Toward a global ban on landmines

Abstract

The use of arms, projectiles, or material calculated to cause unnecessary suffering, and more especially of poisoned weapons (chemical and biological weapons), was banned under the conceptual framework of both the 1907 Hague Convention (IV) and the 1925 Geneva Protocol. In the discussions leading to a ban on the use of chemical weapons, diplomats from around the world referred to their use as “barbaric and dishonourable” because of their effect on soldiers or the likely indiscriminate impact on civilians. It is a universal achievement that it is now impossible to conceive of a world that does not show concern for civilians caught up in war. As international attention to the protection of civilians in internal armed conflicts grows, it is accompanied by renewed debate regarding regulation of warring parties' conduct through humanitarian and human rights law.

Research at RMA in the Evolving Context of Mine Action

“…In its report of the results of the symposium [10], ICRC estimated that 800 people worldwide die from mines each month. Moreover, it estimated that it would take 4300 years to clear Afghanistan of landmines.…”

Warfare, Genocide, and Ethnic Conflict: A Darwinian Approach

“…The director of the United Nations Demining Program, Patrick Blagden, estimated that upward of 200 million antipersonnel landmines are scattered in 56 countries around the world (1). According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, "Most of the victims are poor farmers, women or often children who are collecting firewood, tending cattle or gathering food in an area that was previously a battleground" (2).…”