Land-Mine Treaty Signed

OTTAWA (December 3, 1997 10:53 a.m. EST http://www.nando.net) -- Nations from A to Z -- Algeria to Zimbabwe -- on Wednesday began signing a treaty that is intended to rid the world of land mines.

"This slaughter must end," said Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada, whose government was the first to sign.

Even major holdouts -- the United States, Russia and China -- sent observers to Wednesday's ceremony, prompting predictions they too will eventually agree to ban the weapon that kills or maims an estimated 26,000 civilians every year.

"Given the pressure from the people, from the grass-roots, I really do not think any government can sit out this movement for long," said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "It's only a matter of time."

Annan presided over the start of the two-day signing ceremony, along with Chretien. Canada was followed by Norway and South Africa, in tribute to their roles over the past year in rallying other nations to form an unprecedented alliance with non-governmental agencies to support a ban.

"For the first time, the majority of nations of the world will agree to ban a weapon that has been in use by almost every country in the world," Chretien said.

"Let us swear to the hundreds of thousands who have been murdered by land mines that we will not turn back."

Many leading activists were at the ceremony, including several who lost legs in land mine blasts. Photographs of legless victims were on display at the conference venue; so were crayon drawings by Afghani children whose villages are dotted with mines.

One of those addressing the ceremony was Jody Williams, who won this year's Nobel Peace Prize along with her organization, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

She outlined the seven-year campaign to win support for a ban, and said the alliance of governments and non-governmental groups has made history.

"It's a new definition of superpower," she said. "It is not one, it is everybody. ... We are the superpower."

The treaty will come into effect six months after 40 of the signatory nations ratify it in their legislatures.

Annan and Chretien said they were pleased that the major holdout nations had sent observer teams. Even China, which a few months ago was belittling the treaty process, was participating in roundtable discussions on such topics as mine removal and victim assistance.

The United States, which sent a dozen observers, had expressed interest in signing the treaty, but only if exceptions were made for the mines it uses to protect its troops in Korea.

"We don't feel vilified," said Karl Inderfurth, the head of the U.S. delegation. "We do feel a part of this process because we share the same goals."

Backers of the ban say their campaign has had an effect even on the holdout nations. President Clinton has pledged to increase the United States' already sizable mine-removal program.

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, a leading supporter of the ban, rejected arguments from the White House and Pentagon that the United States was not responsible for the world's land-mine problem.

"By not signing the treaty, we weaken the treaty," Leahy, D-Vt., told the opening session of the conference. "We give others an excuse not to sign, and thereby we become part of the problem."

Conference organizers said every country in the Western Hemisphere was expected to sign the treaty except the United States and Cuba. Finland is the only European Union member not signing, and Turkey, along with the United States, the only other NATO holdout.

Other countries not signing include Iran, Iraq, Libya, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Israel, North Korea, South Korea and Vietnam.

Nations signing the ban include some that formerly were major producers and exporters of mines -- Britain, France, Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic, for example. Signatories also include nations suffering some of the worst carnage from mines -- Angola, Cambodia, Bosnia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Mozambique.

The treaty requires signatories to destroy their stockpiles of mines within four years and remove deployed mines within 10 years. Discussions at the conference will help determine exactly how the treaty is implemented and where and how the anticipated hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance to clear mines will be spent.

Experts estimated there are 60 million to 120 million active mines scattered around the globe.

The campaign to ban land mines received a tremendous publicity boost when Princess Diana lent her support, calling attention to the cause with high-profile visits to mine fields in Bosnia and Angola.

By DAVID CRARY, Associated Press