"Like a deadly disease long absent and assumed conquered, the land-mine, that scourge of the battlefield of World War I, has re-emerged on a scale unimagined and with hideous, unanticipated effects. There is today a land-mine crisis. And while it began as a military problem, it is now an ongoing humanitarian disaster." (Boutros Boutros-Ghali: "The Land-mine Crisis: A Humanitarian Disaster" Foreign Affairs, September/October 1994).
The land mine crisis is often described in terms of potentially mind- numbing statistics and heart-rending personal histories. In 1996, there were an estimated 110 million land mines deployed in at least 64 countries and territories. An estimated 10,000 people, most of them civilians, are killed by land mines every year and another 20,000 are injured. Rural people-women fetching firewood or water and working the fields; men using animals to till the soil; children mistaking small land mines for toys-are among the most affected. Humanitarian assistance to people affected by conflicts is hindered and, in some instances, halted by the presence of land mines. Thus, the moral, political and practical reasons for establishing effective national mine clearance capacities are clear. In principle, mine clearance enjoys broad support among donors and mine-affected countries
Since 1993, when the General Assembly first included an item on mine clearance in its agenda, the United Nations has intensified its efforts to deal with the problem of uncleared land mines. Among the United Nations organizations involved in mine clearance and related activities are UNICEF, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Program (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) was designated in 1994 as focal point within the UN system for mine clearance and land mine related activities. DHA created a Mine Clearance and Policy Unit which works closely with the De-mining Unit of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
In November 1994, Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali established the Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance, in order to provide resources for rapid and expanded United Nations action in response to requests for assistance in mine clearance. Work also began in 1994 on a de-mining Stand-by Capacity in order to make better use of in-kind contributions by states and organizations. The Central Land Mine Data Base was also established to assemble information on mine-affected countries, United Nations mine action programs, personnel, casualties, de-mining organizations and types of land mines.
In 1995, two international meetings took place under United Nations auspices that sought to address the growing problem of land mines. In July, the Secretary-General convened an International Meeting on Mine Clearance which was aimed at increasing support for de-mining and related programs in mine-affected countries. In September, a review conference for the Convention on Certain Inhumane Conventional Weapons took place in Vienna.
In May 1996, an agreement was reached by 53 countries to impose some limits on the use of anti-personnel land mines. Specifically, the agreement prohibits undetectable land mines. And in December 1996, the General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an international agreement to ban the use, stockpile, production or transfer of anti-personnel land mines.
And yet, the land mine threat continues to grow. For every mine painstakingly lifted, at least 20 -- and perhaps as many as 50 -- are being laid somewhere else in the world, a total of between 2 million and 5 million each year. The proliferation of land mines, coupled with inadequate technology and financial support for mine clearance frustrates the best efforts of de-miners. Mine clearance is slow and labor-intensive. Unfortunately, even if the use of land mines is eventually prohibited, they will still continue to pose a threat for years to come. If clearance continues at current rates (about 100,000 mines a year), the total number of land mines worldwide will actually grow to 135,000,000 by the end of the century. The cost of clearing the land-mines already in place has been estimated at a minimum of $33 billion. A mine that can sell for as little $3 costs between $300 and $1000 to remove. "For the time being," says Tore Skedsmo, "We are losing the battle. To get a grip on the situation, we need three things: more money, new technology for detecting mines, and a halt in the use of mines."
Source: United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs
