I write this with concern about landmines and its effects. The landmines situation has been and is still a problem. Many people have been involved in landmines accidents and have either been killed or have been maimed. Resources provided for care and rehabilitation of the affected people is inadequate to meet their needs. Assistances to the victims have been provided without regard to survivors’ perspective and therefore, the survivors should be given opportunities and tools to fight for rights and improvement of life standards.
Since the implementation of Landmine Ban Treaty, a good progress has been made in eradicating landmine problem. However, the land mine problem has not been fully eradicated. It questions military use of antipersonnel mines as it exposes civilians to disastrous effects. Many countries have joined the treaty because of its political association rather than the concern for the landmine problem. The treaty provisions catered for stopping production of land mines which has been achieved in some countries. However, the provision to completely destroy stocks of landmines has not been attained. The program to get rid of the landmines has been costly and challenging. Some countries have not been affected by the treaty to stop production and ban the use of landmines and are believed to still hold large stocks of the arms. Besides, total ban on the weapon has not been attained (Williams et al., 2008).
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Measures have been put in place to secure and clear mines on mine affected areas, to educate civilians and provide assistance to the victims. Some states have prioritized mine clearing problem, however, others have not yet done so due to lack of determination, negligence at national level or shortage of funds to facilitate the mine clearance. Besides, some states have large mine affected areas which would take a long time to achieve mine clearing. The use of deadline to mine clearing to determine achievement is not a promising approach as more countries may fail to beat it.
The main objective of the landmine ban treaty is to provide assistance to landmine accidents victims and suffering caused by the accidents. The number of new victims affected by landmines is declining making provision of care to the victims a priority. Landmine Survivors Network has been form to provide medical care, assist survivors to heal from trauma and fight for their rights by training survivors who will inspire other survivors to live and also adjudicate for each survivor to make personal decision concerning their recovery (Matthew et al., 2004).
To achieve objectives of the treaty, significant amount of financial resources is requirement. It is difficult to determine amount of money required because problems vary from nation to nation. Besides, landmine problem is a huge hindrance to economic development especially in poor countries. The ban treaty partly aims at removing all categories of weapons and this has caused opposition from other states leading to sluggishness of landmine ban process. Although progress has been achieved, efforts to deal with landmine problem should be increased by both affected and donor states. Governments should put aside political agenda in the treaty and work with NGOs to deal the landmine problem with considerable effort and time (Hubert, 2000). Policies to handle military concern on use of landmine should be put in place.
Thank you for your consideration to address this issue.
Sincerely,
References
Williams, J., Goose, S. D., & Wareham, M. (Eds.). (2008). Banning landmines: Disarmament, citizen diplomacy, and human security . Rowman& Littlefield Publishers.
Matthew, R. A., McDonald, B., & Rutherford, K. R. (Eds.). (2004). Landmines and human security: international politics and war's hidden legacy . Suny Press.
Hubert, D., & MacFarlane, S. N. (2000). The Landmine Ban: a case study in humanitarian advocacy . Thomas J. Watson Jr. Institute for International Studies.
