1. Landmines and Cluster Bombs: An Enduring Problem

2. Brief History of Landmines
14th century Chinese text, the Huolongjing, describes a mine made of bamboo, black powder, and lead pellets. It was placed underground.
Detonated by a flint device that directed sparks onto a series of fuses

3. Brief History of Landmines
In 1500s, fougasse mines were developed.
Buried explosives, covered with rocks or metal
Detonated by tripwires or by long fuses
High maintenance, and due to susceptibility of black powder to dampness.

4. Brief History of Landmines
First modern, mechanically detonated anti-personnel mines created by Confederate troops under Brigadier General Gabriel Raines
Raines had begun working with explosive booby traps in the Seminole Wars in Florida in 1849
Used more reliable and reproducible mechanical detonation devices

5. Brief History of Landmines
Improved mines were designed in Imperial Germany around 1912
Designs were copied and manufactured by all major participants in the First World War

6. Brief History of Landmines
Antipersonnel mines were first used on a large scale in WWII
Initially used to protect antitank mines, to stop them from being removed by enemy soldiers
Later antipersonnel mines used to slow or halt enemy movement, by being placed in great numbers

7. Design
Triggered by a variety of means (pressure, vibration, movement, magnetism)
Many have an additional touch or tilt trigger, to prevent enemy engineers from defusing it.

8. Design
Use as little metal as possible, to make location by metal detectors more difficult.
Mines made mostly from plastic are also very cheap to produce

9. Design Wide variety of designs
Makes detection and disarming very difficult

10. Design
Claymores

11. Design
Claymores
Stake mines

12. Design
Claymores
Stake mines
Bounding fragmentation mines

13. Design Often deliberately designed to maim, rather than kill
Stabilizing and evacuating an injured soldier hampers an actively fighting force
More resources are taking up by caring for an injured solder than dealing with a dead soldier
Cheap and easy to make, around $1 each
(can cost more than $1000 to find and destroy)

14. Marking minefields
Ideally, minefields laid by armies should be well marked, to prevent friendly troops from entering
All mines locations should be recorded, since warning signs can be removed or destroyed, and so safe routes through the mine fields can be followed by friendly soldiers

15. Unreliable marking
In the “fog of war” protocols are not always accurately followed
New landmines designed to be scattered by helicopter, plane, by artillery, or ejected from cruise missiles, make precise recording impossible
(US air deployed mines have a self-deactivating design, but reliability is uncertain)

16. Deliberately unmarked fields
Non-state armies (rebel groups, guerilla fighters) do not reliably uphold these conventions
Often, their goal is to spread fear and panic in the community, and deliberately terrorize civilians. So mined areas are deliberately not marked
Such tactics were regularly employed in the Southern African conflicts throughout the ’70s and 80’s:
Angola, Mozambique, Nambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, are still plagued with landmines as a result.

17. Landmines are indiscriminate
The vast majority of victims are civilians, not soldiers.
According to the Landmine Monitor Report 2003, only 15% of reported casualties were military personnel

18. Mines remain after conflict ends
Most of the countries where casualties are reported are at peace
In , 41 of the 65 countries that reported new mine casualties were not experiencing any armed conflict
Landmines placed during WWI sometimes still cause deaths in parts of Europe and North Africa

19. Long term costs to survivors
Permanent disability is almost certain
A growing child needs a prosthetic limb frequently refitted each year, and few can afford this
Many face social exclusion, such as being seen as unfit to marry
Some children never return to school after their accident

20. Long term costs to survivors
A death might cost a family their primary breadwinner
For survivors, vocational training and support is often unavailable
Many struggle to make a living after their accident, and become a burden on their families
Victims often end up begging on the streets

21. Mines hamper recovery after conflict ends
People in some of the poorest countries are deprived of their productive land and infrastructure
Farm lands, orchards, irrigation canals, and wells may no longer be accessible
Mines cut off access to economically important areas, such as roads, dams, and electricity towers

22. Mines hamper recovery after conflict ends
Landmines slow repatriation of refugees after a conflict ceases, or prevent it altogether
They hamper the delivery of relief services, and injure or kill aid workers

23. Widespread problem
More than 75 countries are affected by undetonated mines
Some of the most contaminated places:
Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chechnya, Colombia, Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, India, and Pakistan

