Landmines: Basic Facts and Congressional Concerns (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Aug. 26, 1998 |
| Report Number |
96-362 |
| Authors |
Thomas Hawkins, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The decade of the 1990s saw increasing awareness of the dangers to innocent civilians posed by
the
indiscriminate use of anti-personnel landmines (APL) in many conflict-torn countries. The
deployment of U.S. military forces to Bosnia as part of the NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR),
refocused the attention of the Congress and citizenry on the dangers of APL. Prior to participation
by the U.S. military in IFOR, the U.S. Congress had manifested a concern with the larger issue of
AP landmine proliferation, through hearings and legislation.
The history of warfare evinces three uses of AP landmines. The first use is as a tactical weapon
employed to protect friendly forces from an enemy advance, or to canalize an enemy into fields of
fire. AP landmines are also used in conjunction with antitank mines (AT mines). Second, landmines
have also been used as a weapon to intimidate and control populations. Use of landmines as a terror
weapon is prevalent during irregular warfare. The third, consequential role of landmines in warfare
is as an indefinite hazard to civilians. Landmines left in place after the termination of hostilities have
served as a hindrance to refugee resettlement, development, and peacekeeping operations.
The response of the United States Congress to landmine proliferation has been multifaceted.
Moreover, to control the tactical role of landmines, the U.S. military is guided by law and doctrine.
Advances in the technology of mine warfare, such as remotely delivered or scatterable mines, have
been accompanied by the development of self-destructing and self-deactivating capabilities. To
curtail the indiscriminate use of mines, the U.S. Congress has prohibited the export of AP mines by
U.S. companies. Congress has reviewed Protocol II of The Convention on Prohibitions or
Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons; an amended protocol remains before the
Senate. Public Law 104-107 will ban U.S. use of APL in 1999 -- the Administration has asked for
repeal. Lastly, Congress has appropriated funds for demining training and other assistance to nations
with landmine problems, research and development of countermine technology, and grants for
demining equipment.
Current U.S. policy is eventually to ban the use of all APL worldwide. The Administration,
however, wants to retain the use of dumb mines in Korea and the use of smart mines in potential
combat situations until alternative technologies are available. Advocates for more rapid action
support joining the Ottawa Treaty, which was ready for signing in December 1997, immediately.
The Administration prefers the step-by-step approach traditionally adopted by the Conference on
Disarmament in Geneva to gain more universal participation, but has set a goal of signing the Ottawa
Treaty in 2006 if alternatives to APL are then available.
