| Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC November 28, 2005 Sixth Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention Ban on Anti-Personnel LandminesThe Sixth Meeting of States Parties to the 1997 "Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction," commonly referred to as the Ottawa Convention, is taking place in Zagreb, Croatia from November 28 to December 2, 2005. The United States is not a party to this particular landmine treaty and is not attending the conference, but does share common cause with all who seek to protect innocent civilians from indiscriminately-used landmines, both anti-personnel and anti-vehicle. The United States has had a major role in contributing to the progress that will be discussed in Zagreb. Since 1993 alone, the U.S. has provided over $1 billion dollars to nearly 50 countries around the world for humanitarian demining, mine risk education, mine survivors assistance, national landmine surveys, research and development on better ways to find and clear landmines, and training for foreign mine action managers so that they can run their nation’s programs more effectively. United States contributions, along with those of other donors, have made a significant difference. Landmine casualties have been halved, millions have returned to their homes and lands, and many thousands of landmine survivors have received treatment. Landmine surveys have better defined the scope of the problem, enabled mine action assistance to be more focused, and proven that a world that is free from the humanitarian impact of landmines is attainable within years. But to achieve that goal, the larger anti-vehicle landmines that are not covered by the Ottawa Convention, and the issues of persistence and detectability in all landmines must be confronted. Therefore the United States encourages its fellow states that are party to the Amended Mines Protocol to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, and states that are party to the Ottawa Convention, to: ban the use of all non-detectable landmines; revise their policies on the continued use of persistent anti-vehicle mines; negotiate a ban on the sale or export of all persistent mines, including anti-vehicle mines; and increase their funding for mine action. 2005/1108
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