March 1, 2013 marks the fourteenth anniversary of the entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty and campaigners from around the world continue to call on the United States to announce the conclusion of its landmine policy review.
The Obama administration initiated a review of U.S. landmine policy in late 2009 and the U.S. informed the last Mine Ban Treaty Meeting of States Parties in December 2012 that the outcome of the three-year review will be announced “soon.”
Hopes are running high that the United States will embrace the Mine Ban Treaty and announce concrete plans for a comprehensive ban on antipersonnel mines. The administration should take steps now to begin destruction of landmine stockpiles and guarantee that the U.S. will never again use this weapon that has been condemned by the vast majority of the world’s nations, including every other NATO member.