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Hidden Killers 1994: The Global Landmine Crisis Preface and Executive Summary

The Secretary of State
Washington, DC

Antipersonnel landmines pose an enduring threat to post- war reconstruction around the world. These weapons continue to take thousands of innocent civilian lives every year, even in those countries where conflicts have ceased.

The United States urges countries that manufacture antipersonnel mines to adopt export moratoria and encourages all countries to become parties to the international convention governing landmine use. The United States also solicits international contributions to multilateral mine clearance programs in those countries that must contend with this man-made scourge.

In his address to the United Nations on September 26, 1994, President Clinton called for the eventual elimination of antipersonnel landmines. As a first step toward this ultimate goal, the President proposed an international control regime to regulate the production, export and stockpiling of antipersonnel landmines.

This report, "Hidden Killers 1994: The Global Landmine Crisis," details the steps taken by the United States to help solve the landmine problem. The United States will continue to work closely with other governments, the United Nations, and private relief organizations in a multi-faceted approach to addressing the problems caused by this most deadly debris of war.

Warren Christopher

Executive Summary

Despite the efforts of the United States and others, the global antipersonnel (A/P) landmine problem is getting worse. The simple fact is that more landmines are deployed in armed conflict every year than are removed by mine clearance personnel. The world is now littered with an estimated 80-110 million A/P landmines in 64 countries, which maim or kill an estimated 500 people every week, mostly innocent civilians. The majority of these mines were deployed during the last 15 years. The burden imposed by the proliferation and indiscriminate use of these weapons is beyond calculation. The world must take stronger steps to address this problem, and the United States will remain at the forefront of that effort.

In September 1993 the U.S. Government formed the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Demining and Landmine Control to coordinate and administer U.S. efforts in this area. Chaired by the Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs, with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Humanitarian and Refugee Affairs as vice chair, the group also includes representatives from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, the U.S. Information Agency, and the National Security Council.

In his address to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on September 26, 1994, President Clinton called for the eventual elimination of A/P landmines. As a first step, the President proposed the negotiation of an international control regime to regulate landmine production, export, and stockpiling. The United States and other countries can move most effectively toward the ultimate goal of eventual elimination of A/P mines as viable and humane alternatives are developed.

The United States has already taken several other steps to address the landmine problem. The United States declared a moratorium on the export of antipersonnel landmines, introduced a resolution into UNGA calling on all states to adopt similar moratoria, submitted the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification, and proposed measures to strengthen the CCW's provisions regarding landmine use. To address the mines already implanted, the United States established the Demining Assistance Program to provide mine awareness training and mine clearance training to nations with landmine problems and also initiated research and development into cost-effective demining techniques.

The United States leads the world's endeavors to address the multi-faceted landmine problem, and welcomes the opportunity to coordinate with other nations and international organizations to develop a global solution to the global problem. The world faces a landmine crisis which will take many years to resolve, but the efforts of the United States and others constitute an important first step.

Notes on Statistical Data

The data contained in Hidden Killers 1994: The Global Landmine Crisis, is a compilation of reports filed from U.S. Embassies around the world. The members of the Interagency Working Group on Demining and Landmine Control dispatched a survey to all U.S. diplomatic posts in December 1993, requesting information about the landmine situation in host countries.

The embassies consulted a broad range of sources within each country to provide complete responses. These sources included, but were not limited to, government ministries, hospitals and medical authorities, international organizations such as the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and private nongovernmental organizations locally active in humanitarian issues.

The data contained in this report is a compilation of the estimates provided by these sources to U.S. Embassies. The embassies were not in a position to evaluate the veracity of the estimates provided by local sources. The figures can represent only an approximate order of magnitude of the landmine problem, due to the inherent difficulties in gathering accurate data. The casualty estimates in this year's report are higher than the figures in the 1993 report. This can be attributed to increased awareness and attention to the issue in affected countries and to increased emphasis on reporting and tracking casualty data, rather than any significant increase in the size of the problem.

The aggregate figure for global landmine distribution includes mines which were deployed in strict accordance with current international law, and which therefore pose little threat to civilian populations. The United States Government cannot at this time accurately determine what percentage of the mines implanted around the world were illegally deployed.

The U.S. Government considers the figures in this report to be rough estimates at best, and uses the figures to define the approximate magnitude of the problem and to establish priorities for the allocation of U.S. resources to combat the global landmine problem. More specific data on the landmine situation cannot be obtained, due in part to the size of the problem and the frequently remote regions of landmine deployment. As a result, the global landmine problem cannot be quantified with precision.

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