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{{Main|List of parties to the Ottawa Treaty}}
{{Main|List of parties to the Ottawa Treaty}}
There were originally 855,000 signatories of the petition launched by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1997; when the Convention was opened for signature in Ottawa, Canada, it was signed by 122 countries; as of April 2010, there were 156 States Parties to the Treaty.<ref> [http://www.icbl.org/treaty/members States Parties], ''[[International Campaign to Ban Landmines]]''</ref> Thirty-seven countries have not signed the treaty.
There were originally 855,000 signatories of the petition launched by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1997; when the Convention was opened for signature in Ottawa, Canada, it was signed by 122 countries; as of April 2010, there were 156 States Parties to the Treaty.<ref> [http://www.icbl.org/treaty/members States Parties], ''[[International Campaign to Ban Landmines]]''</ref> Thirty-seven countries have not signed the treaty.
The [[List of parties to the Ottawa Treaty#Non-signatory states|list of about three dozen states that have not signed the treaty]] includes a majority of the permanent members of the [[United Nations Security Council]] ([[People's Republic of China]], the [[United States]] and [[Russia]]), [[India]], and both Koreas, where landmines remain active in the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone|Demilitarized Zone]].<ref> [http://www.cdi.org/dm/2000/issue5/Landmines.html], ''[[Landmines Remain Issue in Korea]]''</ref>
The [[List of parties to the Ottawa Treaty#Non-signatory states|list of about three dozen states that have not signed the treaty]] includes a majority of the permanent members of the [[United Nations Security Council]] ([[People's Republic of China]], the [[United States]] and [[Russia]]), [[India]],[[Israel]] and both Koreas, where landmines remain active in the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone|Demilitarized Zone]].<ref> [http://www.cdi.org/dm/2000/issue5/Landmines.html], ''[[Landmines Remain Issue in Korea]]''</ref>


== Review Conferences of the Convention ==
== Review Conferences of the Convention ==

Revision as of 08:10, 2 June 2010

Not to be confused with Ottawa Conference.
Ottawa Treaty
(Mine Ban Treaty)
Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction
  State Parties to the Ottawa Treaty
Signed3 December 1997
LocationOttawa, Ontario, Canada
Effective1 March 1999
ConditionRatifications by 40 states
Signatories133
Parties156 (Complete List)
DepositarySecretary-General of the United Nations

The Ottawa Treaty or the Mine Ban Treaty, formally the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, completely bans all anti-personnel landmines (AP-mines). As of April 2010, there were 156 States Parties to the treaty. Two states have signed but not yet ratified while thirty-seven states are non-signatories to the Convention, making a total of 39 states not party.[1]

Implementation of the treaty

Besides stopping the production and development of anti-personnel mines, a party to the treaty must destroy all the anti-personnel mines in its possession within four years. Just a small number of mines is allowed to remain for training (mine-clearance, -detection, etc.). Within ten years after signing the treaty, the country should have cleared all of its mined areas. This is a difficult task for many countries, but at the annual meetings (see below) they may request an extension (and help). The treaty also calls on States Parties to provide assistance to mine-affected persons in their own country and to provide assistance to other countries in meeting their Mine Ban Treaty obligations.[2] [3]

Only anti-personnel mines are covered. Mixed mines, anti-tank mines, remote controlled claymore mines, anti-handling devices (booby-traps) and other "static" explosive devices against people are not within the treaty.

Destruction of stockpiles

According to the 2009 Landmine Monitor Report,States Parties have destroyed more than 44 million mines since the entry into force in 1999. 86 countries have completed the destruction of their stockpiles, and another 63 countries have declared that they did not possess stockpiles to destroy.[4]

Retention of Landmines

Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty permits countries to retain landmines for use in training in mine detection, mine clearance, or mine destruction techniques. 71 countries have taken this option. In total, 197,000 mines have been declared as being currently retained by various countries under Article 3.[5]

Landmine-free countries

Through 2008, eleven states had cleared all known mined areas from their territory: Bulgaria, Costa Rica, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, FYR Macedonia, Malawi, Suriname, Swaziland, and Tunisia.[6] At the November-December 2009 Cartagena Summit for a Mine-Free World, Albania, Greece, Rwanda, and Zambia were also declared mine-free.[7]

On 2 December 2009, Rwanda was declared free of landmines.[8] The announcement was made at the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World in Colombia. It follows a three year campaign by 180 Rwandan soldiers, supervised by the Mine Awareness Trust and trained in Kenya, to remove over 9,000 mines laid in the country between 1990 and 1994.[8] The soldiers checked and cleared 1.3 million square metres (1.3 square km) of land in twenty minefields.[8] The official Cartagena Summit came after the Rwandan Ministry of Defence's own announcement of the completion of the demining process on 29 November 2009.[9] Under article 5 of the Ottawa Treaty, Rwanda was requested to become mine-free by 1 December 2010.[9]

