Quicker land-mine response demanded

Date: 26/11/1998

By Simon Taylor

THE European Commission is to propose ways of improving the EU's strategy on land-mines, which still kill or maim up to 2,000 people a month in countries ranging from Cambodia to Bosnia and Mozambique.

A paper due to be discussed by the full Commission next month will set out how the Union can make better use of the 30 million ecu it spends every year on dealing with anti-personnel mines.

Officials say there is a real need to speed up implementation of the Union's programmes, including finding a quicker way of allocating EU funds to anti-land-mine projects on the ground.

One of the problems the Union faces is that project funding is decided on a yearly basis, while those working on the ground need to be sure that programmes will be financed over several years to maintain the momentum necessary for progress.

Commission officials also stress that sustained pressure is needed to reduce the human cost of land-mines. "There has to be greater focus by the international community on the problems of affected countries if we are to overcome them in ten to 15 years," said one.

One of the EU's main priorities is to try to convince more countries to sign up to the Ottawa Convention, pledging the signatories to stop making or selling anti-personnel mines. So far, 130 countries have agreed to abide by its terms, including all the Union's member states except Finland.

Even if the remaining countries endorse the ban, experts warn that casualty figures will continue at current levels for the foreseeable future because of the huge number of mines still in the ground, estimated at more than 60 million by a recent US state department study.

Campaigners point out, however, that there has been progress in areas such as Bosnia and Cambodia in reducing the number of casualties from mines by teaching local people about the dangers.

But a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross, one of the leading organisations working on the issue, said that while increasing awareness was crucial to reducing casualties, efforts must also be focused on direct assistance to victims and on mine clearance. "All three legs of the tripod must be in place," he said.

European Commission is to propose ways of improving the EU's strategy on land-mines.