Disarmament Success Story of Our Time: the Mine Ban turns 10

The Landmine Mine Ban at 10

2007 marks a decade since the launch of the first disarmament treaty to be concluded outside the United Nations system- the treaty aimed at halting the humanitarian scourge caused by anti-personnel landmines. International attention was galvanized by the support of well known personalities, in particular the late Princess Diana and the awarding of the Nobel Prize for Peace to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). This campaign was launched by an unexpected grouping of war veterans, humanitarian aid agencies and human rights organizations. Their goal was ridiculed from the outset. “Landmines?”- why those? Aren’t nuclear bombs more dangerous?” None the less, within 5 years of its founding, the ICBL had built a global network of peoples organizations and NGOs and had an international treaty and a Nobel prize in its pocket. Where does it stand now in relation to its goal- the total elimination of a weapons system from the face of the planet?

The mine ban treaty is unlike most other treaties due to the close collaboration between non-governmental organizations which provided the moral outrage and focus, and certain governments and leaders who believed it could be achievable, most notably then Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axeworthy, who issued a challenge to governments to convene in Ottawa on a bitterly cold but clear December day in 1997. The presence of the victims of government policies, overwhelmingly and almost always from the poorest regions of society, are usually absent from decision-making chambers. But in this case, mine victims from Cambodia and other landmine devastated countries were on hand to shame governmental delegates if they chose inaction. 122 governments signed, and in record time the Ottawa Treaty achieved its first victory, the fastest entry into force of any treaty in human history.

The ICBL has been largely responsible for shaping this outcome. Focused and creative, it is made up of national campaigns in 90 countries, most of which are themselves comprised of a cluster of local civil society organizations.

Success Story of Our Time

In an increasingly militarized world which has seen the Cold War ‘peace dividend’ demolished by car bombs and smart bombs, the mine ban stands out as one of the real success stories, and an anchor for hope.

Unlike the talk shops most international treaties host, in the very short time the Ottawa Treaty has been in existence, it has achieved measurable success:

• The number of governments which have signed, ratified or acceded to the Treaty has increased every year, and now more than ¾ of the world’s governments have done so.
• Since the Ottawa Treaty has come into existence the ICBL has not been able to detect a single instance, or any credible allegation, that the core obligations of the Treaty have been breached.
• Even for those governments who are not a part of the Treaty, its obligations have had an effect.
• Global Trade in the weapon has ended, with only a very small amount of black market trade exists.
• No trade between governments has been observed since the Treaty has come into effect, and the number of states who would trade in it decrease every year as more governments agree to be bound by the Ban, reducing the ‘market’ for those states which have not yet joined.
• Production, likewise has decreased.
  
• A defacto halt in production of the weapon can be seen in some countries, such as the US, which have not yet joined the treaty.
• Radical for an international arms control treaty, the Mine Ban Treaty requires all governments who sign it to pledge to assist current, past or future victims of the weapon.
• The number of new victims has been dropping, in many cases dramatically, as more and more states have agreed to be bound by the Ban.
• Stockpiles have been destroyed. Each government is obligated to destroying the weapon’s stockpile- they cannot be given away, they cannot be sold, they must be destroyed. Stockpile destruction must be completed within a few short years after agreeing to be bound by the Treaty- there is no possibility to apply for an extension.
  
• The mine ban movement calls this ‘preventive mine action’, as these mines will never be laid, will never kill or injure any more people or animals. I call it the ‘real ratification’ of the treaty, because once they sign, they have said they won’t use it, but once they destroy them, they can’t use them.
• Millions of these weapons have now been destroyed before they could ever be deployed.
• Finally, the Ottawa Treaty requires that all governments who join it remove all landmines which are already in the ground in any territory they control.
• This has led to humanitarian landmine clearance programs, which in 2005 alone 740 square kilometers was cleared of almost a half a million landmines and other deadly ordinance. Each year safe land has been returned to rural and urban communities.

Within these few elegantly engineered restrictions- no use, no stocks, mine clearance and victim assistance, the weapon ..and its effects, are being eradicated from the face of the earth.

However, while success has been achieved, we must finish the job which we started. Governments must not be allowed to become complacent with the significant progress already achieved, but be pushed to fully bring the ban to conclusion. Those governments which remain outside the treaty must be encouraged, shamed or coerced into compliance- as they stand in the way of what could be one of the most precious gifts we can give the next generation: a world safe to walk in, and hope that human beings can desist from our destructive ways, since in atleast one case, we will have done it!