To date, 164 nations have signed the treaty, but these do not include China, the Russian Federation, or the United States. With pressure from a number of campaign groups organised through the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a global movement to prohibit their use led to the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, also known as the Ottawa Treaty. Approximately 80% of land mine casualties are civilians, with children as the most affected age group.
Seventy-eight countries are contaminated with land mines and 15,000–20,000 people are killed every year while many more are injured. They can remain dangerous many years after a conflict has ended, harming civilians and the economy.
The use of land mines is controversial because of their potential as indiscriminate weapons. Landmines are typically laid throughout an area, creating a minefield which is dangerous to cross. A land mine may cause damage by direct blast effect, by fragments that are thrown by the blast, or by both. Such a device is typically detonated automatically by way of pressure when a target steps on it or drives over it, although other detonation mechanisms are also sometimes used. Swedish FFV 028 anti-tank-mines of the German Bundeswehr (inert versions)Ī land mine, or landmine, is an explosive device concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it.
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