UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
CF/DOC/PR/1998-46
BELLAMY HAILS MILESTONE ON LANDMINES Treaty's 40th Ratification
Must Lead to Global Ban, UNICEF Chief Says
(New York, 16 Sept.)--UNICEF Executive Director Carol
Bellamy today hailed the achievement of the 40th ratification
of the treaty to ban anti-personnel landmines, which
is the minimum number required for the treaty to become
binding international law. Under the terms of the
treaty, the ban formally goes into effect in March
1999.
"We stand at an historic moment in the struggle
to end the anguish that these weapons have already
inflicted on tens of thousands of the world's children,
their families and their communities," Bellamy
said.
Bellamy will visit Bosnia, the most heavily mined country
in Europe this week to focus attention on this tremendous
achievement. During the visit on 18-19 September,
she will visit a mined area, a physical therapy center
for child landmines victims and will also meet with
Government officials to discuss ratification follow-up.
The UNICEF chief spoke in New York as Burkina Faso became
the 40th country to formally ratify the treaty, which
bans the production, sale, stockpiling, export and
transfer of mines designed to kill or maim.
The UNICEF chief congratulated countries that have ratified
the treaty since December, when it was first open for
signature in Ottawa. She said that by doing so they
had ushered in a new humanitarian and ethical standard
to end the indiscriminate cruelty caused by mines,
and hasten their elimination. Bellamy also praised
the role of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines,
a non-governmental organization, for their commitment
and perseverance in generating a groundswell of support
for the treaty.
"But this is no time to bask in our success,"
Bellamy warned. "While this treaty is a hard-won
victory, countries that have not yet added their names
to the treaty must move swiftly to do so. We need
that unanimity in halting the further spread of these
horrific weapons."
"Only when every country in the world resolves
to rigorously implement the treaty will the world be
finally rid of these insidious weapons of war,"
Bellamy said.
Some 26,000 people, many of them children, are killed
or maimed each year by landmines (o) a brutal fact
of life in nearly 70 countries where most of the world
60 to 100 million unexploded mines lie hidden. Further,
landmines destroy livelihood by rendering land unusable.
The forty state parties which ratified the international
treaty are: Andorra, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Belize,
Bolivia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso,
Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea,
Fiji, France, Germany, Grenada, Holy See, Hungary,
Ireland, Jamaica, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Niue,
Norway, Peru, Samoa, San Marino, South Africa, Switzerland,
Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom,
Yemen and Zimbabwe.
UNICEF has long advocated a global ban on landmines
and in 1995 resolved not to do business with any companies
that manufacture or sell anti-personnel mines or their
components.
In promoting mine awareness and education, UNICEF and
its partners have launched Superman and Wonder Woman
comic books to alert children to the dangers of hidden
mines. UNICEF has also taken the lead in the creation
of dramas, games, puppet shows and songs to teach children
around the world how to recognize a mine and what to
do when they encounter one.
*****
For further information, please contact: Madeline Eisner,
Division of Communication, UNICEF NY, 212-326-7261
Liza Barrie, Division of Communication, UNICEF NY,
212-326-7593
[The material contained in this communication comes to you via IRIN West Africa, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. UN IRIN-WA Tel: +225 21 73 66 Fax: +225 21 63 35 e-mail: irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci for more information or subscription. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this report, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. IRIN reports are archived on the Web at: http://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail to archive@dha.unon.org . Mailing list: irin-wa-extra]
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 09:01:48 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: UNICEF Executive Director hails milestone on landmines, 98.9.16, Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980917085729.20106B-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
Previous Menu | Home Page | What's New | Search | Country Specific |