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Table of contents
Statement of the Problem
In 1991, a major event occurred that would change the face of warfare forever. The end of the Cold War signified a step not just toward a lasting peace, but also an effort to eliminate more weapons of mass destruction. Great progress has been made since then, but the issue of smaller conventional weaponry has not been addressed as thoroughly. The use of these less destructive weapons has increased since "low-intensity" conflicts have become a trend in many countries. Industrialized countries have capitalized on this situation by selling conventional weapons freely to lesser-developed countries. The world community has recognized this as a major problem and has started deal with it. Still, there is one issue that remains, the topic of land mines.
Land mines are used all over the world and are usually produced by the more industrialized nations and purchased by the developing. These small devices are used by a range of people from the United States army to rebel groups in Cambodia, and collectively have killed more people than all the nuclear bombs put together. In many wars land mines are in use to secure borders, government land, and private property. There are three main types of mines used: anti-personnel (most popular), anti-tank, and smart mines. The anti-personnel mines are used almost everywhere and are cheap (costing $2 per mine), easy to obtain, and last an extremely long time. The anti-tank land mines are more powerful than the APLs and none of great powers have supported a ban on these because of the powerful role they play in war plans. Finally, there are the "smart mines," the latest advancement in technology for land mines. These new mines have a time limit built in so that after a designated period, the mine will shut down. Of course, there still is a risk that the mines will not shut down, but error has been held to less than 1%. The improvement will make it possible for people to use the land where mines have been placed after the mines have shut down.
One may think, "there are not enough land mines out there to cause a major problem," but there are. Up to 110 million mines are now buried in the soil of 64 countries around the world today. Egypt carries the most land mines with 23,000,000, while Bosnia-Herzegovina carries an average of 152 land mines per square mile. (See Appendix for chart) The fact is that for every 100,000 mines that are cleared annually, another two million to five million more are planted. The reason is that a typical land mine can be sold and planted for as little as $2, but for the government to clear the land mine, it costs up to $3000. There are newer cheaper methods being researched for land mine removal right now, but there are only three ways that are in use as of today: Metal detectors, dogs, and visual inspection. Metal detectors are not in popular use anymore because land mines can be made from plastic instead. Using dogs or visual inspection to detect mines work, but still take too long and are not successful a majority of the time.
Already, Canada, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands and over 20 other countries have said they will no longer use APLs. They have stated that land mines are a cruel weapon of war. They make a note that even after the wars are over, many innocent people fall victim to APLs. They want the producers to stop selling land mines to other countries and the buyers to cease paying for them. On the other side the producers see a very marketable product and see land mines as an alternative to using larger more destructive weapons. The buyers see land mines as a protective measure and a last hope against an aggressive neighbor. An important point to remember is that the countries of USA, Russia, France, UK, China, India, Pakistan, and Israel rely on nuclear weapons (even though they all might not have them) to deter attacks. Many countries that do not use nuclear deterrence use land mines instead in order to ensure against attacks. Many superpowers realize that if land mines were banned then the lesser-developed countries would look to have nuclear weapons as deterrence instead.
Another issue that surrounds the controversy of land mines is the cost. Land mines go for a couple dollars each. This may not seem like a big deal, but to the countries that are not making billions of dollars each year; it becomes their chance to buy, in huge surplus, an extremely deadly weapon. In late 1997 the Ottawa land mine treaty was signed by 100 nations. More importantly, over 80 nations didn't sign showing their strong feeling to keep land mines (see appendix). Should the countries supplying the mines (USA, China, Russia, etc.) be punished? Should the U.N. stop the buyers or should they allow free usage and sales of land mines?
The problem here today is to discuss what the world should now do about land mines, who is responsible for the clean up, what are the new restrictions to land mines, and how to ensure these recommendations are carried out. Land mines are affecting people in countries everywhere, but especially in the lesser-developed nations. Hopefully we will come up with a resolution or two that can help the situation.
The "Cons" of Land mines
Used frequently since World War I, landmines have been around for years – and that’s the main problem: they have a very long life span. They’re not cleared away after a war has ended but hide in minefields that are unmarked or where the markings have disappeared over the years. In places like these, they kill or deform whatever triggers them, whether they are soldiers, civilians, or animals (a mere 15 pounds are needed to set one off); "they are a weapon of war, but the civilians pay the price in peacetime" (Guides/Land mines).
