US: Ban Landmines (HRW 23 November 2009)

[struggle4progress]

US to Participate in Mine Ban Treaty Meeting for First Time
November 23, 2009

(Washington, DC) - The United States should commit to join the international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines when it attends a milestone meeting of the agreement beginning November 29, 2009, Human Rights Watch said today.

For years the US has obeyed most of the key provisions of the Mine Ban Treaty - no use, no production, and no trade - while strongly supporting international programs to get mines out of the ground and to help victims. But it has not acceded to the treaty.

"It's time for the US to turn its landmine practice into policy," said Steve Goose, Arms Division director at Human Rights Watch. "President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton should instruct officials who plan to be at the meeting to confirm publicly that the US is committed to joining the Mine Ban Treaty in the near future."

The US has not used, produced, or exported antipersonnel mines in the 12 years since the Mine Ban Treaty was established in 1997. That year, the Clinton administration set the objective of joining the Mine Ban Treaty in 2006, but the Bush administration reversed course in 2004 ...

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/11/23/us-ban-landmines

This call seems to have been followed IMMEDIATELY by a State Department annoucement that the US had reviewed the Bush era policy and would continue to follow it: see today's LBN:

Obama Administration Will Not Sign Land Mine Ban
... State Department spokesman Ian Kelly says the administration recently completed a review and decided not to change the Bush-era policy ...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4159533

[Tesha]

1. More "change we can believe in". :-(. (NT)

[Kaleva]

2. technology has advanced. non-persistant mines are now feasible.

The problem has always been with persistent mines which can remain lethal for decades.