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Sri Lanka signs MBT; a mine-free country within four years
View(s):Sri Lanka, which acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) or the Ottawa Convention in December last year, will have four years from June 2018 to ensure that it does not use, stockpile, produce or transfer any anti-personnel mines (APMs).
Only a small quantity of APMs will be permitted in the country for training purposes, said Vidya Abhayagunawardena, Coordinator for Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines (SLCBL). All mines in ammunition dumps will have to be destroyed.
The MBT comes into effect in June 2018 and allows those countries that have signed up to it four years from that date to comply. However, there will be no inspections to check adherence.
Post-war Sri Lanka is still affected by APMs and demining activities are ongoing, the SLCBL said at a press conference this week. This contributes towards the Government’s reconciliation process.
“The accession to the MBT is important for increasing the capacity of demining activities in the North and East,” an SLCBL statement said. “Following this accession to the MBT, the international community will become involved in mine action–including victim assistance, mine risk education and demining–in Sri Lanka.”
This means the remaining 25sq km of land in the North and East which is yet to be demined can be cleared within a short period, leading to a declaration that Sri Lanka is an APM-free country. Some areas of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Ampara are also contaminated by APMs and other explosives.
Sri Lanka’s progress will attract international recognition, said Mr Abhayagunawardena and SLCBL Adviser Prasanna Kuruppu. Animals will also no longer become victims of anti-personnel landmines.
The Campaign now urges the Sri Lanka Government to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions; Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, Protocol 5 (CCW-P5), Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), Nuclear Ban Treaty (NBT) and comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). This would enable the country to become the soft power of the South Asian region, thereby achieving greater progress in economic, defence, social and political aspects.
The Campaign also called for an accession to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which Sri Lanka has only ratified. “The principles of the convention necessary to enforce the accepted procedures and regulations for promoting and respecting the rights of persons with disabilities are yet to be incorporated into the domestic law of Sri Lanka,” the SLCBL said. “The enactment of the relevant domestic law will benefit anti-personnel landmine victims as well as all persons with disabilities in Sri Lanka.”
Around 20,000 victims of explosions (not just landmines) have been identified.