The International Mine Ban Treaty came into force on 1 March 1999 and there are now 156 States signed up to it, with the most notable exceptions being Russia and Israel (who both continue to manufacture and use landmines and cluster bombs). The USA and China are also not signatories of the Treaty, and have significant stockpiles of landmines and cluster bombs although they no longer manufacture and have stated that they do not intend to use these devices. For terrorists, freedom fighters and criminals the landmine or homemade improvised explosive device (IED) is still a routine weapon of choice. 50 countries continue to manufacture prohibited devices.
The Treaty requires all signatories to destroy their landmine arsenals within 4 years of acceding and to clear all areas, both minefields and ‘dirty’ battlefields, of ordnance within 10 years of signing. Many countries will reach the end of the 10-year cleansing period over the next three years and most have yet to complete (or even begin) the cleansing. Since the treaty came into force it is reported that 42,000,000 mines have been destroyed from stockpiles in Treaty states. However it is still believed that there are global stockpiles of around 176,000,000 landmines.
The UN reports that 2 million additional landmines are being laid every year.
The key problem is that there are still estimated to be more than 100 million landmines in minefields in around 70 countries. At the current rate of clearance (assuming no more are laid), it is estimated by the UN that it will take 600+ years to clear them all. Humanitarian organisations and governments have committed to the clearance, but as yet there are no reliable, safe volume clearance techniques available.
The average cost of finding and disposing of a landmine is between $300 and $1,000, of this only $3-$5 is spent on disposal, whilst the rest is spent on locating the devices. The UN estimates the total costs could come to $50bn a figure it revised from $33M just a few years ago.
