| U.S.
Campaign to Ban Landmines In this edition. . .
New House Bill Introduced to Ban U.S. Procurement of Landmines
The U.S. is one of just thirteen countries left in the world that produce or reserve the right to produce antipersonnel mines. The world expects more from the U.S., and so do the people of this country. Weapons that do not distinguish between combatant and civilians are inhumane and should not be produced by the United States or any country. Landmines are antiquated weapons that cause unnecessary harm to both civilian and combatant. It is long past time for the U.S. to join with the rest of the world and ban the procurement of these weapons. USCBL sent a letter to the House urging members to cosponsor H.R. 6178. To read the letter, go to: http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=2120&issue_id=9 . Along Came a Spider By Christopher Moraff When representatives from more than 100 nations gathered in Geneva late last month to celebrate a decade of international cooperation to rid the world of landmines, the United States was conspicuously absent. Indeed, the United States has always opposed those international efforts -- and it is now on the cusp of actively reviving its own use of landmines. In 1997, U.S. president Bill Clinton shocked his allies and the world by refusing to sign on to the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty -- arguing that its parameters were too restrictive -- despite the urging of such senior military advisers as General Norman Schwarzkopf, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General David Jones, and former Supreme NATO Commander General John Gavin to sign. The treaty -- which by 2006 has been ratified by 151 countries -- prohibits the use, production, stockpiling or exportation of antipersonnel landmines and mandates that countries clear their territories of mines and destroy stockpiles. In 1999, when the treaty came into force, the United States unceremoniously took its seat among the other holdouts, which included Iran, China, and Cuba. Despite its refusal to join Ottawa, the United States hasn’t used landmines in the field since the 1991 Gulf War and hasn’t produced them since 1997. Under U.S. policy set by Clinton, the United States would ratify the treaty by 2006 if suitable alternatives to antipersonnel mines could be developed, a commitment which was subsequently abandoned in 2004 by President Bush. "Landmines still have a valid and essential role in protecting United States forces in military operations," the State Department said in a February 2004 policy statement. To read the full article, go to: http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=12075 . From mines to vines: USCBL Steering Committee member Heidi Kühn, Founder of Roots of Peace, blogs live from Afghanistan Heidi Kühn, founder of Roots of Peace, recently met with President Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan. Roots of Peace, a humanitarian organization dedicated to eradicating landmines worldwide and rehabilitating the land, has been working in Afghanistan since Spring 2002. To read more about Heidi Kühn's visit with President Karzai, go to: http://newrootsinafghanistan.blogspot.com/ . To learn more about the work of Roots of Peace in Afghanistan, go to: http://www.rootsofpeace.org/demine/afghanistan.htm U.S. Congratulates Macedonia on Success in Clearing Land Mines By Mary Specht WASHINGTON -- The United States congratulated Macedonia September 29 for successfully clearing land mines from its territory and thus joining "the growing number of countries that are no longer significantly affected by land mines leftover from past conflicts." The United States contributed $1.6 million to humanitarian mine action in Macedonia through the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance by matching contributions made by other donor nations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), corporations and individuals, according to a State Department announcement. The aid sent six teams of mine-removal experts to Macedonia from Bosnia-Herzegovina, and helped Macedonia build its own capacity to clear mines. The funding also supported the training of 60 mine-clearance personnel, including 16 specialists in disposal of explosive ordnance. The United States also provided the Macedonians about $500,000 worth of mine-removal equipment, including four-wheel drive vehicles, metal detectors, radios, medical gear, a computer and other office equipment. In addition, the United States contributed funds to local Macedonian Battle Area Clearance Teams. To read the full article, go to: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=October&x=20061002155400lmthceps0.922497 . Israel discloses minefields in Lebanon
Israel on Monday handed over maps of minefields it laid in southern Lebanon during its nearly two-decade occupation, meeting a key requirement of the U.N. cease-fire resolution that ended this summer's war with Hezbollah militants, a U.N. statement said. Disclosing the locations of several hundred thousand mines that were laid during Israel's 1982-2000 occupation of a border zone in southern Lebanon has been one of the main demands of the Lebanese government and Hezbollah guerrillas. Israel has provided maps twice before following the 2000 withdrawal of the border zone and in 2004 as part of a prisoner swap with Hezbollah. But both the Lebanese government and Hezbollah repeatedly demanded that Israel give full disclosure. Israel's army gave the maps to peacekeepers Monday during a meeting of Lebanese, Israeli and U.N. generals at the headquarters of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon in the border town of Naqoura, the statement said. To read the full article, go to: http://www.northjersey.com/page.php? . Lebanon: UN Officials Fear Unexploded Ordnance Problem Could Worsen with Winter United Nations de-mining officials, already worried by up to 1 million pieces of unexploded ordnance in southern Lebanon left over from Israel's 34-day war with Hizbollah, voiced concern today that the problem could worsen as winter weather embeds the munitions deeper into the ground. "This will make the job more dangerous since it becomes difficult to detect and clear the suspected contaminated areas," UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Spokesman Alexander Ivanko said of the unexploded ordnance (UXOs) and cluster bomb units (CBUs) still remaining from this summer's conflict. "UNIFIL de-mining teams and UXO disposal units are trying to remove as many as they can before the winter season," he added, when the soil becomes softer due to rain. To read the full article, go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20210&Cr=Lebanon&Cr1=ordnance . Area Teen Makes Global Difference SOUTH HADLEY - It was love at first sight with Chelsea P. Fernandes and South Hadley, the land mine-sniffing dog she raised $20,000 to train to work in Bosnia. Seventeen-year-old Fernandes got to pick out South Hadley from among various dogs in training in Konjic, Bosnia, to detect land mines while she was on a weeklong trip to Bosnia in late July. She said South Hadley licked her fingers when she poked them through into his cage. "I love that dog," she said. "He was just so cute." Fernandes traveled to Bosnia with the Marshall Legacy Institute, the Virginia-based organization that sponsors the Children Against Mines program for which she raised funds. While in Sarajevo, Fernandes was presented with an award of recognition by Dr. Bisera Turkovic, Bosnia's ambassador to the United States. "It's a beautiful country, despite the fact that there are still buildings with shell marks on them," Fernandes said of Bosnia on her first trip out of the country. While there, Fernandes was able to meet other children and victims of land mines. To read the full article, go to: http://www.masslive.com/springfield/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1160813819134820.xml&coll=1 . . For more information on the US Campaign to Ban Landmines, go to www.banminesusa.org U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines To make a donation to the US Campaign to Ban Landmines go to: www.banminesusa.org/support/body.html and click on Donate. |
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