U.S. Pledge Not to Produce Landmines Positive, But Falls Short: It Is Time to Accede to Mine Ban Treaty

Statement of Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director
Today, on the final day of the Third Review Conference of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty in Maputo, Mozambique, the United States formally announced that it will not produce or acquire any new anti-personnel land mines and will not replace the existing U.S. stockpile of landmines. The statement from U.S. Ambassador Griffiths from the U.S. Embassy in Maputo also states that "...we are diligently pursuing other solutions that would be compliant with the Convention and that would ultimately allow us to accede to the Convention."