Justin Pearce=20
South Africa’s failure to support an outright ban on =20 landmines brought it into direct opposition to =20 Mozambique at the United Nations conference on =20 landmines, which ended inconclusively in Vienna this =20 week. Mozambique is one of the countries worst affected =20 by landmines.=20
The conference is to reconvene in December after =20 delegates failed to reach consensus on how to tighten =20 the UN Convention on Conventional Weapons to restrict =20 the use of mines.=20
Despite the lack of agreement there was little support =20 for an outright ban on landmines, something which =20 outraged countries like Mozambique.=20
Rather than an outright ban, most countries — =20 including South Africa, partly responsible for =20 Mozambique’s problem through its apartheid-era =20 destabilisation of neighbours — argued that the =20 convention should provide for the phasing out of =20 existing mines in favour of “smart mines” which are =20 designed to deactivate themselves after a specified =20
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines has =20 condemned the conference’s lack of consideration for =20 the humanitarian disaster created by landmines. David =20 Bruce of South Africa’s Ceasefire Campaign said =20 proceedings were dominated by “horsetrading” between =20 major military powers.=20
Ceasefire has called for a consultative process before =20 South Africa takes its new position to the December =20 conference, and has appealed to President Nelson =20 Mandela to receive a delegation that will request his =20 personal intervention.=20
The call for a consultative process has been supported =20 by the Anglican Church, as well as by the Mozambican =20 delegation from the conference.=20
Proponents of “smart mines” contend that they eliminate =20 the long-term dangers of leftover mines, while their =20 opponents argue that their deactivating properties are =20 unreliable, and that while active they still pose an =20 unacceptable threat to civilians.=20
“For us the conference has been about legitimising new =20 ways of killing people,” said Mozambican delegate =20 Osorio Sevirano “As a mine-affected nation, we know =20 what mines can do. Whether a mine self-destructs in =20 five days or deactivates in 120 days is irrelevant to =20
Mozambique is one of the world’s most heavily mined =20 countries, with 550 people killed or maimed by mines =20 each year. South Africa argued that going over to =20 “smart mines” should be regarded as the first step =20 towards an outright ban.=20
When asked if it was realistic to think that countries =20 would go to the expense of converting long-lived stocks =20 to high-tech “smart” mines, only to then turn around =20 and ban them, South African delegate Bennie Lombard =20 said it was necessary to find an “acceptable balance” =20 between humanitarian concerns and military needs.=20