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Anti-personnel landmines; Current Situation and problems

November 27, 1997
United Nations Administration Division

1. Current situation of anti-personnel landmines

Anti-personnel landmines are buried indiscriminately in the areas of conflicts, including Angola, Afghanistan and Cambodia total 110 million or more. They pose a serious humanitarian problem and hinder greatly the post-conflict reconstruction and development of these regions.

2. International efforts

(1) International concern on anti-personnel landmines surged early 90s. The ICRC, Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali, former United Nations Secretary General, President Bill Clinton of the United States urged international communities to strengthen efforts on the problems of anti-personnel landmines.

(2) Amid growing concerns on the problem of anti-personnel landmines, the United Nations set up the Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance on November 30, 1994 as a part of its efforts to remove them. The Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) opened on September 25 1995. By amending the protocol II annexed to CCW on May 3, 1996 restriction on land mines was strengthened.

(3) Following the G-7 summit in Lyon in 1996, the summit in Denver in June 1997 also discussed the problems of the anti-personnel landmines and the leaders reaffirmed the need of international cooperation on restrictions and removal of anti-personnel landmines as well as assistance to victims.

(4) Efforts toward achieving a global ban are under way at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and through the Ottawa Process.

3 Japan's efforts

(1) Main points

Japan thinks that to step up international efforts in the following four areas are important.

  1. Efforts towards achieving a global ban on anti-personnel landmines.
  2. Support to landmine clearance activities conducted by the United Nations and other organizations.
  3. Development of new technology for mine detection and removal.
  4. Assistance to the victims of landmines.

(2) Efforts toward achieving a global ban on anti-personnel landmines

  1. At the G-7 summit held in Lyon in June 1996, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto expressed support for international efforts toward a global ban on landmines and announced that Japan had decided to take a series of measures on its own initiative.
  2. Japan participated in the international conference on global ban on anti-personnel landmines organized by the Canadian government in October 1996.
  3. Japan cosponsored the U.N. resolution on An International Agreement to Ban Anti-Personnel Landmines adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in December 10,1996. This resolution urged to pursue international agreement to ban anti-personnel landmines.
  4. Japan has been participating in international efforts to achieve a global ban on anti-personnel landmines at the conference on Disarmament in Geneva and through the Ottawa Process.

(3) Japan's cooperation in landmine clearance

  1. Japan has so far extended financial assistance totaling some $29.2 million for the following landmine clearance activities conducted by the United Nations and other organizations:
    • United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan (UNOCHA) ($17 million in total)
    • Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) ($5 million in total)
    • UN Protection Forces (UNPROFOR: PKO in former Yugoslavia) ($3 million in total)
    • UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance ($4 million in total)
    • Special Fund for Landmine Clearance Operations in Latin America established by the Organization of American States. ($200,000 in total)
  2. Japan cosponsored the U.N. Resolution on "Assistance in Mine Clearance" adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in December 1996. The resolution calls for strengthening assistance in mine clearance.

(4) Assistance to the victims of landmines

Japan has so far given financial support for the following projects.

  1. Establishment of a center to manufacture gratis artificial legsand and dispatching medical experts in Cambodia by the Foundation for the Support of the United Nations, Inc. (Fiscal 1992)
  2. Establishment of a rehabilitation center in Cambodia by the Foundation for the Support of the United Nations, Inc. (Fiscal 1993)
  3. Vocational training of disabled persons given in Cambodia by the Association to Aid Refugees, Japan (Fiscal 1994, 1995 and 1996)

4 Organized and hosted Tokyo Conference on Anti-Personnel Landmines

  1. Objectives of this Conference
    Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto proposed to hold an international conference to discuss the following three key areas of the anti-personnel landmine problems at the G-7 summit in Lyon in 1996. Participants discussed how to step up international efforts on the three areas, below.
    • Landmine clearance by the United Nations and other organizations.
    • Development of new technology for mine detection and removal
    • Assistance to the victims of landmines.
  2. Date
    March 6 and 7 (Thursday and Friday), 1997
  3. Participants
    Representatives of 27 countries, mainly countries assisting the mine clearance and mine-infested countries, the European Union and 10 international organizations.

Some facts about Japan's contribution to landmine problems.

1 Cooperation in landmine clearance activities by the United Nations and other organizations.......... Grand Total: $29.2 million

(1) Contribution to UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance.........................................................$2 million

(2) Contribution to Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC)....................................................$5 million

(3) Contribution to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan (UNOCHA)..............................................................$17 million

(4) Contribution to UN Protection Forces (UNPROFOR: PKO in former Yugoslavia)............................................. $3 million

(5) Contribution to Special Fund for Landmine Clearance Operations in Latin America established by the Organization of American States..............................................................$200,000

2 Assistance to the Victims of Landmines in Cambodia

(1) Grant assistance for grassroots cooperation projects ................................................. Grand Total: 31 million yen

  • Contribution to an artificial leg project by Cambodia Trust, a British NGO
  • Contribution to printing shop construction at a vocational training center for the disabled including landmine victims.
  • Supply of medical equipment and medicine to hospitals through local NGOs
  • Contribution to restoration work at a vocational training of disabled persons by the Association to Aid Refugees, a Japanese NGO
  • Supply of medical equipment through Medecins sans frontiers, a French NGO

(2) Assistance through the NGO project subsidies system .................................................Grand Total: 32 million yen

Supply of artificial legs to the Foundation for the Support of the United Nations, Inc. Contribution to the vocational training of the disabled by the Association to Aid Refugees.

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