Land mines limit easy access to the most essential resources such as water, food, lands fit for farming, and simple health care. They hamper mass immunization attempts and therefore force viruses and other diseases to emerge and affect large populations. They make roads useless, which makes transportation difficult.
Another product of land mines are innocent amputees. There are about 250,000 amputees currently in the world, and as one can imagine, the cost of prevention, care, and support for those victims is high. In fact, it is estimated that the cost of surgery and rehabilitation for all of these people is almost $750 million (Public Health Reports, 1998). As if this weren’t enough, the number of amputees is supposed to increase by about 800 victims every month. This strain will affect the already scarce resources and workers in countries where health services have already been hit hard by war (Science News, 1998).
Amputees are lucky in a sense. Many times victims will die. If landmine victims do survive "(only two-thirds of adults make it to the hospital – far less children do), they need both immediate and long-term care, putting an intolerable strain on a nation’s health system" (Guides/Landmines). For countries like Cambodia, which has almost 35,000 landmine amputees, the financial burden can be crushing. And, the countries that are most burdened are the same ones whose economies are most impoverished by landmines, since mines wipe out large farmlands and pastures. To state the problem concisely, "de-mining is extremely expensive and time-consuming. So the poorer a people is, the less they can afford to clear away mines – and the longer they remain poor" (Guides/Landmines).
It has taken a very long time for the problem of landmines to be taken seriously because they mostly damage countries who are poor – and as long as the international community values people and nations according to their wealth, their concerns will not have a high political or media priority.
Another negative aspect of land mines that may turn countries away from helping to alleviate the problem is the high cost involved. Removing mines is an expensive and challenging task. Each mine can cost as much as $500-$1000 to remove, yet they cost only $2-$5 to produce. De-mining is difficult because one mistake could mean a serious injury or even death. Technology has contributed to the problem of removal. A traditional metal detector is often used to find mines that contain metal parts, yet not all mines have metal parts now. For example, the modern anti personnel blast mines are usually made with "a plastic water-tight casing with only a small metal spring and striker. These mines are very difficult to detect and deactivate safely" (Disarmament and International Security). So technology is needed to develop equipment for detection of such mines, but this also entails more cost – the cost of research and materials needed to develop that technology.
Land mines cause nothing but unnecessary death and injuries, poverty, and scarce medical treatment. They cost a lot to de-activate and countries aren’t willing to pay for the expensive removal of the more than 110 million land mines dispersed throughout the world. Put simply, anything that land mines can do to an enemy’s army, they can do to a civilian population. What they cannot do is tell the difference between a soldier and a civilian.
In examining the fact that both soldiers and innocent civilians must suffer the same consequences from land mines, one may wish to consider how lawful landmines really are. Although the laws of war are very complicated, many of the protections provided by them are found in Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Part of Common Article 3 states that:
Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of the armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed (outside of combat) by sickness, wounds, detention or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely…(War Crimes)
In other words, civilians and captured or wounded soldiers must not be harmed. Since land mine impact cannot be confined to the times of a war or dispute, under the laws of war, land mines are an illegal weapon. Their removal is difficult and will be a financial burden. Bold steps must be taken now.
Healthcare of Mine Victims
Introduction
As one may already know, the detonation of a land mine can be fatal. They kill not only during war time, but also decades after the last fire was shot. Most victims are maimed while going about their daily routines. These victims are civilians who were not posing a military threat to anyone. But yet, they had to suffer the consequences of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. These mines have caused more long term sufferings and deaths than the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Keating. Geographic Magazine 65 ). It takes only two US dollars to produce a land mine , but yet these mechanical terrorists have caused millions of dollars worth of damage and the loss of innocent lives.
Land mines have killed or injured more than one million people since 1975 (UNICEF). Of this figure, there has been an average of 800 deaths a month and about a thousand more mutilated for life (UNICEF). The most common maimed victims are men between the ages of 15- 64, because they’re the most economically active (Student British Medical Journals) . Of the vast majority of civilians killed or injured, one in ten is under the age of 15.
There are many reasons why there are so many children killed or injured. One reason being that there’s an enormous concentration of mines in certain countries. For instance, there are two land mines for every child in Cambodia (UNICEF). Another reason is that children are more susceptible to an "attack". Children become enticed by uprooted mines, because of their colors and shapes. They often regard the mines as toys. In recent history, Kurdish children have used land mines to build their go- karts. One may ask, " why do these children play with these land mines?" The answer is simple, children are not made aware of the dangers of land mines.
