Foreign Correspondence

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Ban Policy .. Landmine ban .. "binding international law" as of March 1, 1999 ..

Key Developments

Only one state joined the Mine Ban Treaty since the publication of Landmine Monitor Report 2007: Palau in November 2007. Three States Parties–Belarus, Greece, and Turkey–all of whom have very large stockpiles of antipersonnel mines, missed their stockpile destruction deadlines of 1 March 2008, putting them in serious violation of the treaty. Three other States Parties completed stockpile destruction: Burundi, Sudan, and Afghanistan, which was unable to meet its 1 March 2007 deadline for stockpile destruction, but completed it in October 2007. No use, production, or transfer of antipersonnel mines was recorded by any State Party during the reporting period (May 2007 to May 2008). States not party Myanmar and Russia continued to use antipersonnel mines, as did non-state armed groups in at least nine countries. In May 2008, 107 states adopted the new Convention on Cluster Munitions which comprehensively bans the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions.

Universalization

The Mine Ban Treaty entered into force on 1 March 1999, becoming binding international law. Since entry into force, states must accede and cannot simply sign the treaty with intent to ratify later. Outreach by States Parties to the treaty has helped to expand the ban on antipersonnel mines to countries that at one time expressed difficulties with joining. Of the 156 States Parties, 131 signed and ratified the treaty, and 25 acceded.

Adherence by year to the Ban Treaty



Since the publication of Landmine Monitor Report 2007 only one country joined the Mine Ban Treaty. Palau acceded on 18 November 2007, and the treaty entered into force on 1 May 2008. .. continued, it's lengthy ..