Taliban, opposition asked to halt use of landmines

ISLAMABAD: The Afghan Campaign for Ban on Landmines (ACBL) Sunday called on Taliban and Northern Alliance to immediately halt use of landmines in their fighting in Afghanistan.

Chairman of the ACBL Syed Aqa asked the two groups to stop their commanders from using landmines as a sign of respect to the Islamic principles.

"It is very disappointing that despite one of the densely mined countries and the willingness of both the Taliban and Northern Alliance, Afghanistan has not been able to sign or ratify the treaty of ban on landmines due to political situation in the war-battered country," Aqa said in a statement.

The ACBL Chief appealed to Pakistan, Iran, Russia, China, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Finland, South Korea and former Soviet republics to sign and ratify the treaty without delay. He also called upon the countries, which have signed but not yet ratified the treaty to ratify it so the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) can meet its goal of 40 ratification by the end of this year.

The Mines Ban Treaty, signed by 126 nations since last December, is progressing towards reality. The treaty prohibits the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of anti-personnel landmines. The treaty is on track to enter into force more quickly than any other treaty in history, demonstrating the urgency of the ban and the emergence of the new international standard against this insidious weapon.

The twenty nations that have so far ratified the treaty including Belize, Bolivia, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Djibouti, Fiji, Holy See, Hungary, Ireland, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Niue, Per, San Marino, Switzerland, Trinidad, Turkmenistan, Tobago and Zimbabwe.

The number of official ratification is expected to increase rapidly as many governments have already passed necessary legislation but not yet formally deposited it at the United Nations. These states include Austria, Bosnia, Botswana, Guinea, Italy, Mozambique, Norway, South Africa, Spain and Yemen. Among those expected to pass ratification legislation soon are Belgium, Colombia, France, Germany and Sweden. The United States has stated that it will sign the treaty by 2006, assuming its search for alternatives is completed.--NNI