24. Widespread problem
Nobody knows how many mines are still in the ground worldwide
The actual number is less important than their impact:
It can only take a few mines, or just the suspicion of their presence, to make an area unusable

25. Treaties Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
AKA “Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects”
AKA “The CCW”
Was an amendment to the Geneva Conventions of 1949
Concluded in Geneva on October 1980, went in to force in December 1983
Amended again in 1996

26. CCW Consisted of 5 protocols
Protocol II concerns “Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps, and Other Devices”
Prohibits the use of non-self-destructing or non-self-deactivating mines outside fenced, monitored, and marked areas

27. CCW
Unfortunately, CCW lacked specific mechanisms to ensure verification and enforcement of compliance, and had no formal process for resolving disputes about compliance.
The US only signed 2 of the 5 protocols, the minimum required to be considered a signatory

28. Continue Toll
NGOs continued to see toll mines took in the various communities they had been working in, in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America
They knew only a complete ban would adequately address the problem

29. The ICBL
The International Campaign to Ban Land Mines (ICBL) was launched in 1992
Formed from 6 NGOs (Handicap International, Human Rights Watch, Medico International, Mines Advisory Group, Physicians for Human Rights, and Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation)
Lobbied governments and rallied public support for a complete ban

30. Celebrity Support
The late Princess Diana focused attention on the problem of landmines, and the need for a ban
Visited Angola and Bosnia with mine clearing organizations, and focused the media spotlight on the victims
Her work brought increased public support and pressure on governments to sign the treaty

31. The Mine Ban Treaty
“The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and Their Destruction”
AKA “The Mine Ban Treaty”
Signed by 122 governments in Ottawa, Canada in December 1997

32. The Requirements
Signatories must stop production and deployment of anti-personnel mines
They must destroy all anti-personnel mines in its possession within 4 years
(A small number of mines may remain for purposes of training mine detection and clearance)
Within 10 years, the country should have cleared all of its mined areas
Mine affected countries are eligible for international assistance for mine clearance and victim assistance once they sign the Mine Ban Treaty

33. Signatories to the Treaty
As of August 2007, 155 State Parties had signed
Only 40 states remain outside the treaty
Notable exclusions:
China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Libya, Pakistan, Russia, Syria, and United States

34. US Refusal to Sign
The US refuses to sign the treaty because it does not offer a “Korean exception”
Argues landmines are crucial to its strategy in South Korea
One million mines along the DMZ between North and South Korea
Believes it maintains a delicate peace by deterring a North Korean attack

35. US Contribution to the Problem
U.S. used antipersonnel mines in Vietnam, Korea, and first Gulf War
From , U.S. exported over 5 million antipersonnel mines to over 30 countries
Those include Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Somalia, and Vietnam
U.S. made mines have been found in at least 28 of these mine affected countries or regions

36. Worldwide Recognition
The coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Jody Williams, won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her work

37. Current Status Landmines continue to pose a threat to citizens
The most landmine affected countries are Afghanistan, Angola, and Cambodia
The middle east has been called the “landmine heartland,” with tens of millions of buried landmines

38. Current Status Every 28 minutes, someone steps on a landmine
Landmines are estimated to kill or injure approximately 18,000 people every year

39. Continued Mine Use Only 2 states continue to deploy new mines
Myanmar’s military forces continue to use antipersonnel mines extensively
Russia continues to use mines, primarily in Chechnya, but also in Dagestan and on the borders of Tajikistan and Georgia

40. Continued Mine Use
Israel may have laid antipersonnel mines in the 2006 conflict with South Lebanon
Russian peacekeepers claim Georgian military forces laid new landmines, despite its moratorium on landmine use

41. Cessation of Use Nepal, with its cease-fire in 2006
Angola, since the April 2002 peace agreement
Sri Lanka, since the cease-fire in 2001
Rebel use has stopped in Angola, Sri Lanka, Macedonia, Senegal, and Uganda

42. The Bad News
13 countries still produce or retain the right to produce antipersonnel mines
Forty countries outside the Mine Ban Treaty together possess 160 million antipersonnel mines

