Landmines

www.un.org

www.mineaction.org

History of Landmines

Used extensively in WWII, technology employed in US Civil War

Goal to maim—wounded use more resources

Cost between $1-$3 each to make and set

Cost between $300-$1000 to clear

Landmine Distribution

Over 80 countries; unknown number, est. at least 110 million

Landmine Proliferation

Annually 100,000 landmines cleared, but 2 million new landmines laid

At current pace estimated 1,100 years to clear all landmines if no new ones are laid

Many countries have halted production and trade of mines

Countries continuing: Burma, China, India, Nepal, N. Korea, S. Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Singapore, Vietnam, Cuba, Russia, and United States

Ottowa Landmine Ban

Signed in 1997 by over 100 nations

Landmine Cost

20,000 casualties of landmines per year, half are children Blindness, burns, loss of limb, shrapnel

wounds, blood loss

Persist long after conflict ends Prevent refugees from returning home Hamper reconstruction, delivery of aid

and environmental restoration

Mozambique

Civil war from 1975 - 1992

Approx. 3 million landmines remaining, only 51% of land officially cleared

20+ casualties a month; 60% die due to lack of treatment

Mozambique

Mined features include power lines, roads, bridges, railroads, and airports, schools, factories

Farmland: Mines rendered Mozambique’s arable land unusable - exacerbating poverty and malnutrition

Mines also injure/kill endangered wildlife

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Civil war between ethnic groups 1992-1995

Over 12,000 micro-locations still need to be cleared

Mines are low density and random

Still being set in non-mined areas to discourage resettlement

Clearing LandminesProddingMetal detection

Scraps, shrapnel etc. Only 1 of 1,000 pings was

actual mine Modern mines have

plastic shells Dogs

Lengthy training time Can only smell old mines Can trigger mines

New Technology

Mozambique Sniffer rats

Bosnia Honeybees

Explosives smell like food Can be trained in about a week Do not set off mines

US Naval Research Nuclear quadropole resonance, like MRI 100% detection, quick clearing