This was the conclusion of a meeting of state parties to the Mine Ban Treaty that took place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 27 November – 2 December 2012, at which DanChurchAid (DCA) also took part.
In addition to the major producers and traders of landmines not yet being party to the treaty – including China, Egypt, India, Israel, Russia and the United States – the main concern of the meeting was the countries that have laid new landmines this year.
Three countries
Burma/Myanmar, Israel and Gaddafi's forces in Libya fall into this category. Armed groups in Afghanistan, Colombia, Burma and Pakistan also laid new mines, according to the BBC.
There are also serious concerns about Syria laying landmines along its borders to prevent civilians for fleeing, according to several sources including the BBC, but this has not yet been confirmed.
A realistic goal
Clearing landmines is a tedious, time-consuming and indeed expensive task. While work is progressing worldwide, it is a major setback when three or perhaps four countries go against this effort. But work should nevertheless continue.
"We have come a very long way in implementing the Mine Ban Treaty. The core aim – ridding the world of the scourge of landmines – is not an idealistic dream, but a realistic, achievable goal. Over 80 percent of the world’s nations are now on board, and numbers of victims wordwide are falling. What is important now is to keep up the focus and pace. And finish the job," says Head of DCA Humanitarian Mine Action, Richard MacCormac.
Positive signs
But the meeting, which was the eleventh of its kind since the treaty ("The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction") was first signed in 1997, also brought some good news.
Finland has decided to join the treaty, taking the total number of state parties to 159.
A Finnish delegate told DCA that opposed to what was commonly believed, Finland does not have any landmines along its border with Russia, but it has some landmines in stock. These will now be destroyed.
However, referring to security concerns, Finland is not yet ready to join the Convention on Cluster Munition, agreed in Dublin in 2008.
Moreover, South Sudan has recently joined and Somalia said it would do so in some months. Burundi declared itself mine-free.
Extension
Each country has 10 years from the date they sign the treaty until they have to declare themselves free of landmine. For some of the countries affected, this is not enough time. DR Congo was among the countries that at the Phnom Penh meeting asked for an extension to their clearance work.
DCA has been working on clearance in DR Congo since 2004.
Funding issue
Signatories to the treaty commit to not only solving the landmine problem in their home country, but also to help poorer countries deal with the issue through funding or other support. This has so far been a great success.
2011 saw the largest amount of total international funding, peaking at a total of $637m in 2010, according to the Landmine Monitor as quoted by the BBC.
However, the financial crisis is looming also in this area and it remains to be seen whether this level can be kept also for the following years.
With 4,000 people killed by landmines in 2010, according to the BBC, the case for funding is certainly there.