Horn of Africa/Gulf of Aden Conference on Landmines

November 16-18, 2000

Djibouti

COORDINATOR, MINE ACTION TEAM

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

Mister Chairman, Distinguished delegates,

I would first like to thank the authorities of the Republic of Djibouti, and the organizers of this conference, for inviting me to participate in this important event. I would further like to talk about the progress made so far in our fight against landmines, but also about the remaining challenges still facing us, now that we have a tool, the Ottawa Convention, to address the antipersonnel landmine crisis. I would like to elaborate on the priorities of the Canadian government in this field. I would like also to remind our African friends that we need them, that they should remain as active in the implementation of the Ottawa Convention as they were during its creation.

The global ban on anti-personnel landmines represents one of the greatest achievements in the field of international arms control and in the development of human security. It’s a success that has been built through the active involvement of a large and diverse cross-section of the international community.

As you know, it’s been nearly three years since the Mine Ban Treaty was first signed by 122 countries in Ottawa, Canada.

Today, 139 States have signed or acceded to the Convention. One hundred and seven States have ratified or acceded. This is a stunning accomplishment. States Parties include mine-affected states, former producers, developing as well as industrialized countries, and countries from every region of the world. In short, a very significant and representative proportion of the world now explicitly rejects -- and has outlawed the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of anti-personnel mines. And I should note that more than 85 percent of all African states have signed or acceded to the Convention, 43 out of 53.

But overall success can often bring into sharp focus areas that require more work and a sustained effort. That’s why universalization efforts remain a priority for Canada. Hard work lies ahead to bring in the remaining hold-outs.

We need to look at regional and sub-regional strategies to secure more accessions, and in some cases to build incrementally on support which is clearly growing. We very much welcome the active role played by two African regional organizations, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). We are calling upon the OAU to remain as active in the implementation of the Ottawa Convention as it was in its establishment. Canada is also looking forward to the day – hopefully soon – when the three remaining permanent members of the Security Council – the United States, Russia, and China – join the majority of the global community of states in becoming full partners within this Convention.

One of the most important vehicles for encouraging more accessions is the Universalization Contact Group. Over the past year, the Contact Group has been working with governments to encourage, and in some cases assist, movement towards ratification or accession. Unfortunately, we have not been able to secure the participation of African states in it, and I am here urging countries from Africa to join us in this endeavour. We should keep in mind that it is in large part due to the work of the Contact Group that a number of new ratifications have occurred recently, pushing us past that benchmark 100^th ratification when Mauritania deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN Secretary-General this summer.

The next meeting of the Contact Group will take place in early December in Geneva. As I said, we would very much hope to have African countries joining us in our efforts, and I would welcome any proposal or idea in that regard.

Let me turn now to more concrete issues, the real impact of the Convention on the ground – in minefields around the world – where there has been substantial progress.

1. Anti-personnel mines are no longer being used on the scale of the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s when millions per year were being planted, and when mines were clearly being laid at a much greater rate than they were removed. This is no longer the case. Through concerted demining programs and the international community’s support for mine clearance operations in some of the world’s worst affected regions, we have turned the tide in the battle against landmines. On a global basis, more mines are today being taken out of the ground than are being planted.

2.The global trade in AP mines has all but halted. Of 34 nations that are known to have been exporters in the past, all but one have made formal statements or enacted legislation prohibiting exports. In 22 of these cases, national bans on exports have been part and parcel of joining the Ottawa Convention. For the others, who remain outside the treaty, the force of the Convention as an instrument of international law has undoubtedly influenced the decision to enact export bans and moratoria.

3. Production of new AP mines is significantly reduced. There were once 54 countries producing anti-personnel mines. Today, there are just 16. Eight of the 12 biggest producers and exporters over the past thirty years are now States Parties to the Convention.

4. The Ottawa Convention is having a real impact in reducing mine casualties. Through concerted mine clearance efforts and effective mine awareness programs, we are witnessing a steady decline in the number of new mine victims in some of the world’s worst mine-affected countries:

1. In Afghanistan, the casualty rate is about one-quarter what it was in the early 1990s.
2. In Bosnia, a 1994 high of 69 victims per month was reduced to 8 victims per month in 1999.
3. In Cambodia, 1999 saw a 41 percent decrease in mine casualties from the previous year. Compared to casualty figures recorded in 1996, the number of new mine victims in Cambodia is now a full one-third fewer.
4. In Mozambique, where – despite fears that massive floods would result in an increase of mine casualties – casualty figures dropped last year by 45 percent compared to 1998 figures, in large part due to Canada’s rapid response in providing emergency mine action funding when the floods hit.

