Sunday Times 2
Papal visit to Lanka should propel anti-mine campaign
His Holiness Pope Francis sent a message in late June this year to the 3rd Review Conference of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) in Maputo, Mozambique. In the message, he mentions “Reduce the stockpile of weapons! Ban weapons that have no reason for existing in human society and instead invest in education, healthcare, saving our planet and building societies marked by more solidarity and brotherhood and, the importance of banning landmines globally.” He urges the international community to put the treaty into effect immediately and all countries to commit themselves to the destruction of all existing mines and a complete ban on their production “so that there are no more victims of mines” and so that “no child must live in fear of mines.”
Pope Francis drinks a traditional South American drink called mate offered by the faithful as he arrives to lead his weekly audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican August 27. His visit to Sri Lanka will give a boost to the worldwide campaign against anti-personnel mines. Reuters
An AP landmine is a victim-activated weapon. It is an explosive device designed to detonate by the presence, proximity, or contact by a person. They are placed under or on the ground, where they can lie dormant for years and or even decades until a person or animal triggers their detonation mechanism.
AP mines are made of plastic, metal, or other material. They contain explosives and sometimes pieces of metal or other objects meant to cause additional injury. Most AP mine-affected areas are camouflaged or not visible to the naked eye and they cannot be aimed at a specific enemy: In other words the AP mine is incapable of distinguishing between the footfalls of a soldier and a civilian.
Due to the indiscriminate nature of the weapon, AP mines kill or injure civilians, aid workers, peace-keepers, soldiers, and animals. The weapon poses a threat to the safety of civilians during conflicts and long afterwards. AP mines are now outlawed and considered immoral for use in wars due to its indiscriminate nature. The global community is working towards eradicating this menace through the APMBC.
Due to the lack of data collection in the past and the continued underreporting of data in some areas, information regarding mine accidents and survivors is inadequate. Therefore, it is not possible to give a total number of people who have been killed or injured by AP mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). However, the global research arm of the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor has been reporting on the available data since 1999. It has reported nearly 90,000 casualties from AP mines and ERW between 1999 and 2012. In 2013, 3,628 casualties of mine and EWR were reported, compared with 9,220 in 1999. This represents a reduction of one-third in the casualty figures — a success story of the APMBC.
Demining in Sri Lanka: The success story should lead to Sri Lanka’s signature on the anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention
In terms of reduction of casualties and use of AP mines over the past 15 years, this success story has been strengthened due to the continual campaigning activities carried out by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and other organisations (local and global) with State Parties (162 so far) adhering to the to the Convention. Nevertheless, AP mines are still posing a threat to human lives. As the ICBL points out, every day some 10 people around the world lose life or limb to a landmine or another explosive remnant of war and there are still 60 countries contaminated by AP mines.
The APMBC was adopted on September 18, 1997 and entered into force on March 1, 1999. The ICBL was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. As of August 2014, 162 states agreed to be bound by the Convention. This is a remarkable achievement and Oman has become the latest State to join the convention in August. The APMBC is working towards making AP mines weapons of the past. The APMBC will be an historical convention if it is able to achieve its goal of eradicating and banning AP mines from the earth in another 10 years’ time, or before 2025. This will strengthen the collective will of like-minded persons to rally against inhuman activities that can be eradicated to create a world that is a better place for human and animals to live.
The remaining 35 countries which have not yet joined the APMBC need to do so without further delay. In the meantime they should be encouraged to adopt a moratorium on the use, production, and transfer of AP mines, provide information about AP mine stockpiles and destroy them, assist landmine survivors, their families and communities, engage in mine clearance and mine risk education where relevant, vote in favour of the annual United Nations General Assembly resolution on the treaty in the First Committee and at the General Assembly, submit a voluntary transparency report with all relevant information and attend formal and informal APMBC meetings.
The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis will visit Sri Lanka early next year. The visit is an important development for Sri Lanka at this juncture. With regard to AP mines, Sri Lanka is still grappling with clearing mines and, continues to cause victims but Sri Lanka still is not a state party to the APMBC. It believes that, the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) had introduced AP mines to Sri Lanka, produced them on a massive scale and used them as an offensive weapon. As reported in April 2010, since the 1980s, there were 21,993 mine casualties, including 1,419 civilian returnees; 3,770 recorded amputees among the armed forces, police, and civil defence forces; and 16,804 mine casualties among the non-state armed group, LTTE. According to the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database at the National Mine Action Center of the Ministry of Economic Development, 164 civilian mine casualties were reportedsince 2009 to June 2014.
Sri Lanka still has 82 sq km to be cleared in the areas in the northern and eastern regions of the country. As His Holiness’ message mentioned that “For civilians in former war zones, the environment around them is a constant threat when it should be a source of fruitfulness,development and the joy of living. Landmines wound innocent civilians, prolong war and nurture fear long after conflicts have ended.” On the victims of landmines, the message said, “carry – on their bodies and their lives – sign of an inhuman weapon, an irresponsible weapon, a weapon of cowards.”
Since the war ended in 2009, the national mine action programme has been reviewed by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). With the support of the international community it was able to achieve significant socioeconomic development progress. This includes the resettlement of 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in less than two years. The famous Madhu Church in Sri Lanka was heavily mined by the LTTE and soon after the war ended in 2009 the GoSL gave high priority to mine clearance operations in the church area and opened it for the devotees. Pope Francis will visit the Mad hu Church and will be able to witness development activities carried out in the area after the demining programme.
A visit by the Pope to a mine-affected country like Sri Lanka needs to be highlighted to get support from the donor community to finish the clearance job well ahead of the target date of 2025. His Holiness should be able to meet with AP mine victims and visit mine-affected areas. This would add a new dimension to current efforts to attract world attention towards the eradiation of this weapon from the earth, and towards continued support for AP mine and ERW victims during their long-term psychosocial and socioeconomic rehabilitation and recovery processes. The GoSL should ban this weapon on moral and ethical grounds. This will be in solidarity not only with Pope Francis’ visit to Sri Lanka but also with efforts to create a mine-free world.
(The writer is a Country Researcher Sri Lanka for the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor. His latest publication is on “Commonwealth States on Disarmament and Development, A Socioeconomic Analysis.”)