Signatories

Main article: List of parties to the Ottawa Treaty

There were originally 855,000 signatories of the petition launched by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1997; when the Convention was opened for signature in Ottawa, Canada, it was signed by 122 countries; as of April 2010, there were 156 States Parties to the Treaty.[10] Thirty-seven countries have not signed the treaty. The list of about three dozen states that have not signed the treaty includes a majority of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (People's Republic of China, the United States and Russia), India,Israel and both Koreas, where landmines remain active in the Demilitarized Zone.[11]

Review Conferences of the Convention

  • First Review Conference: 29 November – 3 December 2004, Nairobi, Kenya: Nairobi Summit on a Mine Free World.[12]
  • Second Review Conference: 29 November – 4 December 2009, Cartagena, Colombia: Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World.[13]

Annual meetings

Annual meetings of the treaty member states are held at different locations around the world. These meetings provide a forum to report on what has been accomplished, indicate where additional work is needed and seek any assistance they may require.

United Nations General Assembly Annual Resolution

One opportunity for states to indicate their support for the ban on antipersonnel mines is their vote on the annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution calling for universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. UNGA Resolution 63/42 was adopted on 2 December 2008 by a vote of 163 in favor, none opposed, and 18 abstentions. Of the 39 states not party to the treaty, 18 voted in favor, 18 abstained, and three were absent.

Since the first UNGA resolution supporting the Mine Ban Treaty in 1997, the number of states voting in favor has ranged from a low of 139 in 1999 to a high of 164 in 2007. The number of states abstaining has ranged from a high of 23 in 2002 and 2003 to a low of 17 in 2005 and 2006. Several states that used to consistently abstain or be absent now vote in favor, including Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), the Marshall Islands, and Morocco.[26]

Participants in the formation process

Diana, Princess of Wales

The Ottawa Treaty was championed by Diana, Princess of Wales. She visited Angola in January 1997, and walked through a minefield twice. In January 1997, Angola's population was approximately 10 million and had about 10–20 million land mines in place from their civil war.[27] In August 1997, she visited Bosnia with the Landmine Survivors Network. Her work with landmines focused mainly on the injuries and deaths inflicted on children.

When the Second Reading of the Landmines Bill took place in 1998 in the British House of Commons, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook praised and paid tribute to Diana's work on landmines:

All honourable Members will be aware from their postbags of the immense contribution made by Diana, Princess of Wales to bringing home to many of our constituents the human costs of landmines. The best way in which to record our appreciation of her work, and the work of NGOs that have campaigned against landmines, is to pass the Bill, and to pave the way towards a global ban on landmines.[28]

Lloyd Axworthy

In his Canadian Foreign Affairs portfolio (1996–2000), Lloyd Axworthy became internationally known for his advancement of the human security concept, in particular, the Ottawa Treaty. For his leadership on landmines, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (1997).[29][30]

See also

References

  1. ^ ICBL Website, www.icbl.org
  2. ^ ICBL, "Mine Ban Treaty: Victim Assistance," http://www.icbl.org/index.php/icbl/Work/MBT/Victim-Assistance
  3. ^ ICBL, "Mine Ban Treaty: Other Obligations," http://www.icbl.org/index.php/icbl/Work/MBT/Other-Obligations
  4. ^ Landmine Monitor Report 2009, pp. 16-17.
  5. ^ Landmine Monitor Report 2009, p. 19.
  6. ^ Landmine Monitor Report 2009, p. 1.
  7. ^ ICBL, "Four New Countries Declared Mine-Free at Landmine Summit," http://www.icbl.org/index.php/icbl/Library/News-Articles/Work/pr-4dec2009 (4 December 2009)
  8. ^ a b c "Rwanda – first landmine-free country". BBC News. 2 December 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Rwanda: Country Declared Mine-Free". All Africa. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  10. ^ States Parties, International Campaign to Ban Landmines
  11. ^ [1], Landmines Remain Issue in Korea
  12. ^ Nairobi Summit on a Mine Free World
  13. ^ Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World
  14. ^ http://www.icbl.org/1msp
  15. ^ http://www.icbl.org/2msp
  16. ^ http://www.icbl.org/3msp
  17. ^ http://www.icbl.org/4msp
  18. ^ http://www.icbl.org/5msp
  19. ^ Nairobi Summit on a Mine Free World
  20. ^ http://www.icbl.org/treaty/meetings/6msp
  21. ^ http://www.icbl.org/treaty/meetings/7msp
  22. ^ http://www.icbl.org/treaty/meetings/8msp
  23. ^ http://www.icbl.org/campaign/calendar/ninth_meeting_of_states_parties_to_the_anti_personnel_mine_ban_convention
  24. ^ http://www.icbl.org/treaty/meetings/9msp
  25. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/25/AR2009112503680.html
  26. ^ Landmine Monitor Report 2009, p. 6.
  27. ^ Angola's Landmines
  28. ^ Charity – Diana, Princess of Wales
  29. ^ cities plus – Bio Sheets
  30. ^ Axworthy, Lloyd
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