Landmine Casualties - CAMBODIA

Cambodia still has an extremely bad problem with landmines. It is estimated that there are still five million land mines.  One out of every 278 people are land mine victims. It is one of the worst landmine affected countries in the world due to almost three decades of conflict. Every single day another person becomes a victim of landmines – often these victims are poor children in remote villages.  

Cambodia is one of the worst landmine and UXO affected countries in the world due to almost three decades of conflict.  In 2003, 97% of casualties were civilian.  Most mine incidents are associated with livelihood activities being undertaken in forests and fields.

The vast majority of mine casualties were engaged in daily livelihood activities such as farming, herding, clearing new land, fishing and collecting food and wood (51%) or traveling (31%), at the time of the incident; whereas 63% of the UXO casualties were caused by tampering.

According to the ‘Cambodia Landmine Monitor Report for 2004’, in 2003, a total of 41.7 million square meters of land was cleared, including 60,626 antipersonnel mines, 1,096 anti-vehicle mines and 118,307 UXO.  This was 20 percent more land cleared than in 2002, and the largest annual total ever.

In 2003, 772 new landmine and UXO (unexploded ordinance) casualties were reported in Cambodia , including 115 killed and 657 injured.  In the first six months of 2004, there were 671 new mine/UXO casualties recorded, showing the first upward trend in many years.

Since 1999, 5,128 new mine/UXO casualties have been recorded in Cambodia .  The mine/UXO casualty rate declined from 12 new casualties a day in 1996 to three a day in 1999 and to an average of two casualties a day in 2003, a rate that has remained constant since 2000.  However, in the first eight months of 2004 the rate increased again to an average of almost three casualties a day.

Every hour, somewhere in the world, landmines and unexploded ordinance claim two new casualties.

 INDISCRIMINATE:

Þ    Land  mines cannot be aimed: they do not distinguish between the footfall of a soldier or a child.

Þ    They lie dormant until a person or animal triggers their detonating mechanism.  Then, landmines kill or injure civilians, soldiers, peacekeepers and aid workers alike.

 INHUMANE

Þ    When triggered, a landmine unleashes unspeakable destruction.

Þ    A landmine blast causes injuries like blindness, burns, destroyed limbs and shrapnel wounds.

Þ    Sometimes the victim dies from the blast due to loss of blood or because they don’t get to medical care in time.

Þ    Those who survive and receive medical treatment often require amputations, long hospital stays and extensive rehabilitation.

Þ    The injuries are no accident, since landmines are designed to maim rather than kill their victims.

THE MINE BAN TREATY

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) is a network of more than 1,400 non-government organizations in 90 countries working for a global ban on landmines.    www.icbl.org

The Mine Ban Treaty is the international agreement that bans antipersonnel landmines.  Sometimes referred to as the Ottawa Convention, it is officially titled: the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Antipersonal Mines and on the Their Destruction.

The treaty is the most comprehensive international instrument for ridding the world of the scourge of mines and deals with everything from mine use, production and trade, to victim assistance, mine clearance and stockpile destruction.

In December 1997 a total of 122 governments signed the treaty in Ottawa , Canada .  In September the following year, Burkina Faso was the 40^th country to ratify.  Consequently, in March 1999 the treaty became binding under international law, and did so more quickly than any treaty of its kind in history.  Today, the treaty is still open for ratification by signatories and for accession by those that did not sign before March, 1999.

  Þ    Australia HAS signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.

 Þ    The following countries HAVE NOT:  Armenia, America, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Finland, Georgia, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhastan, Korea North, Korea South, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Micronesia, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.

  Þ    THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF COUNTRIES THAT HAVE PRODUCED LANDMINES SINCE 2002.  America, Cuba, Egypt, Iraq, Singapore, North Korea, South Korea, Nepal, Russia, China, Iran, Vietnam, Pakistan, India and Burma.  

Click here to read individual stories of some of the children from the Land Mine Museum.