Governments Urged to Eliminate Landmines Within Years, Not Decades

Excerpt from International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) official website.

http://www.icbl.org/index.php/icbl/Treaties/MBT/Annual-Meetings/10MSP/pr-29nov2010

PRESS RELEASE -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Governments Urged to Eliminate Landmines Within Years, Not Decades

 

Tenth annual meeting of Mine Ban Treaty opens in Geneva

 

Geneva, 29 November 2010 -- Sustained political engagement and financial support is needed is to overcome the global landmine problem, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) said today at the opening of an annual meeting of the 1997 treaty banning antipersonnel landmines. 

"The threat posed by landmines is still urgent, but it is also a finite problem that can be resolved if governments remain committed until all mined areas are cleared, all survivors enjoy the rights and economic possibilities available to others, and all stockpiles are destroyed," said Sylvie Brigot, executive director of the ICBL. "Much progress has been made over the past decade, but governments need to keep up the energy to achieve the goal of a mine-free world." 

The Tenth Meeting of the States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty will be held at the United Nations in Geneva from 29 November to 3 December 2010. Representatives from most of the 156 governments that have joined the treaty are expected to attend, as well as China, Russia, the United States and other observer delegations from the 39 states that have not joined the treaty. An ICBL delegation of more 120 campaigners from 33 countries, including landmine survivors, is participating in the meeting. 

"This meeting must address a range of implementation issues if the Mine Ban Treaty is to be fully realized," said Eva Veble, Head of the Mine Action Unit at DanChurchAid. "States Parties and all stakeholders should look at how they can make a more efficient and effective use of available resources to get the job done, and how they can ensure even closer cooperation."

Issues of concern for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines at the meeting include:

• Six mine-affected states parties-Chad, Colombia, Denmark, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Zimbabwe-have indicated that they will not be able to complete clearance of their mined areas within the ten-year treaty-mandatory deadline and have requested deadline extensions for the meeting to decide on.

• Four States Parties that collectively stockpile over 10 million antipersonnel mines-Belarus, Greece, Turkey and Ukraine-have missed the treaty-mandated four-year deadline for destroying their landmine stockpiles and are now in violation of the Mine Ban Treaty.

• More than a decade after ratifying the Mine Ban Treaty, Venezuela is the only mine-affected State Party that has not yet started clearance operations.

• The United Kingdom was granted a 10-year mine clearance deadline extension in 2008 but is not fulfilling part of its terms. It finished clearance of three mined areas, as planned, but has not announced any further plans to clear the remaining 113 mined areas.

• There are highly disturbing allegations that members of the armed forces of Turkey (a State Party to the treaty) used antipersonnel mines in 2009. These are currently the subject of a legal investigation.

• Accessibility of victim assistance services declined in 2009 in seven States Parties-Afghanistan, Angola, Chad, Colombia, DR Congo, Guinea-Bissau and Jordan.

• Only 9% of international funding for mine action goes to victim assistance, a woefully insufficient amount. The majority of countries still do not provide assistance based on the number of survivors and their needs.

• At the meeting, States Parties will consider how to encourage more sustainable international cooperation and assistance. The ICBL calls on donor to provide multi-year funding, to enable states to implement clearance and victim assistance plans in a predictable, sustainable way.

• For the second year in a row, the United States will attend the meeting as observer. It has been one year since the US announced that it would begin a formal review of its landmine policy, but no decision on joining the treaty has been made.

ENDS

 

Media contact
Amelie Chayer, Communications Officer (In Geneva, GMT +1)
Email: media@icbl.org
Mobile: +41 78 728 53 20 or +33 6 89 55 12 81 

Background
Adopted in 1997, the Mine Ban Treaty entered into force on 1 March 1999. The treaty comprehensively bans all antipersonnel mines, requires destruction of stockpiled mines within four years, requires destruction of mines already in the ground within 10 years, and urges extensive programs to assist the victims of landmines.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is a global network in over 90 countries, working for a world free of antipersonnel landmines. In 1997, the ICBL received the Nobel Peace Prize together with its founding coordinator Jody Williams for its efforts to bring about the Mine Ban Treaty.

