PRESS CONFERENCE ON CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES

At a Headquarters press conference this morning, sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Canada, Stephen Goose, Programme Director of the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch, and Jody Williams, a 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, told correspondents that there had been significant progress in the campaign to rid the world of anti-personnel landmines, but that much work remained to be done.  The briefing was held to launch “Landmine Monitor Report 2001:  Towards a Mine-Free World”.

Ms. Williams, coordinator for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, said she was shaken by the 11 September terrorist attacks on the United States.  At the same time, it struck her that people who lived near anti-personnel landmine areas faced the same type of worry about imminent terrorist attacks.

She said she had just returned from the Third Meeting of States Parties to the 1997 Treaty on Landmines in Managua, Nicaragua, and was impressed that nearly 100 governments attended -– more than the number who attended last year's meeting in Geneva, which was held in a significantly calmer atmosphere.  This, Ms. Williams said, showed the commitment of governments to rid the world of landmines.

Mr. Goose, who served as the Chief Editor of the Report, said it illustrated the decline in use and production of landmines, and that clearance efforts and awareness programmes were on the rise.  The number of countries producing the weapons in recent years had dropped from 55 to 14.  In the past year, two nations  -- Yugoslavia and Turkey -- stopped production and pledged to sign and ratify the 1997 Treaty.

Currently, 121 countries had signed and ratified the Treaty, while another  21 had signed but not yet ratified it.  In recent weeks, Nigeria, Chile and Eritrea, which had been major users and producers, became full State parties.  As recently as mid-2000, Mr. Goose said, Eritrea had been using anti-personnel land mines.

Further, he explained, a de facto ban on landmine exports had continued.  Since 1995, there had not been a single case of a country exporting a landmine to another country.  In addition, stockpiles had diminished, with 55 countries destroying more than 27 million landmines in recent years.  More than 5 million were destroyed last year.  "These are mines that are taken out of arsenals and blown up, never having the chance to have a victim", Mr. Goose said.

About $224 million had been spent on mine clearance, awareness and victims last year, which was an increase of $19 million over the previous year, and which brought the total of anti-landmine expenditures since 1993 to over $1 billion. And the number of new victims of landmines had been steadily decreasing, from a high of 26,000 a year to between 15,000 and 20,000 a year.

Warning that "the news is by no means all good", he said that 15,000-20,000 victims a year was "still an appalling number".

There was a strong possibility, he said, that Uganda, which was a State party to the Treaty, used anti-personnel landmines against Rwandan forces in combat in

the Democratic Republic of the Congo in July 2000.  Although there was no definitive evidence, an investigation into the situation was ordered at the Managua meeting.  Uganda said it was in compliance, Mr. Goose said, and it welcomed the investigation.

In addition, he said, in Tajikistan, which had acceded to the Treaty, Russian forces acknowledged placing mines on the border with Afghanistan to dissuade Taliban forces, as well as drug smugglers and gun-runners.  If the Tajik Government knew of and supported the Russian plans, he said, that could be a violation of the Treaty.  Mr. Goose said there was also concern that if the United States, which had not signed the Treaty, established camps in Tajikistan, putting down mines could be construed as a Tajik violation.

Afghanistan, which could be the site of military action, was one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, Mr. Goose said.  Mines were spread through the country, but the border areas with Pakistan and Iran, where civilians were expected to flee towards in case of military strikes, were particularly affected.  Also, any ground forces which entered the country were also likely to face landmines.

Asked by a correspondent if pending military strikes in Afghanistan would have any affect on mine-clearance efforts there, Mr. Goose said that all clearance programmes, like most humanitarian programmes, had been suspended.  The Northern Alliance rebel forces had used landmines in the past, he said, while the Taliban had outlawed their use in 1998.  At the Managua meeting, he said, governments of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were asked to tell the United States that any military operation with them could not include landmines.

The United States, Mr. Goose continued, had not used anti-personnel land mines since the Gulf War.  It was an "open question" if they would use them in Afghanistan, he said, and added that special operations forces of the United States military had such mines at their disposal.

Responding to a question, Ms. Williams said there was a "grave concern" there would be an increase in the number of mine victims since civilians running from military strikes would most likely run towards the borders -– areas with significant numbers of mines.

Awareness campaigns, she said, meant little in emergency situations.  "When you're fleeing, and fleeing into a different area, a lot of education flies out the window", Ms. Williams said.  Often, she continued, marked areas simply have yellow "crime scene" tape around them, which could easily come undone when thousands of people were walking near it.

Asked if the report specifically broke down the victims of landmines,

Mr. Goose said it differed from country to country, but "globally, it's clear that women and children make up a significant portion of victims".

Another question was about donor fatigue.  Mr. Goose said that while it had not yet been seen, it was always a worry.  When the Treaty was signed in 1997, he said, many countries made five-year pledges -- commitments that would expire next year.  There was hope to get new commitments at the Managua meeting, but none were secured.

Ms. Williams, speaking about a recent visit to Croatia, said she saw people living near the country's Dalmatian Coast who planted fields immediately next to mine fields.  "Every day these people are trying to survive, and every day wonder if they step off the path, will they lose a limb, lose their life", she said.

The new Government there had given an "unheard of" $25 million of its own money to mine clearance, recognizing that this was "not just a humanitarian act, it's a development issue".  She expressed hope that the international community would begin to support clearance efforts in Croatia.

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