Dealing with the Risks and Responsibilities of Landmines and Their Clearance
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DEALING WITH THE RISKS AND
RESPONSIBILITIES OF LANDMINES AND
THEIR CLEARANCE
Michael Polkinghorne*
James Cockayne**
Although international humanitarian law and traditional
military doctrine have set clear requirements for the 'respon-
sible' use of anti-personnel mines, too often these rules have
not been implemented. Research conducted on behalf of the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) by military
experts has shown that in 26 conflicts since the beginning of
the Second World War, anti-personnel mines have only rarely
been deployed in accordance with the existing legal and mili-
tary requirements.'
INTRODUCTION
The human, social, environmental, and psychological costs
of anti-personnel landmines are well documented. So too are
the financial costs. A landmine that costs three to four U.S. dol-
lars to produce will cost somewhere between U.S.$200 and
U.S.$2000 to clear. The consequences were it to detonate
before clearance are readily and tragically apparent.
As the above quotation indicates, much of the damage has
already been done, to the extent that vast tracts of land are al-
ready peppered with landmines. Thus, while the moral impera-
tive to ban or control their future installation remains critical,
the removal of those landmines already laid has become urgent.
On the writers' rough estimate, de-mining activities are taking
place in some three dozen countries ranging from Afghanistan
to Yemen.
Financial and economic considerations themselves provide
* Partner, Coudert Frres, Paris, France.
** Associate, Coudert Brothers, Sidney, Australia.
1. International Committee of the Red Cross, Banning Anti-Personnel Mines: The
Ottawa Treaty Explained (Feb. 1, 1998), available at http://www.icrc.org/icrceng.nsf
[hereinafter Banning Anti-Personnel Mines].
2. International Committee of the Red Cross, Anti-Personnel Landmines-Friend or
Foe?: A Study of the Military Use and Effectiveness of Anti-Personnel Mines (Mar. 1, 1996),
available at http://www.icrc.org/icrceng.nsf [hereinafter Friend or Foe?].
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Dealing with the Risks and Responsibilities of Landmines and Their Clearance
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