| U.S.
Campaign to Ban Landmines In this edition. . .
Congress Blocks New Landmine Production In a last minute decision at the end of 2005, the U.S. Congress has told the Pentagon not to begin production of any new landmines before studying the possible indiscriminate consequences for deploying this weapon. The U.S. has not begun production of a new landmine since 1997. According to budget documents submitted by the administration, the Defense Department had planned to make a decision in December 2005 on production of a particular new landmine called “Spider.” However, Congress delayed the decision by including a provision in the fiscal year 2006 military (“defense”) appropriations bill, passed on December 31, 2005, that requires the Secretary of the Army to conduct a review of new landmine technologies and report on the possible indiscriminate effects of these new systems before any production decision is made. The idea for developing the Spider system grows out of a desire by the Clinton administration to develop alternatives to landmines. Instead of joining the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty banning use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of antipersonnel mines, President Clinton initiated a program within the Pentagon to identify possible alternatives to antipersonnel landmines in order to “end reliance on [antipersonnel mines] as soon as possible.” In May 1996, the U.S. began a search for alternatives to antipersonnel landmines that would enable the military to agree to a complete ban on the use of landmines. Proposals for alternative weapons were supposed to be completed by 2006. The Bush administration abandoned President Clinton’s commitment to eventually eliminate use of antipersonnel mines, but continued the research and development program looking for alternatives to conventional landmines. The Pentagon has spent more than $320 million on researching alternatives to conventional antipersonnel mines since 1997. The Spider mine system alone has already cost U.S. taxpayers $130 million. This alternative to antipersonnel landmines research program was tasked with developing technologies to replace conventional antipersonnel landmines that cannot distinguish between an innocent civilian and an enemy combatant. Congress overwhelmingly supports developing alternatives to antipersonnel mines, but the devil is in the details. Spider landmines differ from "conventional" mines because they are designed to detonate in a variety of ways. Spider mines can explode both through command-detonation (when a human operator decides when to explode the mine) or through conventional victim-activation (when a victim detonates the weapon by stepping on or picking up the mine). An operator would have the ability to turn the switch one way for command detonation and the other way for victim-detonation. Once a soldier flips a switch, Spider would become a conventional victim-activated antipersonnel mine that cannot tell the difference between the boot of a solider and the foot of a child. New landmines designed to permit victim-activation meet the definition of an indiscriminate weapon, and would be illegal under the Ottawa Mine-Ban Treaty. While equipping Spider with command-detonated capabilities can be seen as more discriminate than conventional anti-personnel mines, the inclusion of a switch allowing victim-activation is particularly alarming to members of Congress. It was the inclusion of this “battlefield-override” switch allowing indiscriminate detonation that led Congress to request the study. The 500 U.S.-based organizations that make up the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmine worked to alert policymakers about possible indiscriminate features of new landmine alternatives for more than five years, and continue to meet with policymakers on this issue regularly. The recent action by Congress is a step in the direction of good government and effective congressional oversight. When appropriating funds for alternatives to antipersonnel landmines, Congress did not intend to fund development of another conventional landmine, this time equipped with a switch. Legislators must continue to provide oversight on this issue to insure that the U.S. uses its ample technological ability to ensure that innocent lives are spared. The issue of new landmine development is only delayed. The issue will come up again once the study is submitted to Congress. The USCBL and its supporters will continue to monitor the issue and oppose any new production of landmines. Please help stop new landmine production for good. To write members of Congress on the issue, go to: http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8012591 <http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8012591> Scott Stedjan Journalists victims of deadliest weapon Roadside bombs have claimed more than half of U.S. military casualties By Robert H. Reid, Associated Press Inside Bay Area BAGHDAD, Iraq - The weapon that seriously wounded ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt is among the deadliest in the insurgents' arsenal - the dreaded roadside bombs, or improvised explosive devices. Hidden in everything from garbage to vehicles to even roadkill, the thunderous blasts from concealed explosives have become a hallmark of the Iraq war. Suicide car bombers often grab headlines with their mass casualty attacks, many against civilians. But it is the IED soldiers fear most. More than one-third of the 62 deaths among U.S. forces in Iraq in January were caused by IEDs, according to U.S. officials' statements. Since the war began in March 2003, IEDs have accounted for at least 894 of the 1,735 military deaths by hostile fire and more than 9,200 of the more than 16,500 wounded, according to Pentagon figures through Jan. 21. According to iCasualties, a Web site that tracks coalition deaths in Iraq, at least 695 U.S. military personnel have been killed by IED attacks since the war began, making it the leading cause of death. Powerful blasts send out shock waves that can kill or maim soldiers equipped with the best body armor. Few details of the attack were available, but the pattern appeared all too familiar to the thousands of U.S. troops, security contractors, diplomats and journalists who run the risk of sudden and violent death every time they venture outside guarded compounds. Since roadside bombs debuted here early in the conflict, insurgents have refined their techniques - not only for constructing the devices but concealing and detonating them to achieve maximum effect. U.S. soldiers have found IEDs in soil, in garbage piles, soft drink cans and even in the carcasses of dead animals near the road. To read the whole article, go to: http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/news/ci_3460633 New US/Canada E-group for the International Network of Youth Against Landmines Become a member or a subscriber to the first US/Canada E-group for the International Network of Youth Against Landmines at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inyal_uscanada/ . Once signed up, you will gain easy access to all the latest info about the US and Canadian campaign to ban landmines, including the latest newletters, upcoming events, grants and