The Issue of Landmines

Anti-personnel mines are weapons placed on the ground designed to injure or kill people who step on them. They are unique in that they are designed specifically for use against individual persons rather than vehicles, such as tanks. Thousands of people around the world are permanently maimed or killed each year from these anti-personnel mines. Eighty percent of the victims are civilians, often children, who may step on the mines years after the conflict they were used in has ended.

Many human rights groups and governments have decried the impact of anti-personnel mines on innocent civilians. In order to address the problem, the Canadian government spearheaded an international campaign to ban anti-personnel mines in 1997. Representatives of numerous governments met in Ottawa, Canada to produce the Ottawa treaty, which prohibits the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of anti-personnel mines. The treaty came into effect when the 40th country signed on in 1998. Although it only applies to the countries that have signed it, the Ottawa treaty had 155 signatories as of February, 2007. (There are 192 countries in the United Nations.)

Although few deny the terrible impact of land mines on civilians, critics have pointed out some drawbacks to the treaty. One problem is the definition of an anti-personnel mine. Some anti-vehicle mines are sensitive enough to be detonated by a person, yet are technically legal under the treaty. On the other hand, some mines intended only for vehicles are banned under the treaty. The blurry definition means that signatories who stretch the meaning of the treaty can gain an unfair military advantage over signatories who stick with a strict interpretation. Also, some critics point to the potential of anti-personnel mines to prevent wars from starting in the first place. The use of such mines in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, for example, discourages North Korea from invading its neighbor.