The Banning of Anti-Personnel Landmines Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword by Cornelio Sommaruga, President, International Committee of the Red Cross
- Foreword by Ambassador Jacob S. Selebi, South Africa
- Foreword by Ambassador Johan Molander, Sweden
- Introduction
- PART 1 FROM PRINCIPLES TO RULES: REGULATING MINES UP TO THE 1980 CONVENTION ON CERTAIN CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS
- PART 2 THE REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE 1980 CONVENTION ON CERTAIN CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS: AN INITIAL RESPONSE TO THE LANDMINE CRISIS
- 1 Introduction
- 2 ICRC Symposium on Anti-Personnel Mines (Montreux Symposium),Montreux, Switzerland, 21–23 April 1993
- 3 Mines: A Perverse Use of Technology, May 1993
- 4 The call of the ICRC for a global ban on anti-personnel mines, Geneva, Switzerland, 24 February 1994
- 5 Meetings of governmental experts to prepare the Review Conference, 1994–1995
- 6 ICRC Position Paper No. 1 – February 1995, Landmines and Blinding Weapons: From Expert Group to the Review Conference
- 7 United Nations General Assembly, 1994
- 8 Regional meetings in Africa, 1995
- 9 United Nations International Meeting on Mine Clearance, Geneva, Switzerland, 6 July 1995
- 10 First Session of the Review Conference of the States Parties to the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, Vienna, Austria, 26 September–13 October 1995
- 11 ICRC Position Paper No. 2 – Landmine Negotiations: Impasse in Vienna Highlights Urgency of National and Regional Measures, November 1995
- 12 United Nations General Assembly, 1995
- 13 Launching of the International Media Campaign against Antipersonnel Landmines by the ICRC and National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva, Switzerland, 22 November 1995
- 14 The 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, 1995
- 15 Second Session of the Review Conference of the States Parties to the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, January 1996
- 16 Anti-personnel Landmines: Friend or Foe? A Study of the Military Use and Effectiveness of Anti-personnel Mines, commissioned by the ICRC, March 1996
- 17 Third Session of the Review Conference of the States Parties to the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, April–May 1996
- 18 ICRC Position Paper No. 3 – July 1996, Stopping the Landmines Epidemic: From Negotiation to Action
- 19 Making Central America a Mine-free Zone. ICRC Seminar in Managua,Nicaragua, 28–29 May 1996
- PART 3 THE OTTAWA PROCESS FROM REGIONAL INITIATIVES TO AN INTERNATIONAL PROHIBITION OF ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES
- Index
3 - Mines: A Perverse Use of Technology, May 1993
from PART 2 - THE REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE 1980 CONVENTION ON CERTAIN CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS: AN INITIAL RESPONSE TO THE LANDMINE CRISIS
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword by Cornelio Sommaruga, President, International Committee of the Red Cross
- Foreword by Ambassador Jacob S. Selebi, South Africa
- Foreword by Ambassador Johan Molander, Sweden
- Introduction
- PART 1 FROM PRINCIPLES TO RULES: REGULATING MINES UP TO THE 1980 CONVENTION ON CERTAIN CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS
- PART 2 THE REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE 1980 CONVENTION ON CERTAIN CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS: AN INITIAL RESPONSE TO THE LANDMINE CRISIS
- 1 Introduction
- 2 ICRC Symposium on Anti-Personnel Mines (Montreux Symposium),Montreux, Switzerland, 21–23 April 1993
- 3 Mines: A Perverse Use of Technology, May 1993
- 4 The call of the ICRC for a global ban on anti-personnel mines, Geneva, Switzerland, 24 February 1994
- 5 Meetings of governmental experts to prepare the Review Conference, 1994–1995
- 6 ICRC Position Paper No. 1 – February 1995, Landmines and Blinding Weapons: From Expert Group to the Review Conference
- 7 United Nations General Assembly, 1994
- 8 Regional meetings in Africa, 1995
- 9 United Nations International Meeting on Mine Clearance, Geneva, Switzerland, 6 July 1995
- 10 First Session of the Review Conference of the States Parties to the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, Vienna, Austria, 26 September–13 October 1995
- 11 ICRC Position Paper No. 2 – Landmine Negotiations: Impasse in Vienna Highlights Urgency of National and Regional Measures, November 1995
- 12 United Nations General Assembly, 1995
- 13 Launching of the International Media Campaign against Antipersonnel Landmines by the ICRC and National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva, Switzerland, 22 November 1995
- 14 The 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, 1995
- 15 Second Session of the Review Conference of the States Parties to the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, January 1996
- 16 Anti-personnel Landmines: Friend or Foe? A Study of the Military Use and Effectiveness of Anti-personnel Mines, commissioned by the ICRC, March 1996
- 17 Third Session of the Review Conference of the States Parties to the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, April–May 1996
- 18 ICRC Position Paper No. 3 – July 1996, Stopping the Landmines Epidemic: From Negotiation to Action
- 19 Making Central America a Mine-free Zone. ICRC Seminar in Managua,Nicaragua, 28–29 May 1996
- PART 3 THE OTTAWA PROCESS FROM REGIONAL INITIATIVES TO AN INTERNATIONAL PROHIBITION OF ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES
- Index
Summary
In many ways, the publication of Mines: A Perverse Use of Technology by the ICRC in May 1993 marked a turning point in the ICRC effort to tackle the humanitarian catastrophe wrought by mines. The language used in the condemnation of the indiscriminate use of landmines was uncompromising and the images – not presented here – were shocking in their graphic depiction of the suffering endured by virtually every mine victim.
The opinion of one former ICRC delegate included in the publication – and since reproduced widely – perhaps summed up the rationale for the entire ICRC effort against mines:
Mines may be described as fighters that never miss, strike blindly, do not carry weapons openly, and go on killing long after hostilities are ended.
In short, mines are the greatest violators of international humanitarian law. They are the most ruthless of terrorists.
The ICRC decided that it was essential to inform the public of the horrendous suffering inflicted by mines. With this course determined, a path was cleared to make the way for the major public advertising campaign in favour of a total prohibition of anti-personnel mines that the ICRC would launch – for the first time in its history – only two years later in the autumn of 1995.
MINES: A Perverse Use of Technology
Foreword by Cornelio Sommaruga
A tragedy too often forgotten among the many experienced by a population involved in armed conflict is the havoc wrought by mines, millions of which lie on or in the ground, spreading terror for years or even decades after the hostilities have ended.
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- The Banning of Anti-Personnel LandminesThe Legal Contribution of the International Committee of the Red Cross 1955–1999, pp. 257 - 263Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2000