• The United States has not signed the Ottawa Convention because of the President's concern for the safety and security of our men and women in uniform and the unique responsibilities the United States has around the world for the security of friends and allies.
• In negotiations on the Convention we sought two changes that would have allowed us to sign, but that were not accepted. First, we sought an adequate transition period to allow us time to identify and field an alternative to APLs. Second, we sought to protect our mixed anti-tank systems. The Convention bans our principal anti-tank systems, but not those of other countries, which are configured differently.
• Anti-personnel landmines play a crucial role in the defense of Korea and the city of Seoul, which is just 27 miles from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). A U.S. Army General leads the UN command in Korea, pursuant to the UN Armistice Agreement of 1953. The United States has 37,000 troops there, along with the forces of our South Korean allies. Across the DMZ are nearly one million North Korean forces. Because North Korean forces are so close to Seoul and so outnumber allied forces in place, we rely on pre-planned and emplaced minefields to counter and slow a possible North Korean advance.
• We also need anti-tank mines in Korea, as well as for other contingencies, to deter or stop an armored assault against our troops. In Desert Storm, for example, we used an air-delivered anti-tank system to protect the flanks of U.S. forces during combat operations, allowing the U.S. Seventh Corps to protect and concentrate its forces during the "left hook" maneuver.
• Nonetheless, the United States will sign the Convention by 2006 if we succeed in identifying and fielding suitable alternatives to our anti-personnel landmines and mixed anti-tank systems by then.

• Between 1996-98, the United States destroyed 3.3 million non-self-destructing APLs -- that is, all of our "long-lived" APLs, except those needed for defense in Korea and training.
• The United States will end the use of all APLs outside Korea by 2003. We are aggressively pursuing the objective of having APL alternatives ready for Korea by 2006.
• The United States is searching aggressively for alternatives to our mixed anti-tank systems, which contain anti-personnel sub-munitions that are also banned by the Ottawa Convention.
• In Fiscal Year 1999, the United States plans to spend $23.2 million for developing alternatives to our non-self-destructing APLs and mixed anti-tank systems. We have requested $58.3M from Congress for these programs in Fiscal Year 2000.
• In 1997, the President permanently banned APL exports and transfers. We are seeking to universalize such a ban in the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
• Even as we are working toward eliminating APLs, we believe it is important to strengthen international restrictions on use. Therefore, the Administration seeks prompt Senate advice and consent to ratification of the amended Mines Protocol to the 72-nation Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), which contains significant restrictions on landmine use. A number of key countries that use landmines, but are not Ottawa Convention signatories, have agreed to the Protocol and we expect many of those who have not yet ratified the Protocol to do so soon.

What have you accomplished in the area of demining?

• The U.S. leads the world in our programs to help remove landmines and to teach others how to avoid landmine injury.
• Last year, we undertook our "Demining 2010 Initiative." The goal of this initiative is to substantially accelerate global humanitarian demining, to end the threat of landmines to civilians by the year 2010. The initiative aims to improve international coordination to ensure the best possible use of public and private resources for programs in mine-affected countries. The 2010 initiative also aims to significantly increase the level of demining resources and has set a goal of bringing worldwide contributions to $1 billion per year. We are seeking new ways to tap the private sector and enhance public-private partnerships.
• Since 1993 the United States has committed about $272 million for humanitarian demining programs. In Fiscal Year 1999 alone we expect to commit over $100 million for demining -- almost as much as the combined funding total from the 30 other nations which contribute to demining activities.
• We are working to clear mines in 24 nations: Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia, Cambodia, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Jordan, Laos, Lebanon, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, OAS/IADB regional program in Central America (Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, ), Rwanda, Swaziland, Thailand, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. The United States seeks to establish indigenous, sustainable mine action programs involving mine clearance, mine awareness, mine action centers, and survivors' assistance.
• We have devised innovative ways to educate others and share information.
-- Based on the success of the "Superman" DC Comic book promoting mine awareness for children in Bosnia, in 1998 we introduced a second version in Spanish for Central America and we are developing a Portugese version for Mozambique.

-- The Department of Defense has a humanitarian demining information center at James Madison University (JMU), including a website (www.hdic.jmu.edu).

-- The U.S. Army has developed demining training aids and mine awareness displays for use by U.S. demining trainers, NGOs and other organizations.

• The United States has the largest national research and development effort in the world to identify and develop improved technologies for humanitarian mine detection and demining. Over the past three years, DoD has identified more than 60 innovations that have led to rapid prototyping of equipment for mine detection, clearance, neutralization, protection of demining personnel, and mine awareness training.
• The United States has initiated programs to help landmine accident survivors -- those who are most directly affected by the tragedy of mines.
-- Through the Agency for International Development's "Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund" we provide resources for the development and strengthening of prosthetic, orthotic, and rehabilitation services in war-affected countries.

-- In conjunction with the World Health Organization and the Moss Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia, we are developing a manual to assist in providing community rehabilitation to landmine survivors.

-- We have begun innovative projects to use the sophisticated resources of our military medical institutions to improve the quality of care provided to landmine survivors in heavily mined countries.