U.S. WORKING WITH COALITIONS FOR A MINE-FREE WORLD
(U.S. Actively Seeks Anti-Personnel Mine Alternatives)
by Jacquelyn S. Porth
USIA Security Affairs Writer

Washington -- Although the United States is not a party to the Ottawa Convention banning land mines that took effect March 1, U.S. State Department officials say that Washington is working with nations around the world to eliminate the land mine threat to civilians by 2010, and is committed to signing the convention by 2006, assuming that suitable mine alternatives can be found.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Robert Beecroft says the United States has been working with governments and non-governmental organizations on humanitarian demining efforts since 1993 "to eliminate the scourge of land mines wherever possible."

During a March 3 broadcast of a U.S. Information Agency WorldNet program to Lima, Quito and Ottawa, Beecroft noted that the U.S. contribution of more than $270 million toward demining programs over the past five years "is by far the largest contribution of any country in the world." The United States is committing another $100 million to assist some 25 nations this year.

Beecroft is also the chairman of the Interagency Working Group on Humanitarian Demining, which he says is tasked "with coming up with practical solutions on the ground in countries around the world."

"Each year we determine how much money and to what countries that money will go," he said, "depending upon how ready they are to implement demining programs: the actual removal of mines from the ground."

At the same time, Beecroft noted that the United States supports assistance to land mine victims through organizations such as the Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund, which has received U.S. government contributions totaling $46 million.

U.S. Special Representative to the President and Secretary of State for Global Humanitarian Demining Donald Steinberg, who appeared on the program with Beecroft, says that part of the solution to the problem of eliminating the mine threat to civilians within the next decade lies in mine education programs, support for Mine Action Centers, and assistance to the 300,000 existing victims. The complete solution, however, he said, "lies in a global coalition united to fight these weapons."

Beecroft was asked why the United States felt it could not sign the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel land mines. The United States, as a world power, has responsibilities to defend South Korea, he answered. Still, he said, the United States is "committed to eliminating the humanitarian crisis caused by anti-personnel land mines (APL) around the world, and we are continuing to work toward a mine-free world."

President Clinton has already said the United States will end all APL use -- outside of the Korean Peninsula -- by 2003. Beecroft noted that the United States is seeking APL alternatives to be ready for use in the Korean region by 2006. "While we cannot guarantee the technology that would produce an alternative," he said, "I can assure you that we are working strenuously to come up with a satisfactory technology."

The State Department official also pointed out that the United States has already destroyed 3.5 million non-self-destructing mines. The only mines that the Defense Department is holding onto in this category are those for defensive purposes in the Korean Demilitarized Zone and for training. "We are working aggressively" to find alternatives for those uses, he reiterated.

Steinberg, who served earlier in his career as U.S. Ambassador to Angola, said he understands "the deep emotion" that surrounds the mine issue. The United States is trying to be part of the solution in a number of ways, he pointed out, including using self-destructing mines everywhere except in the Republic of Korea.

The self-destructing mines are useless in a few hours if they are working properly, and if they are not, they become inert in a few days when their battery runs dry. "We have never had -- worldwide -- a civilian victim of an American self-destructing land mine," Steinberg added.

Beecroft, meanwhile, extended congratulations to both Peru and Ecuador for ending hostilities and signing a peace agreement. It sets an example for many parts of the world where conflicts continue, he said. A U.S. team visited both countries in February, and there will be a follow-up visit in April to determine land mine removal requirements.

Beecroft said the United States has appropriated $650,000 in Fiscal Year 1999 assistance for each country to be used for start-up activities leading to "a considerable and, eventually, complete demining of the border region." Both Ecuador and Peru are moving "in exactly the right direction" in eliminating the mine problem, he added.

Steinberg suggested that the cooperation being carried out to demarcate and demine the borders of Peru and Ecuador "can serve as a confidence-building measure and put to an end, definitively, any conflict in that area."

The State Department currently estimates that there are around 60 million mines in the ground in 70 countries around the globe. Steinberg said mines are increasingly being used by insurgent groups to sow disorder in conflicts.

He said the mine issue need not be "an unresolvable problem." Both the Ottawa Convention and the U.S. 2010 Global Humanitarian Demining Initiative, he said, provide hope that "within the next decade, if the international community devotes the kind of resources we need, we can eliminate the threat of land mines to civilians." The overall effort must embrace a raft of endeavors, he said, including mine removal, mine awareness, mine avoidance, mine mapping, mine detection, and assistance to survivors of mine accidents.