Year 2009: Record year for de-mining
JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 27 (IRIN) - Demining operations in 2009 cleared
the largest area of land in a single year since the landmark 1999 Mine
Ban Treaty (MBT) was implemented, and the lowest annual casualty rate
was also recorded, said the 2010 Landmine Monitor report released last
week.
"In 2009, 3,956 new landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW)
casualties were recorded, the lowest number for any year since the
Monitor began reporting in 1999... [however,] because of incomplete data
collection the actual number of casualties is certainly significantly
higher," the Monitor said in a statement.
The Landmine Monitor, an oversight initiative by civil society, keeps
a watchful eye on implementation of the MBT and compliance with its
terms, which seek to end the use of antipersonnel mines by states and
non-state armed groups, and destroy all stockpiles of the weapons. Its
editorial board is drawn from five organizations: Mines Action Canada,
Action On Armed Violence, Handicap International, Human Rights Watch,
and Norwegian People's Aid.
"Mine action programmes cleared at least 198 sq km of mined areas in
2009, by far the highest annual total ever recorded ... resulting in the
destruction of more than 255,000 antipersonnel mines and 37,000
antivehicle mines. At least 359 sq km of former battle areas were
cleared in 2009, disposing of 2.2 million ERW.
Eighty percent of recorded clearance occurred in Afghanistan,
Cambodia, Croatia, Iraq and Sri Lanka," the statement said.
The record clearance could be attributed to "momentum, political will
and the stability of the funding mechanism [for mine action]", Mark
Hiznay, the final editor of Landmine Monitor 2010, told IRIN.
The Landmine Monitor noted that "International funding for mine
action remained stable despite the global economic downturn.
International support for mine action totalled US$449 million, the
fourth consecutive year that funding has surpassed $400 million."
The United States, although not a signatory to the treaty signed by
80 percent of the world's countries, provided $119 million of the total.
Afghanistan was the single largest beneficiary of mine action funds,
receiving $107 million.
Hiznay said most of the mine clearance in Afghanistan was
humanitarian, with some demining occurring in areas where coalition
forces were battling the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, but "NATO forces are more
concerned by IEDs [improvised explosive devices]."
The use of landmines is diminishing and the only government forces
thought still to use them is Myanmar, although "there were disturbing
allegations of use of mines by the armed forces of Turkey, a State Party
[to the MBT], which the [Turkish] government is investigating," the
Landmine Monitor said. For the first time, Russia dropped from the list
of states using landmines.
Armed groups in Afghanistan, Colombia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and
Yemen continued to employ the weapon.
The destruction of stockpiles in 86 states, numbering about 45
million antipersonnel mines, was completed, but "Ukraine joined Belarus,
Greece and Turkey in failing to meet their treaty-mandated stockpile
destruction deadlines, placing all four in serious violation of the Mine
Ban Treaty," the Landmine Monitor noted.
Hiznay said victim assistance needed to improve, but acknowledged
this was the hardest aspect of the MBT, as "it involves a lifetime of
support and it is not just a question of handing someone a prosthetic."
"While survivors know their needs and rights best, it is
disappointing that survivors or their representative organizations were
involved in victim assistance implementation in less than half of
affected countries," the Monitor's Casualties and Victim Assistance
Editor, Katleen Maes of Handicap International, said in the statement.
The Tenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty will be
held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 29 November to 3 December 2010.
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