Hope in a mine-ravaged region

by: Jenny Noyce

Afghanistan: The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) congratulated Afghanistan for its commitment to the ban on landmines. They also pushed for the promotion of landmine prohibition amongst the country’s Asian neighbours. The campaign is in Kabul for a regional meeting, which was opened on the 27 March by Afghan Vice-President Mr. Amin Arsalah.

According to Mary Wareham, Global Research Coordinator for the ICBL’s Landmine Monitor initiative, Afghan leadership is important because it is one of the world’s most mine-contaminated countries and in much of Asia antipersonnel landmines are still produced and laid without punishment. Afghanistan signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty on 11 September 2002 and is one of the few Central Asian countries to do so. Only two of Afghanistan’s neighbours have also signed: Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Donations for mine action in the country have quadrupled in recent years, but according to Shohab Hakimi, chairperson of the Afghan Campaign to Ban Landmines, they still need sustained, multi-year funding to help maintain their high clearance rate and to address the needs of landmine survivors. To date approximately 260 square kilometres have been cleared.

However, landmines still contaminate all but two of Afghanistan’s provinces including areas in towns, villages, grazing lands, and roads. In Afghanistan, many mine casualties die before reaching medical facitilities and of last year’s recorded casualties about half were children and 89% were civilians.

Ceremonial landmine destructions have occurred in Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat, and Kandahar.

Worldwide 150 countries have joined the convention prohibiting all use, production, trade, and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines, but the United States, India, Pakistan, Nepal, China, South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam have not. Currently China has the world’s largest stock of approximately 110 million antipersonnel mines.

Source: ICBL