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Overview
Spotlight
Mine Action: the Battle That Continues After War Has Ended
- Approximately 100 million landmines remain stockpiled around the world, and about 2 million mines are being planted each year.
- The International Committee of the Red Cross conducted a study analyzing the use of landmines in 26 conflicts between 1940 and 1995. It concluded that landmines do not confer a strategic advantage in war.
- In compliance with Article 7 of the Ottawa Convention, Canada destroyed the last of its stockpile on 3 November 1997.
- Canada committed $172 million to the Canadian Landmine Fund from 1998 to 2008.
The Global Development Challenge
The International Vision
CIDA's Strategic Approach to Landmines
Landmine Action
In Afghanistan, a demining team cautiously combs for silent killers buried beneath the soil―detecting and clearing landmines. In Colombia, a team of mine risk educators informs the community of the hidden dangers in their midst. And in the mine-affected region of Casamance, Senegal, a Canadian college shares its expertise with local clinics in the development of orthotics and prosthetics technology. These initiatives are a few examples of the work undertaken with CIDA support to heal the damage caused by landmines to individuals and communities, and to work with other countries towards a mine-free world.
The Global Development Challenge
Since their first widespread use in the Second World War, landmines have been produced around the world. At a price of $3 to $30 each, landmines are cheap to deploy and have become weapons of choice in the world's poorest countries, which are least equipped to deal with their long-term consequences. Highly specialized skills and equipment are required to defuse them, running up to $1000 per mine. However, the real cost of landmines is incalculable.
Buried mines can remain lethal for decades―during which time borders shift, populations move, and records are lost. Their victims, when not killed outright, are seriously injured, creating a burden on families and a psychological scar that leaves open the memory of war. As part of the broader disability and development issue, victim assistance is a long-term business: victims' needs will never disappear. Progress is being made but more must be done.
Not only do landmines disproportionately affect the rural poor; their removal is also a precondition to other kinds of development, posing a challenge to several of the Millennium Development Goals:
- Halving extreme poverty and hunger―Acres of arable land lie fallow where people are afraid to till the earth cutting off access to an economic sector most likely to employ and empower the poorest.
- Reducing by two-thirds deaths of children under five―a disproportionate number of victims of landmines are children, who are often unaware of the dangers and locations of minefields. Butterfly landmines, for example, are often mistaken for toys and have injured countless curious children.
- Achieving universal primary education―landmines prevent children and teachers from getting to school; furthermore, many children must abandon education to take the place of workers and household supporters who have fallen victim to landmines.
The International Vision
Spearheading a novel, fast-track approach to diplomacy, Canada advanced the process that resulted in the Ottawa Convention. Apart from raising awareness worldwide about landmine-related issues, the Convention ensures that member states do not produce, stockpile or use landmines, requires that mine-affected states clear mined land within 10 years of ratification, obligates the destruction of stockpiles within four years, and demands attention on providing assistance to survivors of mine accidents.
In 1997, the global willingness to create a mine-free world helped to bring swift agreement among the original 122 states parties. Negotiated in less than one year, the Ottawa Convention entered into force on March 1, 1999 as the first legally binding response to the problem of landmines―and a call for further humanitarian action.
CIDA's Strategic Approach to Landmines
Canada established the Canadian Landmine Fund, providing funding of $172 million for the period 1998-2008.
In recognition of the pervasive nature of landmines and the necessity of mine action to other aspects of sustainable development, global mine-action approaches have been defined from the start by a spirit of cooperation and complementary relations. CIDA integrates aspects of mine action into its bilateral and international humanitarian assistance projects.
CIDA works closely with DFAIT and DND to ensure an integrated and whole-of-government approach to mine action. DFAIT provides policy leadership and monitoring of compliance with the Convention, while DND supports research and development in demining and victim assistance technology. CIDA works through bilateral branches to deliver programs in three key areas outlined in the Convention: victim assistance, mine-risk education and mine clearance.
