A few days after the United States’ decision to approve the transfer of war orders to kyiv, the review conference of the Ottawa Convention, which regulates the ban on anti-personnel mines, is being held for the first time in Asia. Even after decades of demining and clearing the land, Cambodia continues to face the serious consequences that mines have on the lives of civilians.
Siem Reap () – A few days after the United States approved the transfer of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine, which has committed to repel the Russian invasion that began in February 2022, the fifth review conference of the Convention that governs the prohibition of the use, storage, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and their destruction, also known as the Ottawa Convention. The Siem Reap-Angkor Summit for a Mine-Free World (this is the name given to the conference) opened on November 25 and will conclude on the 29th.
Pope Francis, addressing the participants in a letter signed by the Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, expressed his regret that, 25 years after the entry into force of the Convention, anti-personnel mines continue to be used. “Conflicts are a failure of humanity to live as one family,” the pontiff said, underscoring how mines continue to silently claim innocent lives – especially children – long after hostilities have ceased.
It is the first time that the conference has been held in Asia, particularly in Cambodia, a country where landmines, used in the war against the Khmer Rouge regime since 1979, have had a devastating impact on the population: according to the organization Halo Trust, which deals with mine clearance, has recorded more than 65,000 victims since 1979, including 18,800 dead and almost 45,000 injured. More than 9,000 have had to suffer amputations. Although much of Cambodia’s minefields have been cleared, population growth is forcing many families to move to areas that have not yet been cleared, especially in the northwest of the country, on the border with Thailand.
In his inaugural speech, Prime Minister Hun Manet (who came to power undemocratically to succeed his father Hun Sen after an election in which the opposition was prevented from participating) highlighted Cambodia’s progress in demining: ” “They have come to a nation that embodies resistance and hope, a nation that has traveled a path that has taken it from being one of the countries most affected by mines to becoming one of the leading advocates of a mine-free world.” said the premier. “To date, we have destroyed more than 1 million landmines and 3 million explosive remnants of war. Victims have plummeted from an average of more than 4,300 a year in 1996 to fewer than 100 in the last ten years. “Lands that were once minefields have now become fertile ground for agriculture, urbanization and development, lifting millions of people out of poverty,” continued Hun Manet.
«However, our journey is far from over. We still have more than 1,600 square kilometers of contaminated land that affects the lives of nearly a million people. Therefore, ending the negative impact of mines and explosive remnants of war and promoting assistance to victims is, without a doubt, a cornerstone of our sustainable development program.
The Mine Ban Treaty Review Conference is held every five years. Representatives of member states, civil society and international organizations attend to review the status of the Convention. This is the first summit of its kind since the invasion of Ukraine, where an estimated two million anti-personnel mines have already been placed.
«This measure will leave a deadly legacy for future generations of Ukrainian citizens. “It is deeply disturbing that the United States knowingly provides a weapon that Ukraine is prohibited from using under international law,” as a treaty signatory, said Tamar Gabelnick, director of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). its acronym in English), a group of NGOs that campaign to abolish the production of these weapons. “The United States, which is the world’s largest donor to demining efforts, is now paradoxically contributing to the same problem for which it spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year,” said the association’s director, Tamar Gabelnick.
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