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UNICEF endorses fast track to ban mines

Friday, 28 February 1997: UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy today strongly endorsed the Ottawa process towards an international treaty to ban the production, stockpiling and use of anti-personnel landmines by next December.

Speaking on the closing day of the Fourth International NGO Conference to Ban Landmines, she said: "The world must comprehend...that every hour we delay, every day of hesitation means sacrificing the lives and limbs of children."

The conference, held in Mozambique, declared the Ottawa process initiated by Canada to be the most clear expression of the will of the international community as stated in the 10 December 1996 United Nations General Assembly Resolution calling for an international ban treaty "as soon as possible."

"In my view no other forum, including the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, can move more quickly than the Ottawa process to free the world from the scourge of landmines," said Ms. Bellamy. An estimated 25,000 people are killed or maimed every year due to landmine accidents around the world -- 90 per cent of them civilians and between 5,000 and 6,000 of them children.

"How many young lives will be destroyed while the world lurches to a ban?" Ms. Bellamy asked.

While these deadly traps are presently cleared at a rate of about 100,000 annually, between 2 and 5 million new mines are planted each year.

Ms. Bellamy welcomed the leadership of the South Africa government, which announced a unilateral ban on the use, production and trade of anti-personnel landmines before the Mozambique conference. "It is imperative that all other governments follow suit by endorsing the Ottawa process," she said.

She also stressed that an international ban on the production and use of anti-personnel mines is not sufficient in itself to counter the worldwide threat posed by more than 100 million mines that currently lie buried in the ground in 64 countries. Increased resources for mine clearance programmes are equally vital, and the physical needs and psycho-social rehabilitation of mine victims must also be addressed.

UNICEF is currently supporting mine awareness programmes to educate communities about the dangers of mines, as well as therapeutic programmes to assist mine victims.

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