When children trip a mine they are more susceptible to death. This is due to the fact that they are closer to the center of the blast when the land mine explodes. Also, a child is less likely to survive an impact because their chances of surviving massive blood loss is minimal (UNICEF). If the child survives the blast, they often have to undergo an amputation of a limb, because the wound of the extremity has become infected. After several years the child usually has to experience another amputation, because the bone of the stump grows faster than the surrounding skin and muscle (Burkhalter 65). Some families are fortunate enough to afford artificial limbs for their children. However, they aren’t that fortunate because the limb will have to be replaced. The child will outgrow it.
Injuries from a blast
The most common injury from the trip of a land mine is a loss of a leg. Legs are effected the most because they’re closest to the impact. This force tears and burns the skin and muscle tissue of the leg and other parts of the body. This causes dirt , metal, plastic and other debris to be driven into the wound causing infection.
Other common injuries include damage to the head, chest, abdomen, and eyes. Some victims may also experience internal damage to their lungs requiring them to use a ventilator to breathe. Not only do victims suffer the pain of their physical injuries, but they also suffer psychological damage. According to a Newsweek article, many victims become prey to post- traumatic stress disorder. This disorder is a serious psychological problem which arises from an underlying fear of mines.
Treatment
More than 50% of land mine victims die before medical help can be given (UNICEF). If the victim is lucky enough to survive, victims must undergo a very difficult and time consuming surgery. A surgeon of the Red Cross describes mine injuries as "obscene" and the "most sickening" and demoralizing work possible for a surgeon (Keating). The surgery involves removing all debris by cutting dead tissue. The removal of dead tissue is known as amputation. The procedure is done well above the wound to create a clean molded stump (Burkhalter 65). After the operation more than half the victims spend the next two months in the hospital. They often require additional surgery.
Besides physical treatment, we must be able to provide psychological treatment for victims so they can carry on with their lives. One way to treat people’s psychological problems would be through social reintegration. This important process should be part of rehabilitation. Individuals must be brought back into society or the individual will not be able to keep up economically and the victim will become a disgrace because of his/her disability. Social integration will help alleviate some of the pain from the difficulty of managing even the ordinary routines of daily life.
Problems with healthcare
The problems with healthcare for land mine victims is that many countries infested with land mines can not provide these crucial benefits for victims. A major benefit that should be provided for victims, should be careful monitoring and rehabilitation after their accidents. Unfortunately, many patients can not be monitored because of the small numbers of trained doctors and the lack of medical facilities . These two problems add more pain to victims’ suffering.
The problems with doctors in land mine infested places is that there are so few doctors in each country. According to UNICEF, the 8,000 victims in Mozambique, have only four orthopedic surgeons to receive medical attention. All of the surgeons are based in only one city in Mozambique. Even though , there are trained doctors in these plagued nations, there aren’t enough for every victim. This can cause land mine victims to be treated by physicians who lack the necessary skills. These untrained doctors cause many victims to have to undergo further amputations because the original surgery was inadequate.
The second major problem is the lack of treatment centers. When the poor casualty does reach one of the few facilities, the treatment is insufficient because the facility is often primitive. Adequate facilities in land mine infested places like Angola, Mozambique, Cambodia, El Salvador or Kurdistan are scarce, and "the infrastructure to rehabilitate survivors is nonexistent," (Keating). The most these victims can receive for medical treatment is surgery, and if they’re fortunate enough they can be fitted for prosthetics (artificial limbs).
These two problems exist because nations such as Cambodia cannot afford to build the advanced treatment centers or train the doctors needed to aid the injured. The government also can not provide any financial assistance to the victims and their families. Thus, victims have to cover the costs without any help. Of the Cambodian victims, 61% of them went into debt trying to pay for medical attention (Student BMJ).
It’s very unfortunate that victims have to deal with the burden of medical bills while they must try to pursue a difficult recovery. However, there are some victims who are lucky. Consider the case of Marianne Holtz. Ms. Holtz was an American working as a nurse coordinator for the American Refugee Committee in Rwanda. One afternoon she and a friend took a drive out to the countryside. Holtz had been admiring the beauty of the day when all of sudden everything went black.
