Identified as the world's most mine-affected country, Afghanistan has approximately 724 million square meters of land known to be mine contaminated. About half of this land has been prioritized for de-mining because it is used for agriculture and housing. Even before the current conflict, landmines led to tremendous civilian casualties in 27 of 29 Afghan provinces. Eight to ten million landmines remain in the ground after two decades of war in the country.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines reports that in Afghanistan in the year 2000, there were 88 casualties each month. Reports from the U.N. Mine Action Program indicated that this number has increased dramatically since the U.S. aerial bombing commenced. In the wake of September 11th, all mine action activities, including clearance, have been halted.

U.S. military have already confirmed the use of cluster bombs in Afghanistan which are just as deadly as landmines and do not discriminate between the footfall of a soldier or that of a civilian. Cluster bombs have reportedly killed nine Afghan civilians in recent weeks near Herat.

The USCBL has been unable to confirm U.S. landmine deployment in Afghanistan, but U.S. military leaders recently indicated that they have not ruled out their use. Concerns continue to be raised about U.S. food drops into heavily mined areas, which could lead refugees into harm's way.

A letter to President Bush from the Washington Office director

George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Bush,

I am writing to you on behalf of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) regarding the global landmines crisis. We are concerned about the continued devastation and economic loss that the widespread use of anti-personnel mines is causing around the world. US made mines continue to threaten the lives of men, women, and children in more than 28 countries, and landmine deaths and injuries in recent decades total in the hundreds of thousands. In Cambodia alone there are more than 35,000 amputees injured by landmines.

Our General Assembly has repeatedly spoken out against the production, sale, and use of weapons of war and has joined in the national and international call for a prohibition on the manufacture, sale, and use of antipersonnel mines.

We understand that a review of US landmines policy is currently being coordinated by the National Security Council and the Departments of Defense and State. Current policy regarding landmines is based on the view that there are two major impediments to the US signing the treaty - Korea and "mixed mines" (a mine which includes a self-destructing anti-personnel mine). We hope that your review will recognize that there are alternatives to the mixed mine system which are currently being used by our NATO allies and which fall within the boundaries of the Landmine Convention. And, secondly, we hope that the review will recognize that the overwhelming technological superiority of US weapons on the Korean peninsula negates the need for landmines in that region. Many retired military leaders have concurred with this opinion.

We believe that this review should recognize that landmines have caused widespread humanitarian disaster and we urge you to take the lead in moving the United States toward ratifying the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and Their Destruction during your first year in office.

Sincerely,

Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory
Director
Washington Office, Presbyterian Church (USA)