Land Mines
Anti-personnel mines are weapons placed on the ground designed to injure
or kill people who step on them. They are unique in that they are
designed specifically for use against individual persons rather than
vehicles, such as tanks. Thousands of people around the world are
permanently maimed or killed each year from these anti-personnel mines.
Eighty percent of the victims are civilians, often children, who may
step on the mines years after the conflict they were used in has ended.
Many human rights groups and governments have decried the impact of
anti-personnel mines on innocent civilians. In order to address the
problem, the Canadian government spearheaded an international campaign
to ban anti-personnel mines in 1997. Representatives of numerous
governments met in Ottawa, Canada to produce the Ottawa treaty, which
prohibits the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of
anti-personnel mines. The treaty came into effect when the 40th country
signed on in 1998. Although it only applies to the countries that have
signed it, the Ottawa treaty had 162 signatories as of February, 2016.
(There are 192 countries in the United Nations.)
Although few deny the terrible impact of land mines on civilians,
critics have pointed out some drawbacks to the treaty. One problem is
the definition of an anti-personnel mine. Some anti-vehicle mines are
sensitive enough to be detonated by a person, yet are technically legal
under the treaty. On the other hand, some mines intended only for
vehicles are banned under the treaty. The blurry definition means that
signatories who stretch the meaning of the treaty can gain an unfair
military advantage over signatories who stick with a strict
interpretation. Also, some critics point to the potential of
anti-personnel mines to prevent wars from starting in the first place.
The use of such mines in the demilitarized zone between North and South
Korea, for example, discourages North Korea from invading its neighbor.
THE QUESTION BEFORE THE CONFERENCE WILL BE:
Should there be an international ban on the manufacture and use of land mines?