She awoke four days later in a hospital bed in Nairobi, Kenya. Holtz learned that she had become another statistic of a land mine blast. She was made aware that she was transferred to a hospital in Nairobi, because the extensive medical treatment was not available locally. Holtz comments, "I realized that it was only because I was a foreign aid worker that I was sent to Nairobi immediately for further medical care." Holtz was more lucky than most survivors. If she had been a refugee or resident of the village where the accident occurred, she would have had to remain at the local hospital. Holtz says, " I am luckier than other land mine survivors. I am a citizen of a country which has excellent medical resources and I will be provided for sufficiently to have a reasonable standard of living." (Holtz UN Chronicle 38).
Some argue that all victims of land mines should receive the same amount of medical attention as Holtz. They need to have adequate emergency care, rehabilitation, and long term psychological care. Often times the poor land mine infested nations can only provide surgery , but the rehabilitation and psychological care are just as significant.
The Debate
Land mine infested nations are desperate for help. These land mine infested nations usually lack the necessary money for effective ways to de- mine contaminated areas. The UN has started a Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance (see Appendix). About $49 million has been donated to the fund. However, land mine infested places feel that this is not enough money to de- mine their nations, especially when the fund must be divided by all affected nations.
Besides nations donating to the fund there have been contributions made by non- governmental organizations and organizations within the United Nations (see Appendix). The debate still goes on whether the limited funds should be used to treat victims or for peacekeeping and de- mining missions. Land mine infested places argue that they need funding for both problems. Refugees International, a NGO based in Washington DC, recommends that a Mine Victims Assistance Fund should be established to help amputees. Nations with many land mine victims feel this money can be used to help victims be properly fitted for artificial limbs. These governments also believe the Victims Assistance Fund can be used to train doctors in areas of emergency medical care, rehabilitation and psychological care. Land mine infested nations agree with Refugees International, but still developed nations haven’t been focusing funds on the health care of victims.
Land mine nations are glad to see a trust fund for de- mining has been established. However, it’s their hope that developed nations can understand the need for a fund dedicated to treating victims and a fund for raising awareness about land mines.
Past UN Involvement
"Dealing with mines already in the ground is the United Nation’s most immediate priority" (UN Chronicle, 1997). And the international body’s goal is to help countries that are infested with land mines create their own ways of dealing with all types of mine predicaments, a task that is essential for economic success.
Land mines are not a new problem faced by the UN. In fact, UN land mine programs have been functioning for almost a decade; the first UN mine clearance operation took place in Afghanistan in 1989. Ever since then, the UN has "helped countries devise mine action plans and establish national training programs… provided administrative support…restored livelihood and economic opportunities, and…rehabilitated thousands of traumatized landmine survivors" (UN Chronicle, 1997).
The UN General Assembly has adopted five resolutions thus far on assistance in mine clearance: resolutions "48/7 of 19 October 1993, 49/215 of 23 December 1994, 50/82 of 14 December 1995, 51/149 of 13 December 1996, [and] 52/173 of 19 February 1998" (GA Resolution 51/149 – Assistance in Mine Clearance, 1998). Out of these resolutions and other requests for land mine clearance and prevention have sprouted a series of organizations affiliated with the UN to help alleviate the problem.
One such group the UN has established is the Mine Action Center (MAC), which works in close collaboration with national governments to supervise all mine clearance operations that are performed and record the results of such activities in national databases. Through this program mine clearance schools have come into existence to teach about mine-surveying, clearing, and medical skills. This is just one success of the organization. Many others have taken place also, with the general purpose of MACs being to "transfer management of operations from a UN-supported program with internationally-recruited specialists to national organizations, and from expatriate to national staff" (UN Chronicle, 1997).
In addition to MACs, the UN has planted and cultivated many other programs vital to mitigating the land mine problem. For example, the UN Development Program makes sure that mine action programs cooperate with other post-war or post-conflict reconstruction and development work, and that they will last as long as needed. Another important group to mention is the UN Children’s Fund, which, through the use of mine awareness programs and rehabilitation of land mine victims, limits the effects of mines on women and children (Mine Action and Effective Coordination, 1998). On the same level of effectiveness is the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which raises funds for the clearing and marking of land mines in places where they directly endanger refugees and other people.
One cannot mention this source of funding without paying tribute to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance, which was established in 1994. The Trust Fund pays for missions to assess certain areas and it also finances removal equipment. The Trust Fund has become so important and productive that as of October 1997, "more than 40 countries and organizations had contributed a total of $32.5 million and had pledged an additional $10 million to the Voluntary Trust Fund" (UN Chronicle, 1997).
