Lethal Mines Continue To Kill Minors
Two brothers loved to
visit the quiet pasture with their goats and sheep. However, they were
unaware that this enjoyable hobby would be fatal for them. Suddenly,
they slipped in the mud and were trapped by a hidden landmine which went
off with a deadly bang. They were killed on the spot.
The incident occurred when the world celebrated the
20 th anniversary of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. The
victims were playing in a remote village across the line of control (Lo
C), the disputed border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
Both countries have been accused of the mass production and excessive
use of landmines. They also refuse to join the international treaty
which binds states never to use, develop, produce, stockpile or transfer
antipersonnel landmines.
This year the international community is celebrating
“Lend your leg for a mine-free world” campaign to mark its commitment
to achieve a mine-free world. Campaigners are asking people to join them
on the 4 th of April, a U.N. Day for Mine Action and Mine Awareness. On
this day people all over the world are asked to roll up their trouser
legs to show solidarity with the survivors of landmines and other
explosive remnants of military conflicts.
The strife for the abolition of landmines has
witnessed a significant progress in the past two decades. The most
prominent example of these efforts is the 1997 Convention on the
Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of
Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction. The resulting treaty
calls each member state to destroy its stocks of anti-personnel mines
within four years of membership, and to clear all active antipersonnel
landmines within 10 years.
Today, 159 states have joined the Ottawa Treaty,
also known as the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. This means that
eighty percent of all countries have banned landmines. Most of them no
longer produce them, and millions of mines have been cleared from
conflict zones like Cambodia, Iraq, Egypt, Angola, Mozambique, Bosnia,
Croatia, Serbia, Cyprus, Lebanon, Sudan and Afghanistan.
After the Mine Ban Convention more than 42 million
anti-personnel mines have been destroyed by the member states. Over
10,000 landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs) have been neutralised in
Sri Lanka after the recent peace developments. Around a million people
in Libya have been secured from the threat of deadly landmines and UXOs.
Across the world, about 100,000 mines are defused annually.
However, the struggle for the existence of a world
without mines is not yet over because they still threaten thousands of
people in various regions. Around 37 countries have not signed the
Treaty. It is unfortunate that some of the major countries still remain
outside of the Treaty. These include China, Russia, the USA, as well as
Somalia, Myanmar, United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Egypt, India, Pakistan,
Israel and Iraq. Their lack of commitment to the Treaty jeopardises
global humanitarian efforts for the eradication of fatal landmines and
other related devices.
Landmine accidents are one of the most appalling
problems of the contemporary world. Landmine Action, a UK campaign
group, estimates that every year, there are up to 20,000 casualties
caused by landmines, which is around 1,500 incidents a month, or 40 a
day. Other estimates say that there are 135 million landmines and UXOs
spread over 70 countries. In other words, a landmine goes off every 26
minutes somewhere in the world, killing or maiming someone.
The UN predicts that even if no new mines are
planted from now on, it would take about 1,100 years to defuse the
millions of mines planted across the globe. Demining is a very
challenging and dangerous job. One the one hand, it risks the lives of
experts involved in the process. For instance, only in India 797
soldiers have become victims in clearance operations since 2002. On the
other hand, the financial cost of minefield clearance is mind-blowing.
The estimated cost of defusing a mine is $1,300 which is considerably
higher than the production cost. The UNICEF estimates the land mine
manufacturing cost is $3-$10 per unit. Moreover, the number of amputees
in the world has increased to 2, 50,000 people. Rehabilitation of these
victims would cost $750 million.
Globally speaking, Africa is the most severely
affected region where twenty-two countries face the landmine problem.
Fifteen countries in Asia, 11 in Europe and 8 in the Americas are
affected by the landmines. Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined
countries in the world with 640,000 mines laid in since 1970s. The
Institute of War and War Reporting reveals that every month landmines
cause 50 casualties in this war-torn country.
Its neighbours Pakistan and India are considered two
of the major producers of anti-personnel landmines. The excessive use
of landmines and other devices has been reported in Andhra Pradesh,
Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and
West Bengal and other Indian states, including Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan is a large producer of landmines and
exports them to Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Somalia, and other countries. It also uses landmines in its Baluchistan
province and Taliban dominated northern parts.
At present, both India and Pakistan have also
heavily laid mines during the 2001-2 army build up on their
international borders and along the Line of Control in disputed Jammu
and Kashmir. However, after the normalization, these landlines have not
been cleared off and pose danger to civilians, mainly women and
children. In particular, along the LoC civilians repeatedly suffer from
these treacherous landmines. Hundreds of people have lost their limbs in
various areas near the LoC in the past two decades in both parts of
Kashmir.
Civilian victims suffer from psychological and
physical trauma caused by landmines. “My life has become a hell. I have
lost my vital body parts and am not able to walk, eat and see,” says
Aziz, a resident of a border village.
Living in utter poverty, he cannot afford to
purchase the artificial limbs. There are many more victims of landmines
that have the same tale of grief, frustration and ordeal.
These landmines related tragedies in various parts
of the world call for concrete actions and coordinated efforts of the
governments and civil society to eliminate deadly landmines. Today,
there is a dire need to accelerate humanitarian efforts to strengthen
the Mine Ban Community. Promoting risk education and using efficient
technological solutions for the clearance of landmines and UXOs can save
people.
(The writer is founder of Press For Peace (PFP),
an independent organisation working for promotion of peace and
sustainable development. He can be contacted via: www.pressforpeace.org.uk )
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