The Mine Ban Treaty: A Dead Letter?

Indigenous Peoples, Ethnic Minorities, the Forgotten Victims Ten Years On

The Hague, 17 September 2007 - Ten years after the opening for signature of the landmine ban treaty, much still needs to be done in order for people to be effectively protected from landmines, especially among the world’s overlooked indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities. While a lot of efforts have been made in the past decade to get states to ratify the treaty, ratifications were rarely followed by the establishment of systematic mine clearing and mine awareness programmes.

A member-run democratic platform for indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and unrecognized de facto states, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is launching this fall a worldwide mine awareness campaign among its 69 Members following a resolution passed by the UNPO General Assembly. The resolution condemned the use of landmines as a breach of humanitarian law and international law and denounced their use “for any purpose and by anyone”. Aside from the countless victims and casualties, the resolution also deplored the immense indirect damage done by landmines hindering socio-economic development and preventing the return of displaced people.

The Impact of Landmines on Minorities

Over the past decades, landmines have been used in many regions to suppress peoples or prevent displaced indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities from returning to their lands. UNPO has started a survey of the impact of mines on the life of its Members with the aim to bring light on the situation of these forgotten minorities.

Landmines are for instance omnipresent in the lives of the 5 million Ahwazi Arabs from Iranian Khuzestan. The thousands of mines and unexploded ordnances inherited from the Iran-Iraq war considerably affect the livelihoods of rural Ahwazi communities. Farmers and shepherds are forced to choose between taking great risks and being unable to sustain themselves. Not properly educated about the risks of landmines, children and travelers are also usual victims of this invisible plague.

Simili-Treaty for Non-State Actors

While states are the only entities entitled to sign the mine ban treaty, many other entities can use landmines. In most internal conflicts for instance, the signature of the treaty by a state will not necessarily have much impact on the ground if powerful non-state actors decide to use mines. UNPO therefore joined efforts with the NGO Geneva Call [www.genevacall.org] to get Members of UNPO to sign a “Deed of Commitment”, a symbolic document containing provisions equivalent to those of the mine ban treaty. The goal is to get all stakeholders (both state and non-state actors) in zones of conflict to commit themselves to ban the use of landmines and engage in ridding the land of mines. Three UNPO members have already signed the Deed of Commitment: the Nagas (India – Burma), the Chin (Burma) and the Iranian Kurds; and more are expected to sign it in the coming years.

On this tenth anniversary, UNPO urges the treaty’s signatories to take effective action to ensure that this instrument does not become a dead letter. UNPO also encourages all its Members to renew their commitment to raise awareness on landmines in their communities.