The Voluntary Trust Fund is crucial for all of the previously mentioned organizations (including the World Health Organization, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the International Labor Organization) to function as well as the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA), the "focal point" for land mine activities within the UN. The DHA guarantees the creation of policies, the use of resources for UN land mine activities, the coordination of all UN actions, and the acceleration of mine clearance (UN Mine Clearance, 1998). Without the DHA and the Trust Fund, the UN land mine program would crumble.
The achievements of UN mine clearance programs, although not widely known, are many. For instance, through the end of 1994 in Afghanistan, approximately 109,754 mines were cleared, 215,764 unexploded mines were destroyed, and about 2.5 million people were presented with mine-awareness lectures (UN Mine Clearance, 1998). In addition, in Angola, where a civil war raged for almost 20 years and where almost 5-10 million land mines were laid, the UN founded a training school to teach local Angolans techniques for the process of demining. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, another country with a high number of mines, the UN set up a MAC in Sarajevo to serve as a building for mine information, clearance, education, and for the training of demining organizations in the country. The MAC is expected to be the beginning of a national mine clearance program. Lastly, in Cambodia, UN organizations have cleared close to 8.5 million square meters of land, and have removed 21,170 land mines.
The list of successes magnifies with each passing year as UN land mine programs grow stronger and accomplish more of their goals. The UN is doing its part in diminishing the land mine problem. But that is not enough. At the current removal rates, it will take at least 1000 more years to rid the earth of all its land mines (Ron Woodfin, Sandia National Laboritories). Clearly, more mine programs must be created and the international community must become more actively involved in the crisis.
A recent breakthrough in the landmine struggle, aside from major UN organizations, was the combination of non-governmental organizations and governments from the international community to form the Ottawa Conference, which took place in 1997. The results of the conference were multifold. In Ottawa, Canada, on December 3-4, 122 nations signed "a historic treaty to ban the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of anti-personnel land mines" (Land Mine Ban, 1997). The treaty was the "first international agreement to ban a widely used weapon since poison gas was outlawed in 1925" (Scholastic Update, 1997). The Ottawa Convention will start on March 1, 1999. It will gather the resources needed to clear mines, it will provide help to mine victims, establish mine-free zones, and promote awareness. For the countries joining the convention after Burkina Faso (the 40th state to ratify) the treaty will begin six months after the date of ratification. The first 45 countries to join the treaty are listed below in the order in which they joined: (there are 87 more signatories to the Ottawa Convention)
Canada, Ireland, Mauritius, Turkmenistan, Holy See, San Marino, Switzerland, Hungary, Niue, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, Djibouti, Croatia, Mali, Denmark, Bolivia, Mexico, Fiji, Peru, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Andorra, Austria, Norway, Jamaica, France, Germany, Samoa, Bahamas, United Kingdom, Malawi, Grenada, Mozambique, Yemen, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Equatorial Guinea, Burkina Faso, Namibia, Honduras, Senegal, Benin, and Japan
A few nations refuse to sign the treaty, including the United States, Russia, China, India, Israel, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and North Korea, because they are either major users (like the U.S.), major producers (like China), or both. (The U.S. won’t sign because of the situation involving North and South Korea: "The treaty would ban the 1 million landmines that the U.S. has seeded along the border between South and North Korea. Without them, U.S. military leaders say, North Korean forces could easily overrun the 37,000 U.S. troops patrolling the Korean border" (Scholastic Update, 1997.)
It is believed that the opposition of these countries won’t negatively affect the treaty, "since the countries with the worst land mine problems have signed it" (Scholastic Update, 1997). Although U.S. support would have brought other nations to sign, the potential of the countries that are part of the treaty now is enormous and will be sufficient for accomplishing its high and honorable goals.
Questions A Resolution Should Consider
- What can be done in places already plagued by land mines?
- How should violators of the agreement made be dealt with?
- Should a person from the west who is damaged by landmines in another country receive better care than citizens of that country?
- Should poorer landmine countries be provided with better hospitals and care from the U.N.?
- Should a measure be passed to stop countries from buying or producing landmines or should both producers and consumers be punished?
- Are landmines justified on country borders? Should they be required to be clearly marked on borders?
- Does the fact that countries laid mines in the time of war exempt them from a moral and/or political obligation to clean them up afterwards?
- Who is responsible for landmine clearance? Where does the money come from to pay for it?
- Should there be a ban on all dumb landmines that aren't self-destructive or not easily detectable? Who would make sure that more dumb mines were not produced or sold?
- Do landmines obey the laws of war?