Mines still cause thousands of casualties despite ban
http://www.100md.com
《英国医生杂志》
As campaigners celebrate the seventh anniversary of the signature of the Ottawa protocol on banning landmines and prepare for the protocol抯 first review conference in Nairobi at the end of November, they warn that much still needs to be done to clear mines and to address the needs of thousands of new victims each year.
The first treaty in history to ban an entire class of weapons, the protocol was based on an initiative of a coalition of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch, medical charities such as Handicap International, and specialist UN agencies.
The protocol was first signed on 18 September 1997 and came into force in March 1999. So far more than 140 countries have ratified it, with the notable exceptions of the United States, Russia, and China.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines warns that despite the achievement of the ban "a global mine crisis remains, and there is still a lot to be done before we live in a mine-free world . . . It is estimated that there are between 15 000 and 20 000 new casualties caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance each year."
Richard Lloyd of Landmine Action said, "Victims and communities affected by the debris of war deserve better support than they are currently getting from the mine action community. The mine problem is finite, straightforward, and relatively simple to solve. However, mine action bureaucracy is becoming overcomplicated and, as a consequence, unjustifiably expensive."
South Korea is the world抯 most contaminated country, where millions of mines still guard the demilitarised zone on the border with North Korea. The world抯 worst affected region is sub-Saharan Africa, where 23 countries remain contaminated, including heavily affected countries such as Angola, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Sudan. Last year new landmine casualties were reported in 20 of them.
The campaign warned: "In many of the mine-affected countries in the region, medical facilities and rehabilitation services are in poor condition, mostly due to a lack of financial resources. Armed conflict, whether ongoing or in the past, has also taken a heavy toll on the health infrastructure in several countries. In many African countries the assistance available for landmine survivors?rehabilitation and reintegration into society is hopelessly inadequate."
Britain抯 best known campaigner on landmines, Diana, Princess of Wales, was described by ministers as a "loose cannon" after her visit to Angola in January 1997, but her visit to a minefield caused such public demand for change that John Major抯 government was forced to adapt its policy to endorse the ban (BMJ 1997;314:312).
Diana pointed out: "Mines inflict most of their casualties on people who are trying to meet the most elementary needs of life. They strike the wife or the grandmother gathering firewood for cooking. They ambush the child sent to collect water."(Gwangju, South Korea Pete)
The first treaty in history to ban an entire class of weapons, the protocol was based on an initiative of a coalition of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch, medical charities such as Handicap International, and specialist UN agencies.
The protocol was first signed on 18 September 1997 and came into force in March 1999. So far more than 140 countries have ratified it, with the notable exceptions of the United States, Russia, and China.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines warns that despite the achievement of the ban "a global mine crisis remains, and there is still a lot to be done before we live in a mine-free world . . . It is estimated that there are between 15 000 and 20 000 new casualties caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance each year."
Richard Lloyd of Landmine Action said, "Victims and communities affected by the debris of war deserve better support than they are currently getting from the mine action community. The mine problem is finite, straightforward, and relatively simple to solve. However, mine action bureaucracy is becoming overcomplicated and, as a consequence, unjustifiably expensive."
South Korea is the world抯 most contaminated country, where millions of mines still guard the demilitarised zone on the border with North Korea. The world抯 worst affected region is sub-Saharan Africa, where 23 countries remain contaminated, including heavily affected countries such as Angola, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Sudan. Last year new landmine casualties were reported in 20 of them.
The campaign warned: "In many of the mine-affected countries in the region, medical facilities and rehabilitation services are in poor condition, mostly due to a lack of financial resources. Armed conflict, whether ongoing or in the past, has also taken a heavy toll on the health infrastructure in several countries. In many African countries the assistance available for landmine survivors?rehabilitation and reintegration into society is hopelessly inadequate."
Britain抯 best known campaigner on landmines, Diana, Princess of Wales, was described by ministers as a "loose cannon" after her visit to Angola in January 1997, but her visit to a minefield caused such public demand for change that John Major抯 government was forced to adapt its policy to endorse the ban (BMJ 1997;314:312).
Diana pointed out: "Mines inflict most of their casualties on people who are trying to meet the most elementary needs of life. They strike the wife or the grandmother gathering firewood for cooking. They ambush the child sent to collect water."(Gwangju, South Korea Pete)