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CE Abdullah Urges Prosecution of Mine Suppliers, Manufacturers
Addressing Conference of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in Geneva, Abdullah said: “We urge international community to use all legal tools and instruments to not only work on the ban of these devices, but also, investigate and prosecute under international law – when it applies – the suppliers, manufacturers and facilitators of IEDs, whether state or non-state.”
He, meanwhile said the Mine Action Program in Afghanistan has cleared 3,000 square kilometers of land and destroyed over 19 million landmines and explosive remnants of war since the commencement of its humanitarian demining operations in 1989.
The Chief Executive also stated that the landlines have no boundaries nor differentiate between its victims.
“That is why we need a global perspective and approach to make countries and all armed groups, whatever their affiliation, to realize that it is inhuman and illegal to deploy landmines,” he said.
Elaborating on his country four decades of struggle from landmines, Abdullah said that the Afghan government is committed to completing the destruction of the anti-personnel mines in Afghanistan by March, 2023.
“Today, not only does Afghanistan make every effort to deal with the traditional anti-personal mine and unexploded ordinance that were used during the conflicts of the 1980s and 90s. It is also struggling to counter the use of improvised anti-personnel mines and other Improvised Explosive Device (IED), which is a weapon of choice used by terrorist groups and outfits such as the Taliban and local IS/Daesh cells,” he said.
According to Abdullah, the death toll and suffering caused by IEDs, whether targeting civilians or security personnel, is staggering and should raise many questions about their origins, raw material procurement, transfer and facilitation.
He said Afghanistan sees many incidents where thousands of families are on the move, either fleeing conflict and difficult conditions, or who are new returnees, looking to resettle after having spent years as refugees.
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines is the cornerstone of the international effort to end the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines.
The Convention was concluded by the Diplomatic Conference on an International Total Ban on Anti-Personnel Land Mines at Oslo on 18 September 1997 and went into force on 1 March 1999. 164 States have formally agreed to be bound by the Convention.