Landmines

The 'Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction', or Ottawa Treaty, came into force on March 1st 1999. The UK was an active supporter of the treaty and, along with 127 other states, has ratified it. Unfortunately some of the world's most prolific users of landmines, including China, Russia and the US, have not. The Treaty obliges signatory countries to destroy stockpiles within four years, to clear minefields within 10 years, to assist mine victims and to report annually on progress. It also prohibits them from manufacturing, trading or advertising landmines.

Landmine Monitor estimates that there remain about 230 million anti-personnel mines in the arsenals of 94 countries, with most estimated to be held by China (110 million), Russia (60-70 million), United States (11.2 million), Ukraine (6.4 million), Pakistan (6 million), India (4-5 million), and Belarus (4.5 million).¹ The same report identifies 90 countries that are affected by landmines and/or unexploded ordnance (UXO) and estimates that there were new mine/UXO victims reported in 69 countries in 2001. 46 of these countries were at peace, not war.

The 1998 UK Landmines Act brought the Ottawa Treaty into UK law. It rules that any person involved in the production, sale, promotion or transfer of anti-personnel landmines should face up to 14 years in prison. The restrictions cover the activities of all companies on UK soil and should therefore cover arms exhibitions, including DSEi. However, there have been embarrassing lapses, including two at DSEi.

DSEi 1999

At DSEi 1999, an undercover journalist revealed that a Romanian state arms firm, Romtechnica, had promotional material for anti-personnel landmines on its stand, and that he had been told the equipment could be supplied.² Other undercover journalists were offered anti-personnel landmines by Pakistan Ordnance Factory a couple of months after having met company representatives at DSEi.³ The police investigated both cases but failed to bring any charges.

Chemring

A further embarrassment for UK authorities came as a result of allegations by the BBC that the Overseas Sales Manager of a UK company, PW Defence (a subsidiary of Chemring Group), had offered to supply anti-personnel fragmentation mines to an undercover BBC journalist in April 2002.⁴ Chemring denied the allegations and stated that the product was no longer manufactured and had not been sold since 1997. Again, a police investigation followed the allegations and no charges were brought.

1 International Campaign to Ban Landmines, 'Landmine Monitor Report 2002', September 2002
2 Gideon Burrows, 'The No-Nonsense Guide to the Arms Trade, Verso, 2002
3 Gideon Burrows, 2002; Observer, 'Whatever happened to Diana's landmines legacy?' 25.8.02
4 www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/archive/features/landmines.shtml, accessed 16.8.03