On the eve of the interviews of the states parties to the Anti -Individual Mine Convention, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirgana Spolialic, warned that undermining this international agreement may lead to a serious setback in the path of human disarmament, and endangers the lives of civilians to an increased risk.
Spllaric confirmed that the efforts made since the adoption of the agreement in 1997 have destroyed more than 55 million mines, and cleared large areas of polluted lands, in an achievement that it described as “the decisive shift in the face of this scourge.” It also indicated that these efforts contributed to reducing mines production and transporting them significantly, and reducing the number of victims by more than 75% compared to the peak of the nineties.
Anti -personnel mines are designed to explode in people, especially when approaching or touching them, so that no devastating injuries and effects may last for decades, and often lead to the killing of one or more people.
Other antagonists have other damages, as they make large areas of lands impossible, which destroys livelihoods and exposes food production to extreme danger.
The President of the International Committee said that 165 countries approved the agreement, which gave them a strong momentum that helped highlight the suffering of mine victims and destructive consequences for its use, especially since more than 80% of civilian victims are often children. She added that the majority of survivors suffer from permanent disabilities, and they need long -term care, including artificial parties and continuous rehabilitation.
As she praised the achieved achievements, Spllaric warned of the erosion of international consensus, which made anti -individuals a symbol of “inhumanity”, pointing out that some countries that had previously committed to disarmament are now considering withdrawing from the agreement.
“This withdrawal will not be merely a legal step on paper, but rather a decision that threatens the lives of countless people, and undermines decades of human progress that has been achieved as hard -working.”
Spllaric reviewed the beginning of the ICRC’s involvement in this file, noting that Red Cross In the late 1980s, the alarm began when the medical teams noticed the increase in the numbers of civilians as a result of these weapons, and described the situation at the time as a “global pandemic”.
The committee estimated that about 24,000 people, most of whom were civilians, were killed or injured annually due to mines.
At the end of her speech, the Chairman of the Committee described the agreement to ban anti -personnel mines as “one of the most successful disarmament treaties” warning that abandoning it not only threatens the lives of innocent people, but also undermines International human law As a whole.
She emphasized that the meetings of the states parties in Geneva represents a “fateful opportunity” to reaffirm the collective commitment to the treaty, and to address the disturbing trends towards the decline, and to ensure that there is no return to the use of random weapons “that caused an indescribable suffering.”