I am writing this petition to urge you to reconsider the current U.S. policy on landmines and make adoption of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty a priority.
As of October 2004, a total of 152 governments have joined the mine ban treaty. But, it is discouraging to learn that parties to the treaty include the entire western hemisphere except for the U.S. and Cuba, and all of NATO except for the U.S. and Turkey.
The overwhelming majority of the 15,000-20,000 annual landmine victims are civilian women and children. Millions more suffer from the debilitating agricultural, economic and psychological consequences wrought by the weapon's presence in nearly 90 countries.
While it can cost as little as $3 to produce one landmine, it can cost as much as $1,000 to remove one mine. With more than 80 million landmines buried throughout the world, de-mining poses a tremendous burden on post-conflict reconstruction and stabilization in poor countries.
The mine ban movement has already produced tremendous, life-saving results. Since the early 1990s, the number of mine-producing countries has dropped from 54 to 14. Trade of the weapon has come almost to a halt, and more than 34 million antipersonnel landmines have been destroyed. Most importantly, casualty rates from the weapon have dropped.
Certainly, the United States should be a leader in this vital humanitarian cause. But, our current policy undermines the effort to universalize the Mine Ban Treaty by providing justification for other holdout states to use, produce or export these indiscriminate weapons.
Thank you for your consideration of this important issue.
