The Land Mine Treaty isn’t a part of the liberal agenda or the conservative agenda. It’s a vital component of international humanitarian agenda. The following are reasons why it is important to support the Landmine Treaty:
1) Human Costs: Antipersonnel mines are laid in the ground. Although their goal is to maim military personnel, they cannot discriminate between who is a civilian and who is a soldier. Most mines remain in the ground years after the cessation of war, waiting for anyone to step on them and set them off. Most mine casualties are local farmers, fisherman, and children playing in fields years after warfare has ended in their area. As a result, innocent civilians lose limbs or die prematurely all the time. An estimated 15,000-20,000 people die every year. This means about 40 casualties each day. There are 2 every hour, on average.
2) Humanitarian Laws: Landmine's are inhumane and break multiple humanitarian laws. In the mid 1940's, France, the UK, the United States and the USSR entered into an agreement on "The Prosecution and Punishment of the Major War Criminals of the European Axis". This agreement stimulated the concepts of 'proportionality' and 'military necessity'. These concepts require that military operations and weapons must restrict themselves from harming noncombatants. These notions of 'proportionality' and 'military necessity' are now in international treaty laws and regulations. For example, the United States Army Field Manual on The Law of Land Warfare defines proportionality as "loss of life and damage to property must not be out of proportion to the military advantage to be gained." The manual goes on to state that noncombatants must be protected from 'unnecessary suffering." Landmine's do not abide by these rules, as they are meant to inflict as much injury as possible and do not distinguish between military personnel and civilians.
Landmine's also do not abide by post-war peace treaties. The war in Cambodia ended in 1998. However, the war continued to claim 834 lives in 2002 alone. Why? Landmine's continued to kill innocent civilians. Some countries in Europe and North Africa still suffer land mines deaths left over from WW1. When mines remain in the ground, the war continues. Citation: Lawson, Robert; Tomlin, Brian; To Walk Without Fear, Oxford University Press, New York, 1998
3) Economic Hardships: Landmine's have grave effects on a nation’s economy. Their presence hinders agriculture in certain regions and may cut off economically important areas such as dams. Any country with a danger of landmine's will also have far less tourism than other countries. In some places, tourism is an essential part of a county or village’s economy. AP mines are potentially so dangerous that there have been many cases of entire portions of highways being closed off due to a single mine.
4) Family Burdens: Mines cause burdens within families who have to pay and care for victims who survive. Because mines are meant to injure humans as much as possible, it is very costly to pay for amputations, surgery, prosthetic legs, wheelchairs and other assisted living devices. Most victims live in poverty stricken countries where putting food on the table is hard enough. Landmine's are usually found in third world countries with very poor and poverty stricken populations.
Additionally, mine survivors struggle to make a living and may become financial burdens. They will have a difficult time finding employment and may become socially isolated. Many of them are unfit to marry, which is an imperative part of a secure financial life in many areas or the world.
5) No Use in the Military: There are many reasons the military has no need for AP mines. Here are just a few reasons why:
- Studies by The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Institute for Defense Analysis both found that antipersonnel mines offer little military advantage. The IDA concluded that the use of AP mines by both sides during US offensive operations actually yield an overall negative net military utility for US forces.
- Furthermore, modern armies do not need landmine's for two reasons: they are easily circumvented and there are alternatives available. Some of the technology used to circumvent minefields includes the use of flairs, rollers, ploughs, explosive filled hoses and fuel-air explosives. These tactics have already been used to avoid mines in the past! During the Gulf War in 1990, coalition forces moved past an Iraqi field containing 9 million mines in a matter of 2 hours. In both the Korean War and the Iran-Iraq War, troops circumvented mine fields by simply moving around them.
- There is also military technology that can replace AP mines that already exists! These more sophisticated weapons include simple protective barriers, non lethal sectors and trip flares with the ability to detect infiltrators. Claymore mines are also available. This is a type of mine that is not victim activated. They are activated by army personnel from afar. Detection equipment is also available and includes radars which can identify people from afar, infared goggles and night vision goggles.
Lastly, AP mines have shown to be counterproductive. They often kill US soldiers. In both the Vietnam War and the Korean War, AP mines laid by the US ultimately killed more US soldiers than other weapons of our own. Citation: Lawson, Robert; Tomlin, Brian; To Walk Without Fear, Oxford University Press, New York, 1998
6) Other: Mines can prevent repatriation of refugees or slow the process. They can also slow or hinder international aid.