Officials said the new policy reflected the Biden administration’s belief that human rights must be a significant factor when considering when to use weapons or provide them to other countries.
“The United States’ new policy on anti-personnel land mines is centered on people,” Bonnie Jenkins, undersecretary for arms control and international security, told reporters by phone.
U.S. officials say anti-personnel mines used by various nations kill about 7,000 people a year, the vast majority of whom are noncombatants. At least half of the victims are believed to be children. In places such as Afghanistan and Yemen, land mines have remained a hidden peril following conflicts, sowing farmlands or mountain paths with invisible and long-lasting danger.
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, an advocacy group, welcomed the new policy but said the United States must take the steps needed to join the Ottawa Convention, a 1997 treaty that prohibits participating nations from using, transferring or stockpiling weapons categorized as anti-personnel mines.
“We are still out of step with most of the world,” Kimball said. “The administration needs to move more quickly to bring us in line.”
While the United States remains ineligible to join the Ottawa treaty because of its refusal to forswear land mine use entirely, U.S. officials say they hope to do so if alternate weapons can be developed to safeguard South Korea’s border with North Korea.
The new policy will bring the United States into compliance with most aspects of the treaty, prohibiting the production and purchase of the mines, and banning their export and transfer except when necessary for their destruction. The regulations also commit the United States to destroying U.S. mines that are not deemed necessary in South Korea.
The U.S. stockpile includes about 3 million anti-personnel mines, all of which have self-destruction or self-deactivation features. The United States has employed anti-personnel mines once since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, in Afghanistan.
As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden promised to roll back what he characterized as President Donald Trump’s “reckless” stance on mines. Officials have framed the policy, which is identical to the Obama administration’s rules, as further proof of the Biden administration’s commitment to civilians’ welfare and to human rights. The United States is also the largest supporter of efforts to destroy conventional weapons including land mines and other unexploded munitions.
Critics say the Biden administration’s actions have failed to match its rhetoric in other areas related to human rights, including its support for leaders who have overseen widespread abuses. The new policy comes ahead of Biden’s expected meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) urged the Defense Department, where senior officials have voiced support for land mine use, to quickly implement the new policy.
“This is long overdue recognition that the grave humanitarian and political costs of using these weapons far exceed…
Read More: Biden administration to reverse Trump-era rules on landmines
