clearance in a process termed "humanitarian demining." This term was coined in October 1988 when the UN called for funding to solve the landmine crisis in Afghanistan. The goal of such demining is not solely to remove landmines, but also to resettle former minefields, reopen schools, allow land to be cultivated once again and to effect the construction of new infrastructure.
Adopt-a-Minefield supports UN efforts directly and indirectly in six countries: Afghanistan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Mozambique and Vietnam. It is partnering with other organizations on various demining projects in Abkhazia, Angola, Iraq, Colombia and Laos.
To date, the campaign has raised nearly $17 million for mine clearance and survivor assistance, clearing more than 300 minefields or more than 21 million square meters of land. Adopt-A-Minefield has benefited tremendously from the patronage of its Goodwill Ambassadors and Patrons Paul McCartney and Heather Mills McCartney. The couple was instrumental in founding the campaign's United Kingdom branch in 2001, and have championed the landmine cause tirelessly, making generous donations and traveling widely to raise awareness of the landmine issue.
What more needs to be done?
The immediate needs of landmine victims must be met through the provision of emergency medical care and rehabilitation programs. However, their long-term needs must be considered: programs for socio-economic reintegration and establishment of rights for people with disabilities must be implemented. Many survivors do not have access to rehabilitation and reintegration facilities, and funds are urgently needed for local and global organizations to continue operating in many countries.
Comprehensive educational programs must be provided for communities to raise awareness about the risks and dangers associated with landmines. At the governmental level, nations must ensure that minefields are fenced off and marked. More pressure needs to be exerted on governments to destroy all remaining mines in stockpiles and states not party to the Mine Ban Treaty need to be encouraged to ratify it, and upon doing so, to fully implement the provisions of the treaty. This includes: submitting transparency reports, meeting deadlines for mine clearance, and providing assistance to survivors. Non-state actors, too, must be pressured to renounce the use of landmines.
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February 2006
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