Make Your Voice Heard Now!
Urge President Bush and members of Congress to support a moratorium on the use of antipersonnel landmines in Afghanistan.

Sample telephone call to President Bush
Phone: 202-456-1414 Fax: 202-456-2461

"I am from _____, and I am calling to urge President Bush to order a moratorium on the use of landmines in Afghanistan."

Sample Letter to Legislators
To find the contact information of your legislators, visit www.house.gov or www.senate.gov. Given the current difficulty of sending mail to Capitol Hill, the USCBL encourages you to fax your
legislators.

Date

The Honorable________
U.S. Senate or U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20510 (Senate) or 20515 (House)

Dear Senator or Representative_________:

I hope this letter finds you and your staff healthy and safe.

I am writing to ask you to urge President Bush to protect innocent civilians and U.S. troops by ordering a moratorium on the use of antipersonnel landmines in Afghanistan. I also ask you to express to the President your desire, like mine, for U.S. food airdrops to avoid mined areas. Finally, I urge your support for U.S. adherence to the life- saving 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.

There have been recent reports that U.S. bombers in Afghanistan may be dropping mixed-mine systems, which contain antipersonnel mines. There have also been reports that U.S. airdrops may be inadvertently drawing Afghan civilians into dangerous mine zones to collect the food. TheU.S. military should take every precaution to avoid causing civilian mine casualties.

Afghanistan is littered with millions of antipersonnel landmines, an outdated weapon that cannot discriminate between child and soldier. Even before the current conflict, it was estimated that antipersonnel landmines maimed or killed 88 people each month in Afghanistan, most of these innocent civilians. The United States must make a commitment to not exacerbate this humanitarian crisis.

I would appreciate hearing from you on this matter.

Sincerely,

Your Name and Address

Click here for the action alert in PDF format so that you can print and distribute.
Click here for several recent articles on landmines in Afghanistan.
Click here for recent International Campaign to Ban Landmines Press statement about mines in Afghanistan.
Click here for Oct. 12 USCBL letter to President Bush about mines in Afghanistan.