New 2003 Report on Global Landmine Situation Released

The 2003 Landmine Monitor, written by researchers around the world and sponsored by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, was released on Tuesday, September 9, 2003. To read the report, the most comprehensive annual document, broken down country by country, about the global mine ban, mine use, demining, victim assistance, mine risk education, and stockpile destruction, visit www.icbl.org/lm/2003/

Key Developments in the US Chapter of the 2003 Landmine Monitor
Key developments since May 2002: In fiscal year 2002, the US provided $76.9 million to international mine action programs in 37 countries, a decline of nearly $5 million from the previous year. The United States apparently did not use antipersonnel mines in Operation Iraqi Freedom, though it stockpiled mines in the region for possible use. The legislative moratorium on export of antipersonnel mines was extended six years to 23 October 2008. The Bush Administration has not concluded its review of US landmine policy, begun in June 2001. US forces are using minefields from the Soviet era as part of their perimeter defense at locations in Afghanistan, but the US has not reported how it is complying with its Amended Protocol II obligations regarding those minefields. The Pentagon reported in May 2002 that it “will not be able to meet” the 2006 target date to develop and field alternatives to antipersonnel mines. The budget request for landmine alternatives programs for FY 2003-2009 is $1.07 billion. The RADAM alternatives program was cancelled in FY 2002. Thirty-one US soldiers were killed or injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance in Iraq and Afghanistan in the first five months of 2003.

Click here for the full US Chapter of the 2003 Landmine Monitor