workshops around the world. The e-group is designed to establish a permanent link of communication between concerned youths in America and Canada based on the spirit of good will & sharing. In doing so, we aim to offer everyone campaign tools, to share and learn from each other's experiences, and effectively achieve positive outcomes through concerted and united efforts with each other, rather than acting alone. Lastly, we recognize that not everyone can meet in person all the time. This e-group thus offers members and subscribers a way to keep in touch and network with each other, in a consistent yet convenient manner. Please join and help us work together to find solutions to end the threat of this indiscriminate and merciless weapon of war. "Disarm:" The Faces of Landmine Proliferation Disarm, one of the films in the documentary feature competition at this week's documentary film festival (screening Thursday, Feb. 16, 10 a.m.), takes us around the world, through Afghanistan, Bosnia, Columbia, Thailand, Iraq, and Burma showing the devastation of the anti-personnel landmine. Landmines are cheap to produce, easy to install, and are very effective weapons. However, months, years, and decades after a war is over mines continue to kill civilians worldwide. Watching this brings a new awareness of the extent of the threat landmines pose. Some of the facts are mind-boggling: The biggest industry in Afghanistan is the manufacture of prosthetic legs -- partially because of landmines. And yet still to this day, more than 40 countries have not agreed to a total ban on the use and production of landmines. The United States is one of them. While being very informative, this film is also very well made. Smooth camera operation, clean audio, and tight editing make Disarm very “watch-able.” The cinematography is absolutely stunning, from aerial shots of Afghanistan to helmet cams of de-miners in action. This is even more impressive knowing it's filmmaker Brian Liu debut in the medium. While often the scenery is beautiful, there is plenty to make your stomach turn and your heart reach out. We are given a front row seat to the ongoing devastation of anti-personnel landmines. Disarm was created by Mary Wareham of Next Step Productions and Liu of Toolbox DC. They take their cameras and experiences out into the mine-infested regions of the world, illustrating the tedious work necessary to achieve a landmine-free world. They travel to places such as “the Devil’s Garden” in the Shomali Valley north of Kabul, where they meet one man who planted some 3,500 mines himself, and yet in an ironic twist of fate he is now helping to de-mine the area. And then off to the Columbian jungle where a seemingly unending civil war has left a civilian population decimated by landmines. While the film's overarching messages are subtle and organic, one point stands out: It is going takes more than just a piece of paper to rid the world of landmines. Stockpiles need to be destroyed and governments like those in the U.S. and China need to agree to stop putting them in the ground. To read the whole article, go to: http://www.newwest.net/index.php/city/article/6168/C8/L8 Physicians Against Land Mines: Petition for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Over five hundred million people, nearly 10 percent of the world’s population, have a disability. Many of these individuals face marginalization, exclusion and discrimination in their daily lives. Existing legal protections are not sufficient to safeguard the rights of people with disabilities, especially in developing countries where approximately two thirds of people with disabilities live. As a result, poverty, forced institutionalization and barriers to access and inclusion in employment, housing, education, transportation, emergency assistance and other services remain a reality for millions. It’s time for change. http://www.conventionyes.org/content.cfm?ID=585C76&iu=5B5D77745E4E Armed Conflict Invades Everyday Life SOTOMAYOR, Colombia - On a cool morning in December, Jorge Pascual Mora rose at dawn and hiked up a steep hillside to collect firewood. The 71-year-old peasant reached the crest and climbed over a wooden fence. He took one more step. It was his last. "He hit the land mine and died here," said Jose Mello, a neighbor who lives a few miles outside this cloud-shrouded town in the mountains of southwestern Colombia. "His death was awful." Mines are among the many perils in this lush and strategic area where government troops, right-wing militia fighters and leftist insurgents continue a four-decades-long civil war. Local officials say at least 14 residents were killed or injured by land mines and unexploded shells and other ordnance in the past 12 months. The victims include a 44-year-old taxi driver hit by a roadside blast, a 17-year-old girl shredded by shrapnel as she walked to work and an 8-year-old boy whose fingers were blown off after he picked up a stray grenade. Schools have been closed, pastures lie empty and roads and footpaths have been abandoned -- all because of the increasing number of homemade mines and booby traps sown by the guerrillas. "The rebels lay the mines so other (armed) groups don't enter their territory," explained Mauricio Salazar, Sotomayor's human-rights official. "But it affects the civilian population. They don't care about civilians." The perilous countryside outside Sotomayor is a microcosm of Colombia, where casualties caused by mines and stray ordnance have skyrocketed in recent years. More than 1,000 civilians and government troops were wounded or killed by land mines and unexploded ordnance in Colombia last year, compared to 53 in 1999, according to government figures. But the true number is much higher because many blast victims live in isolated areas and never report their injuries, officials say. Experts attribute the growing number of incidents to the Colombian military's offensive against two leftist insurgencies, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the smaller National Liberation Army, known as the ELN. To read the whole article, go to: http://www.sunherald.com/ Administration Cuts Funding Request for Humanitarian Demining The United States leads the world in donations to efforts to clear mines, provide assistance to victims, and educate communities on the risks of landmines; its contributions represent close to half the worldwide total for such initiatives. Since 1993, the U.S. has donated over $1 billion, funding research and development on new demining technologies. When announcing its new policy in 2004, the Bush administration pledged to increase the funds available to support the State Department’s portion of the U.S. Humanitarian Mine Action Program by an additional 50% over fiscal year (FY) 2003 baseline levels. This would raise the level to about $70 million per year. At $64.3 million, the State Department’s portion of the FY 2007 budget falls short of the $70 million target. When the president fails to live up to his pledge, the Congress should step in and act. To read the whole budget memo, go to: http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1720&issue_id=9 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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