5. Stockpiles are being destroyed. More than 22 million AP mines have been destroyed by some 50 states in recent years. Twenty-one States Parties have completed destruction of their stocks totaling some 10 million AP mines. Another 27 States Parties and signatories are in the process of eliminating their stockpiles.

6. Resources for mine action programs -- in the areas of mine clearance, victim assistance, mine awareness, stockpile destruction, and development of mine action technologies -- have increased significantly since the onset of the Ottawa Process: from over $100 million in 1997 to over $210 million in last year.

7. Mine clearance has made a real difference in returning land to safe and productive use. Some example include:

1. Nicaragua,where more than 1.2 million square metres of land suspected to be polluted with mines have been declared safe.
2. Of the mined land cleared in Cambodia between 1992 and 1998, 91 percent has been put into productive use, mainly for agriculture and the resettlement of displaced persons.
3. In Afghanistan, over 465 square kilometres of mined areas and battlefields contaminated with unexploded ordinance have been cleared. Almost one-third of this area has been made available for agriculture and grazing.
4. Since 1993, 88 minefields have been cleared in Jordan, freeing up more than 7 million hectares of land for cultivation.
5. Today, mine clearance is taking place in 65 mine-affected countries or areas around the world.

I should point out that the framework for global mine action on the international scene was established during first meeting of the State Parties which was held in Maputo, Mozambique, in 1999.

The Second Meeting of States Parties held last month in Geneva afforded the opportunity for all of us to reflect on these indicators of progress.

During the Second Meeting, States Parties adopted a strongly worded Declaration, through which they both celebrated the successful implementation of the Convention to date and deplored the continued use of anti-personnel mines by some states. As part of this declaration, States Parties implored those States that have declared their commitment to banning landmines while continuing to use mines to recognize that this is a clear violation of their solemn commitment.

So much remains to be done. It remains our belief that the terror of anti-personnel landmines can be eliminated in years, not decades. But this is predicated on the need to sustain a concerted and global effort to address the problem.

Canada, which played a key role in the creation of the Convention, intends to be equally active in its implementation. Among our different initiatives for this year, I would like to mention the proposal, made jointly with France, to hold a seminar on the universalization and the implementation of the Ottawa Convention in Africa.

This event will take place in Bamako, Mali, February 15 and 16.

Before this project was announced, a vast process of consultations was held with countries all across Africa, and with the OUA, on the idea of the seminar itself. The vast majority of the African countries have welcomed this proposal and have announced their intention of helping us organize it.

But why hold a seminar specifically on the mine problem in Africa ?

Because we feel it is important to contribute to the universalization and implementation of the Ottawa convention in Africa.

Because several African partners have indicated that there is a need to reinforce the dialogue between donor countries and mine affected countries.

Because we want the African continent to be a full partner in the establishment of the Ottawa Convention as a new international humanitarian norm.

Because it has been three years now since the drafting of an action plan against mines, in Kempton Park, South Africa, and this plan could usefully be adapted to current circumstances.

Because we want to contribute to establishing specific programs according to well identified needs.

In summary:

–The Ottawa Convention is a new norm of international humanitarian law;

–Its legitimacy is well established: it represents the desire of the world population not to remain hostage, years after the end of a conflict, of weapons which inflict inhuman suffering, and which do not distinguish between soldiers and civilians, between soldiers and children;

–The Convention exists because civil society has been able to call upon their governments and force them to reflect upon the military usefulness of this weapon, and upon the fact that this weapon does not respect international humanitarian standards related to the protection of civilian population.

–Canada is again looking forward to working in close collaboration with its African partners. Africa must be fully engaged in the establishment of this new norm. We must continue our action. We must ratify. We must adopt appropriate national legislations. We must demine. We must destroy stocks of mines. We must help the victims of mines. We need partners to encourage donor countries, like Canada, to maintain their level of aid.

Africa was an active participant in the international community’s progress toward a Convention banning landmines. The Kempton Park Conference was a crucial step in that regard. But much remains to be done, and Africa must remain active in the implementation of the Ottawa Convention now that it has established itself as a new international humanitarian norm.

Thank you for your attention.