President Obama: No More Delays. Join the Mine Ban Treaty Now!
- da: Handicap International UK
- destinatario: President Obama
Landmines cannot distinguish between a soldier and an innocent civilian. They do not know the difference between an adult and a child. More than 70 per cent of victims are civilians. With landmines impacting communities in more than 80 countries and territories, the danger is very real.
Landmine survivors and campaigners from every corner of the globe have been calling on the U.S. to join the Mine Ban Treaty for 20 years. President Obama launched a review of U.S. landmine policy in 2009 to determine whether the U.S. will join the treaty. In December 2012, the U.S. announced that this review process would conclude "soon", but so far, no firm date has been set.
The world has waited long enough.
Handicap International needs your help to ensure that President Obama takes bold action and submits the Mine Ban Treaty to the Senate.
Take action today: Tell President Obama it's time to join the Mine Ban Treaty and ban the use of these barbaric weapons once and for all!
Landmine survivors and campaigners from every corner of the globe have been calling on the U.S. to join the Mine Ban Treaty for 20 years. President Obama launched a review of U.S. landmine policy in 2009 to determine whether the U.S. will join the treaty. In December 2012, the U.S. announced that this review process would conclude "soon", but so far, no firm date has been set.
The world has waited long enough.
Handicap International needs your help to ensure that President Obama takes bold action and submits the Mine Ban Treaty to the Senate.
Take action today: Tell President Obama it's time to join the Mine Ban Treaty and ban the use of these barbaric weapons once and for all!
Dear President Obama
December 2012 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the signing of the Mine Ban Treaty. I am calling on you to join the treaty and ban these indiscriminate weapons once and for all.
[Your comment will be added here]
The U.S. government finally announced in December 2009 that it had initiated a comprehensive review of its landmine policy. In December 2012, the U.S. announced that this review process would conclude "soon", but so far, no firm date has been set. Countless American citizens, landmine survivors and campaigners from every corner of the globe have been calling on the U.S. to join the treaty for the last fifteen years. We have waited long enough! It's time to submit the treaty to the Senate for ratification now.
Since the policy review began, the U.S. administration has received letters of support for the Mine Ban Treaty from 68 Senators, NGO leaders, key NATO allies, 16 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, victims of U.S. landmines, and countless concerned individuals.
I appreciate that your administration initiated a review of its landmine policy, but it has been three years since you made the announcement that the process had begun. I ask that you accelerate efforts towards accession, work diligently to overcome obstacles to joining, and submit the treaty to the Senate for consent without delay.
The United States is one of only 36 countries that have not yet joined the treaty. In the Western Hemisphere, only the U.S. and Cuba are non-signatories. Every other member of NATO except Poland (which has already signed and plans to ratify in 2012) are also States Parties to the treaty. The rest of the world recognizes that the human cost of these weapons far outweighs their military utility. Why can't the U.S. do the same? The U.S. should be embarrassed that it is still not among those nations that have categorically condemned the use of these barbaric weapons.
I am glad to hear the U.S. is no longer using persistent "dumb" mines, but it is time to finish the job by banning all types of landmines. Landmines are indiscriminate killers, whether persistent landmines or those designed to self-destruct after a period of time. While active, even smart mines are triggered by the victim and cannot distinguish between an enemy combatant, a soldier, a mother working in the fields or a young child on his way to school.
The U.S. has not used antipersonnel landmines since 1991, has not exported them since 1992 and has not produced them since 1997. Surely if you have been able to defend your country for the last 21 years without using landmines, you have already found alternative solutions.
It's time to commit to not using the 10.4 million landmines currently stockpiled in U.S. arsenals--if not for moral reasons, then also to save the enormous amount of taxpayer money spent on stockpiling and maintaining these stigmatized weapons.
As you know, U.S. participation is important to the universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. Even though landmine use has been significantly reduced worldwide, a few countries refuse to join -- and even continue to use landmines -- under the cover that they will not join if the U.S. has not joined.
Joining the Mine Ban Treaty would also confirm and show concrete evidence that the Obama administration is serious about a renewed emphasis on multilateralism and disarmament.
The U.S. was one of the first governments to call for the elimination of landmines in the mid-1990s, and has been planning to join the Mine Ban Treaty since its creation, but postponed joining until 2006. President Bush reversed the U.S. policy stance in 2004 before this could happen. It is time to finally abandon the Bush-era policy, get back on track and fulfil the promise the U.S. made to the international community almost 15 years ago. It is time for the U.S. to finally accede to the Mine Ban Treaty and join the rest of the world in ending the barbaric use of landmines once and for all.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Firma la petizioneFirma la petizioneDecember 2012 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the signing of the Mine Ban Treaty. I am calling on you to join the treaty and ban these indiscriminate weapons once and for all.
[Your comment will be added here]
The U.S. government finally announced in December 2009 that it had initiated a comprehensive review of its landmine policy. In December 2012, the U.S. announced that this review process would conclude "soon", but so far, no firm date has been set. Countless American citizens, landmine survivors and campaigners from every corner of the globe have been calling on the U.S. to join the treaty for the last fifteen years. We have waited long enough! It's time to submit the treaty to the Senate for ratification now.
Since the policy review began, the U.S. administration has received letters of support for the Mine Ban Treaty from 68 Senators, NGO leaders, key NATO allies, 16 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, victims of U.S. landmines, and countless concerned individuals.
I appreciate that your administration initiated a review of its landmine policy, but it has been three years since you made the announcement that the process had begun. I ask that you accelerate efforts towards accession, work diligently to overcome obstacles to joining, and submit the treaty to the Senate for consent without delay.
The United States is one of only 36 countries that have not yet joined the treaty. In the Western Hemisphere, only the U.S. and Cuba are non-signatories. Every other member of NATO except Poland (which has already signed and plans to ratify in 2012) are also States Parties to the treaty. The rest of the world recognizes that the human cost of these weapons far outweighs their military utility. Why can't the U.S. do the same? The U.S. should be embarrassed that it is still not among those nations that have categorically condemned the use of these barbaric weapons.
I am glad to hear the U.S. is no longer using persistent "dumb" mines, but it is time to finish the job by banning all types of landmines. Landmines are indiscriminate killers, whether persistent landmines or those designed to self-destruct after a period of time. While active, even smart mines are triggered by the victim and cannot distinguish between an enemy combatant, a soldier, a mother working in the fields or a young child on his way to school.
The U.S. has not used antipersonnel landmines since 1991, has not exported them since 1992 and has not produced them since 1997. Surely if you have been able to defend your country for the last 21 years without using landmines, you have already found alternative solutions.
It's time to commit to not using the 10.4 million landmines currently stockpiled in U.S. arsenals--if not for moral reasons, then also to save the enormous amount of taxpayer money spent on stockpiling and maintaining these stigmatized weapons.
As you know, U.S. participation is important to the universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. Even though landmine use has been significantly reduced worldwide, a few countries refuse to join -- and even continue to use landmines -- under the cover that they will not join if the U.S. has not joined.
Joining the Mine Ban Treaty would also confirm and show concrete evidence that the Obama administration is serious about a renewed emphasis on multilateralism and disarmament.
The U.S. was one of the first governments to call for the elimination of landmines in the mid-1990s, and has been planning to join the Mine Ban Treaty since its creation, but postponed joining until 2006. President Bush reversed the U.S. policy stance in 2004 before this could happen. It is time to finally abandon the Bush-era policy, get back on track and fulfil the promise the U.S. made to the international community almost 15 years ago. It is time for the U.S. to finally accede to the Mine Ban Treaty and join the rest of the world in ending the barbaric use of landmines once and for all.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
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