Vol. 462 No. 6
54 Mr. M. Kitt asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the proposals, if any, there are to have a convention on the banning of landmines; whether Ireland will take an initiative to have this convention signed and ratified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5184/96]
I informed the House comprehensively on 6 February of the progress of negotiations on landmines in the Vienna Review Conference of the State Parties to the Inhumane Weapons Convention. My reply identified the specific additional restraints on the use of landmines which, it is hoped, all State's parties will accept in an amended Protocol II to the Convention. These are: 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. I explained that even these limited gains are not yet assured and noted that Ireland, as a member of the EU Troika, is directly involved in efforts to persuade key Third World countries to go to the limit of what is possible for them at this time. We are currently involved in a further round of diplomatic approaches to this end.
As a strong supporter of a total ban on landmines, Ireland would of course greatly prefer a different convention which banned landmines to an amended Protocol which would regulate their use more strictly than heretofore. This preference would be shared by some 22 other countries which espouse a total ban, including four EU partners. However, as it is only too clear that an attempt to initiate multilateral negotiations for a new convention banning landmines would not at present command enough broad support, these countries have not sought to initiate such negotiations. At this advanced stage of the review conference, radical new proposals would not only undermine efforts already made but would also stand no chance of success. The possibility does exist, however, for securing in May a modestly strengthened Protocol II, which would be capable of retaining the consent of the 50 or so existing states' parties and of attracting new adherents. The EU and other developed countries increasingly operate moratoria on exports of landmines. In these circumstances, a convention imposing a total ban on landmines to which other countries which are, or have the potential to become, large exporters of landmines did not subscribe, would not advance efforts to end the indiscriminate use and transfer of landmines world wide.
