Move to keep anti-landmine effort on track

SWITZERLAND: After nearly a decade of efforts to eliminate anti-personnel landmines, more than 100 countries and dozens of campaign groups began a week-long meeting with an eye to expand a global ban and boost clearance efforts.

"We have made significant progress towards our goals, but we need to intensify our efforts to ensure the humanitarian and disarmament goals of the convention are fully realised," said Teresa Gambaro, special mine action representative of Australia, which is chairing the meeting.

"This is an ongoing process. The work has achieved much in 10 years. But the work still continues. And we have to be more vigilant now than ever," she told journalists.

The effort to rid the world of landmines is at a "crossroads," said a diplomatic source. The Geneva meeting will also discuss how to bring reluctant nations on board, said officials. A total of 151 countries have ratified the 1997 ban on the use, manufacture or stockpiling of anti-personnel landmines, which is known as the Ottawa Convention.

Three more have signed but so far not ratified the accord, which formally came into force in March 1999: Indonesia, Poland and the Marshall Islands.

But around 40 countries remain outside it, including major arms makers and military powers such as China, Russia and the United States.

"The matter of whether the United States signs is entirely a matter for the United States," Gambaro said.

Washington is nonetheless a major donor to mine clearance activities and runs programme, she noted.

"I think it's very important that we keep these countries engaged. I hope that one day we will get them to accede to the convention. But at this stage we will keep all our channels open," she said. The conference comes amid warnings that efforts to clear the landmines that litter past and present conflict zones in around 80 countries are under threat.

Last week, a study by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) said that landmine use by governments and rebel groups fell in 2005, and more land was cleared of the deadly devices than ever before.

But the report said that finance for mine action had declined for the first time, raising fears that international efforts could head off-track.

The ICBL study also said that 29 signatory nations still have to meet targets to clear all anti-personnel mines on their territory by 2009 or 2010.

Geneva, Tuesday, AFP