43. New Production
The ICBL identified the following countries as manufacturing landmines as of August 2004:
Singapore
Vietnam
Burma
Nepal
India
Pakistan
Russia
Cuba
Iran
North Korea
United States

44. US Production
US has failed to adopt sign the Mine Ban Treaty, or adopt an official moratorium
Since US stockpiles are at capacity, there had not been any US based production of antipersonnel mines since 1997

45. Bush Administration Policy
February 2004, President Bush announced his landmine policy
No intention of joining the Mine Ban Treaty
Continued development and production of antipersonnel mines
(although self-destructing/deactivating)

46. Companies Producing Mines
In the US, no company produces mines from beginning to end
Companies only produce component parts, which are assembled in government-owned, contractor operated army ammunition plants

47. Companies Producing Mines
Seventeen US companies, formerly involved in producing antipersonnel mines, declined to renounce future production:
AAI Corp
Allen-Bradley
Alliant Techsystems, Inc.
Accudyne Corp
Ferrulmatic, Inc.
CAPCO, Inc.
Dale Electronics, Inc.
Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc.
General Electric
Lockheed Martin Corp.
Mohawk Electrical Systems, Inc.
Nomura Enterprise, Inc.
Parlex Corp.
Quantic Industries, Inc.
Raytheon
Thiokol Corp.
Vishay Sprague

48. New US Production
In July 2006, Pentagon announced it had awarded contracts to two companies or the development of a new landmine system
(Alliant Techsystems, and Textron Systems)
Called “the Spider”
Deploys triplines, that can be activated remotely by a monitoring soldier
May also be activated by the victim (as in a conventional mine)

49. New US Production
Congress stalled the production by requiring the Pentagon to first study the possible indiscriminate consequences of deploying this weapon.
The issue is only delayed until the study is submitted to Congress

50. Removing Mines
Even after production is halted, mines must be removed from the ground

51. Removing Mines Mechanical Devices
Mine flails may only be 80% effective (good enough for military use)

52. Removing Mines
For Humanitarian De-mining, UN sets a standard of 99.6% removal
Communities must feel safe returning to their lives
Most mines must be detected and removed/deactivated by hand

53. Removing Mines
Humanitarian De-miners first try to restore access to productive land and vital infrastructure
For example: clearing a path to a water source, or a village school

54. Removing Mines
De-mining by hand is time consuming, labor intensive, and dangerous
Mines are rarely placed in flat, open fields
Terrain is often rocky and steep

55. Removing Mines
Proper protective equipment is expensive

56. Removing Mines
Some countries can not afford such protective equipment

57. Possible New Methods Gambian Giant Pouched Rat
Can be trained with food rewards to find certain odors
Too small to set off the mines

58. Possible New Methods Honey bees
May be trained to detect chemical odors from mines

59. Possible New Methods
The mustard Arabidopsis thaliana normally turns red under harsh conditions
Scientists have bred a strain that turns red in response to the nitrous oxide that leaks from landmines and other explosives

60. Possible New Methods
A bacterium has been genetically engineered that will fluoresce under UV light in the presence of TNT
Could be sprayed over an entire field to detect mines

61. Some Good News Since the Mine Ban Treaty:
World-wide production has fallen considerably
Trade has almost come to a halt

62. Some Good News
In 2006, over 450 square km of mined land was cleared and put back into productive use

63. Some Good News
Mine risk education reached 7.3 million people, to protect them from the danger of mines

64. Some Good News
Since the treaty, there has been widespread destruction of stockpiled mines

65. What You Can Do
Support organizations that aid countries in clearing mined fields, providing assistance to victims, and lobby for continued government action against landmines
Volunteer time and money

66. What You Can Do HALO (Hazardous Area Life-Support Organization)
A British and American NPO whose purpose is to remove landmines and unexploded ordinance left behind after a war
Operates in 9 countries, and has over 7000 mine-clearers
Largest operation is in Afghanistan
Has removed 30,000 mines in Angola since the end of their war in 1994

67. What You Can Do Clear Path International
Assists the civilian victims of landmines and other explosive remnants of war
Supports prosthetic clinics
Delivers prostheses to remote areas far from medical care

