U.S. Policy

Steps the US Can Take to Sign the Mine Ban Treaty

To date, the United States has not joined the Mine Ban Treaty despite being a leader in demining and victim assistance efforts. Former President Bill Clinton indicated that the United States will join the Mine Ban Treaty in 2006 as long as U.S. efforts to find “alternatives” to antipersonnel landmines are successful.

The Bush Administration conducted a formal review of US landmine policy starting in the summer of 2001. The new policy, which was announced at the State Department in late February of 2004, represents a major rollback of US progess on the issue.

In summary:

• The US has now abandoned its plans to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, by 2006 (as was the Clinton plan), or ever.
• The use of US self-destructing mines is now permitted indefinitely anywhere in the world.
• The use of long-lived (or “dumb” or “persistent”) antipersonnel mines is now permissible until 2010.

There are a few positive and important aspects to the new policy:

• US mine action funding will increase.
• All non-self-deactivating (“dumb”) mines, both antipersonnel and anti-vehicle, will be phased out, but not until 2010.

However, these positive elements of the policy are far overshadowed by the negative elements. This new policy is completely out-of-step with the global movement that has been working for over a decade to eradicate the weapon. The unprecedented alliance of governments, international organizations such as the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross and civil society groups that make up the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) made history in 1997, when they secured the 1997 treaty prohibiting antipersonnel mines (and won the Nobel Peace Prize). The new policy undermines the movement's efforts to universalize the life-saving 1997 Mine Ban Treaty by providing justification for other holdout states - such as Russia, India, and Pakistan - to use, produce, or export these indiscriminate weapons.

For more on the Mine Ban Treaty, go to www.icbl.org

US Campaign to Ban Landmines
c/o Handicap
International — US
6930 Carroll Avenue,
Suite 240
Takoma Park, MD 20912
Tel: (301) 891-2138
USCBL@handicap-international.us