| U.S. Campaign to Ban
Landmines Email Newsletter In this edition. . .
Detailed
Minefield and Cluster Bomb Target Site Information Must Be Made
Available to Protect Civilian Populations and Reconstruction Personnel Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) calls on the Coalition Forces to immediately release to civilians and those involved with peacekeeping and reconstruction detailed maps of known mine fields and cluster bomb drop sites. To date, the large-scale maps released through the Humanitarian Operations Center (HOC) do not provide adequate information to assess Iraqi populations at risk or provide security information for humanitarian aid workers. “The safety of civilians is compromised and the effectiveness of programs providing demining, surveying and mine awareness is delayed until detailed maps are circulated,” said Dr. Adam Kushner, a PHR researcher in Iraq and an expert in landmine survivor assistance... The risk of injury and death from landmines and
unexploded cluster bombs and other weapons is well documented in
post-conflict settings. Civilians, US and allied troops, and future
peacekeepers and deminers
For the full news release, see Urge Your Legislations to Co-Sponsor Landmine Victim Assistance Bills See www.banminesusa.org/urg_act/967_victim_bill.htm for how to speak up. Taliban
Ambush Afghan Deminers in Third Attack KABUL- Taliban gunmen ambushed an ambulance belonging to an Afghan demining agency, shooting and wounding two people in the third attack on deminers in three weeks, a local government official said on Tuesday. Tammy Hall, external relations officer for the United Nations mine action centre, said the attack on an Afghan Technical Consultants (ATC) team took place in the Shah Joy district of the troubled southeastern province of Zabul late on Monday afternoon. “They were ambushed,” she said. “The driver has been hit with four bullets and has some serious wounds.” Baaz Mohammad, district officer in Shah Joy, blamed remnants of the hardline Taliban movement for the attack. The attack came just two days after another driver was killed and a passenger wounded when gunmen fired on a car belonging to another Afghan demining agency in Wardak province to the southwest of the capital Kabul. On April 22, two deminers were wounded when their car was shot at on the main highway from Kabul to Pakistan. Hall said the U.N. would be looking closely at providing extra security for deminers or even suspending operations, but stressed that demining operations were vital to clear millions of mines left after 23 years of war in Afghanistan. “We are going to assess the situation,” she said. “Some security will be put in place. We are going to determine if we have to cease our operations. We are concerned about the security of our staff.” The radical Taliban militia were ousted from power in a U.S.-led war late in 2001, but appear to be regrouping and have been blamed for a series of violent attacks in recent months. Afghan authorities blame the Taliban for the murder of a Salvadorean working for the International Committee of the Red Cross in late March, and for killing an Italian national who was touring southern Afghanistan last month. Mines
and Cluster Bombs Continue War on Iraqis U.S. DISGRACEFULLY REFUSES TO JOIN INTERNATIONAL TREATY FOR the people of Iraq, the horror and bloodshed
of war are not over. They will persist for years because of a silent,
deadly peril: land mines and unexploded munitions. In Iraqi Kurdistan
alone, a mine kills or maims about one person a day. The daily toll
in lives and limbs argues eloquently against the use of these random
killers. Yet the Iraq is one of the most heavily mined countries, with 8 million to 12 million estimated to be still in the ground. Many were planted by the former Iraqi regime itself, but nearly 28,000 were planted by the United States during the first gulf war. Although U.S. troops transported 90,000 more land mines to Iraq this time, none was deployed — perhaps because of global opposition. But troops did use another time-release killer. Some 1,500 cluster bombs were dropped by air, and more by ground and missile. The canisters explode and release hundreds of submunitions that are supposed to detonate on impact, but up to 30 percent do not. Coming in various sizes and colors, they can attract curious children — and explode when touched. For this reason, many organizations argue for a moratorium on cluster munitions, at least until the dud rate can be reduced. But at least these weapons are not designed to be stealth killers, as land mines are. The United States had been on track to sign the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty by 2006, joining 146 other governments. But last year the Defense Department recommended abandoning efforts to join. In the Western Hemisphere, Cuba is the only other non-signatory. The treaty is making a difference: Only 14 countries produce land mines today, compared with 55 a decade ago. Regrettably, the United States still is one of them. Killing innocent people was not part of the goal in Iraq — but people will continue to die from land mines and cluster munitions. Joining the Mine Ban Treaty would show good faith in a world increasingly skeptical of U.S. aims. U.S.
to Implement Three-Year Mine Action Program in Iraq The United States is implementing a planned three-year, $25 million humanitarian mine action assistance program in Iraq. This five-point program will include:
Initially, the Pentagon's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance will coordinate mine action projects through an emergency mine action team. Composed initially of Department of State and Department of Defense personnel, the team will seek to identify and train Iraqis to assume mine action policy and oversight responsibilities throughout the country. For further information, contact Mr. Donald F. Patierno at (202) 647-1110 For more information about the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines or to donate on-line, please visit www.banminesusa.org |
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