Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 6 Feb 1996

Vol. 461 No. 1

Written Answers - Land Mines.

Kathleen Lynch

Question:

39 Kathleen Lynch asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress, if any, that has been made at the Vienna Review Conference of the State Parties to the inhumane weapons convention with regard to achieving a world wide ban on land mines; the action, if any, that is being taken at EU level to achieve an EU ban on the manufacture, sale and export of land mines and their components; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2408/96]

Michael P. Kitt

Question:

77 Mr. M. Kitt asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the current position regarding the proposal to ban the manufacture, export and sale of landmines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2537/96]

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Spring)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 39 and 77 together.

As I informed the House on 17 October and 7 December last, some progress was made during the first session of the Vienna Review Conference towards agreement on practical steps to reduce the negative impact of landmines on civilians and to facilitate the task of mine clearance in the wake of conflicts. The resumed session which took place from 15 to 19 January in Geneva concentrated exclusively on the substantive prohibitions and restrictions on the use of landmines which are to be included in an amended Protocol 2 to the Convention. In particular, attention was focused on the following additional restraints: a ban on the use of non-detectable anti-personnel landmines: a ban on the use of long lived, remotely delivered anti-personnel landmines; and a ban on the transfer of landmines which do not comply with the new rules. However, the outcome of negotiations on outstanding issues, such as the length and content of transition periods and specific exemptions sought by one or more States Parties, could limit the impact and scope of the additional restraints. As a member of the EU Troika, Ireland is directly involved in efforts to persuade key third countries to accept the widest possible prohibitions and restrictions.

As one of twenty-two countries which espouse a total ban on landmines, Ireland is acutely aware that, from this perspective, the outcome of this first review conference is likely to fall far short of our objective. We are doing all we can, together with like-minded countries, to ensure that the new Protocol will represent a real and credible step in the right direction. This means ensuring that recognition of the imperative humanitarian need to end the indiscriminate use of landmines must prevail over entrenched perceptions of the military value of landmines. However, a number of States Parties have considerable difficulty in reconciling these approaches on an even moderately satisfactory basis. For these reasons, it cannot yet be stated that the review conference will be a step towards achieving a world wide ban on landmines. I hope that it will make real progress towards ending the indiscriminate use of landmines.

The review conference process is only one strand in international action for the eventual elimination of anti-personnel landmines. A growing number of countries have adopted unilateral moratoria on exports of landmines, as advocated by the UN General Assembly. One component of the EU Joint Action of 12 May 1995 is a common moratorium on exports of anti-personnel landmines. In a number of EU countries, there is currently no production of anti-personnel landmines. Ireland, of course, has never produced landmines. Five of the fifteen EU countries, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and Sweden are among the twenty-two countries which espouse a total ban on anti-personnel landmines. There is thus a prospect that other partners will be persuaded to take steps beyond the common moratorium on exports. However, a number of partners continue to see landmines as a legitimate element of their defence strategy, provided they are responsibly used in strict conformity with the relevant international norms and these partners are unlikely, at least in the short-term, to join Ireland and the other countries I have named in advocating a total ban.