Additional information is available in Landmine Monitor 2010:
www.the-monitor.org/lm/2010

新聞稿--敬請立即發佈

國際反地雷組織(ICBL)敦促各國政府盡速消弭地雷—於近年內消弭，而非數十年

第十屆禁雷公約年會於日內瓦舉行

日內瓦, 2010 年12月1日—全球地雷問題需要持續的政治參與及財務支持才能得以解決，國際反地雷組織(the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, ICBL) 於本周舉行的1997年禁止人員殺傷性地雷公約年度締約國會議中表示。

「地雷所帶來的威脅仍舊急迫，但是地雷是可以解決的問題：只要各國政府持續承諾解決地雷問題，直到所有雷區得以清除、所有雷傷者得以與其他人同享同等的的權利及經濟可能性、以及所有的地雷庫存得以銷毀。」ICBL執行長席薇﹒畢麗葛 (Sylvie Brigot)，如此表示。「過去10年中已有顯著進展，但是各國政府仍須保持精力來達到無雷世界的目標。」

第十屆禁雷公約締約國會議於11月29日至12月3日在日內瓦聯合國舉行。預期有156個締約國中大部分的政府代表以及39個非締約國代表，如中國、俄國、美國以及其他的觀察代表團出席。ICBL與會的代表團由來自全球33個國家的120多個會員，其中包括許多雷傷者。

「如果要全面落實禁雷公約，此次的會議必須要提出各樣的公約實踐相關議題」，丹麥教會援助機構(DanChurchAid) 的地雷行動處(Mine Action Unit)處長伊芙﹒葳柏 (Eva Veble)，如此表示。「締約國以及其他的相關單位必須檢示如何可以更加有效率及更有效能地使用已有的資源來完成工作，以及如何促進更加緊密的合作關係。」

中國，如同往年，以觀察員身分參加此次會議。日內瓦時間11月29日，中國表示「認同《公約》的宗旨和目標」。根據「2010地雷監督」(Landmine Monitor 2010)，中國曾表示「渥太華公約在人員殺傷性地雷所造成的人道問題上扮演一個重要及正面的角色」，但中國在過去數年中表示中國仍未能加入公約。過去，中國曾是世界上最大的人員殺傷性地雷生產者以及出口者，並且一般相信中國目前擁有全球最多的人員殺傷性地雷庫存。

國際反地雷組織在此次會議中所關注的議題包括：

·     

＊6個受地雷影響締約國—查德、哥倫比亞、丹麥、幾內亞比索、茅利塔尼亞、辛巴威等國，表示無法於公約所要求的10年期限內完成排雷，並請求此次會議裁示展延期限；

＊4個締約國(白俄羅斯、希臘、土耳其、烏克蘭)，總共庫存超過1000萬人員殺傷性地雷，在公約所要求的4年期限內仍未完成地雷庫存的銷毀，目前已違反禁雷公約。

＊委內瑞拉，在核准禁雷公約超過10年後，成為唯一至今仍未開始排雷工作的締約國。

＊英國於2008年已獲10年排雷期限展延，卻未能完全善盡自身責任。英國已完成3處雷區的清除，卻仍未公佈未來如何清除剩餘13處雷區的計畫。

＊土耳其的武裝部隊被指控於2009年時使用人員殺傷性地雷。而土耳其為締約國的一員，這些指控因此高度令人不安。針對這些指控目前已展開法律調查。

＊在2009年，在7個締約國中，雷傷者可取得的援助服務減少：阿富汗、安哥拉、查德、哥倫比亞、剛果、幾內亞比索、及約旦。

＊只有9% 的國際地雷行動(mine action)基金注入雷傷者援助工作，而這樣嚴重不足的資金令人遺憾。大部分的國家仍未能在考量雷傷者的數目以及他們需要上提供援助。

＊在此次會議中，締約國將會考量如何鼓勵更加持久的國際合作及援助。ICBL呼籲捐助者提供多年性的資助，使各國可以在可預期、永續性的方式下實踐排雷以及雷傷援助計畫

＊美國連續第二年以觀察員身分參加此次會議。距美國宣布將開始正式檢示其地雷政策已經一年，但仍未有任何加入公約的決定。

結束

媒體聯絡人

Amelie Chayer, Communications Officer (In Geneva, GMT +1)

Email:  media@icbl.org

Mobile:  +33 6 89 55 12 81

Serena Chang, (中文)

(12月1- 3日：日內瓦GMT+1；12月6日後：台北，GMT +8)

Email: ieden.info@gmail.com

Mobile: +886-911-028-025;

Office Phone: +886-2-2578-4515 # 207 (12月6日後)

背景資料

禁雷公約(the Mine Ban Treaty) 於1997年通過，並於1999年3月1日生效。此公約全面地禁止使用人員殺傷性地雷，要求於四年內銷毀所有地雷庫存，於10年內銷毀所有已被埋入地下的地雷，並且要求廣泛的計畫協助雷傷者。

國際反地雷組織(the International Campaign to Ban Landmines)是超過90多個國家全球性網絡，致力於促成一個沒有殺傷性地雷的世界。1997年，ICBL與創始者茱蒂﹒威廉斯獲得諾貝爾和平獎，肯定在推動禁雷公約的努力。

進一步的資訊請參考「2010年地雷監督」

www.the-monitor.org/lm/2010