68. What You Can Do Adopt-A-Minefield Campaign
Works primarily through the UN to clear mine fields in some of the most heavily mined countries in the world
Works with a number of organizations to provide relief to landmine survivors
Cleared over 21 million square meters of land in Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam
Provided over $1.5 million for survivor assistance projects

69. What You Can Do Marshall Legacy Institute
Contributors can sponsor a mine-detection dog

70. What you can do Support the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
Challenge elected officials (and candidates) to sign the Mine Ban Treaty

71. Cluster Bombs

72. Cluster Bomb Design
Air dropped or ground launched munitions that eject a number of smaller munitions (“bomblets”)
Variety of designs
Variety of types of bomblets
Anti-personnel
Incendiary
Anti-tank
Anti-runway
Anti-electrical

73. Cluster Bomb Design
Depending on the type and size of cluster bomb, a single munition may contain over 2000 bomblets

74. Large Strike Area Bomblets are scattered over a very wide area
The area hit by a single cluster munition can be as large as 2 or 3 football fields.
With such a wide area, civilians are frequently hit inadvertently

75. Unexploded Ordinance Not all bomblets detonate on impact
They remain live, and can explode if handled
Essentially act as landmines

76. Intrinsic Failure Rate
For example:
U.S. made M26 warheads with M77 submunitions are designed to have a 5% dud rate;
In reality, they have a dud rate closer to 16%
M483A1 DPICM artillery delivered cluster bombs have a reported dud rate of 14%

77. Small Failures Add Up
Given that each cluster bomb contains hundreds of bomblets, and are fired in volleys…
…even a small failure rate can lead to hundreds or thousands of unexploded ordinances scattered about

78. Continue to be a Danger
Like landmines, they may still be live and deadly even many years after deployed

79. Unintended Deadliness
Some cluster bomblets are brightly colored to increase their visibility and warn off civilians
However, the color, combined with their small and non-threatening appearance, cause children to interpret them as toys

80. Tragic Oversight
In the War in Afghanistan, humanitarian rations dropped from airplanes were in similar yellow colored packaging as undetonated BLU-97B bomblets
After several deaths, the humanitarian packages were changed to blue, then to transparent, to try to avoid such confusion

81. Ongoing Deaths
In Vietnam, people are still being killed from cluster bombs dropped by U.S. and Vietnamese forces; up to 300 every year
Unexploded cluster bombs kill more civilians in post-war Kosovo than landmines
Citizens in Lebanon are being injured and killed by unxploded bomblets left from the 2006 conflict with Irseal
Cluster bomblets kill and maim civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan as we try to gain local support

82. CCW
Protocol V of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons covers “explosive remnants of war”
Sometimes applied to the topic of cluster munitions
Has little power to enforce, and the primary users of cluster weapons are not signatories

83. Cluster Munitions Coalition
Following failure of the CCW review in 2006 to effectively address the humanitarian crisis of cluster munitions, CMC begun
A network of more than 200 NGOs, faith-based groups, and professional organizations
Includes global organizations, such as Handicap International, International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and Human Rights Watch

84. The Oslo Process
Through the CMC, the Norwegian Government, along with Austria, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, and Peru, announced its intention to establish a new international process to establish a treaty banning cluster bombs
Will also increase clearance of contaminated land, and provide assistance to victims
In Feb 2007, 46 nations met in Oslo, committed themselves to completing this treaty by 2008, and began to shape the document
As of November 2007, 84 states were participating in the Oslo Process

85. Taking an Example from the Mine Ban Treaty
CMC is calling on governments to make a strong and comprehensive treaty, that will make a real difference in peoples lives, without exceptions, delays, or loopholes
Government must publicly endorse the previous draft in order to participate in the next conference
Despite not being a superpower, smaller countries are taking decisive steps, and not waiting for larger countries to come around

86. Global Day of Action The Global Day of Action to Ban Cluster Bombs
April 19, 2008
Occurs one month before the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions (May 19-30, 2008)

87. What You Can Do Get involved!
CMC gives advice on organizing events to demonstrate public support, raise awareness, and pressure governments to ban cluster munitions

88. What You Can Do
Question candidates about their position on cluster munitions
A September 6, 2006, the Senate amendment to ban the use of cluster bombs in civilian areas was voted on
Senator Clinton voted no
Senator Obama voted yes

89. Questions?