Curb Of Land Mines Sought Some Powers Skip Treaty Talks; U.S. Wants South Korea Exempt

An estimated 110 million anti-personnel mines remain hidden worldwide, primed to tear apart the unsuspecting people who set them off.

Today, diplomats from more than 100 countries meet in Oslo with the goal of stopping that number from growing.

By the end of the conference on Sept. 19, backers hope to have drafted an international treaty banning the production, sale and use of the mines.

“Most of those you see maimed by mines are children, followed by average people like farmers,” Norway’s deputy foreign minister, Jan Egeland, said before the meeting.

There are at least 110 million anti-personnel mines, most in developing countries, and someone is injured by one every 20 minutes, Egeland said. He said 80 percent of the victims are civilians.

Anti-personnel mines are even more insidious than other weapons of war, said Chris Giannou of the International Red Cross, because “they are the only weapons where the victim activates them.”

At least 400 diplomats are expected at the conference, where U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will speak Wednesday. The aim is a treaty by the end of the year.

But some of the world’s powers, including Russia, India, China and Israel, won’t be represented. The United States is taking part, but has objections to the proposed treaty.

Opponents of the ban argue land mines are lifesavers for troops, saving countless lives in cases of offensives.

The Clinton administration wants South Korea exempted from the ban. The capitalist South is separated from the communist North by a heavily mined border.

Other countries are also expected to propose exemptions for special types of mines or for regions, exemptions that could weaken a treaty, and Jody Williams of the International Campaign to Ban Land mines said that was the organizers’ greatest concern.

Even without all the world powers signing on, a global ban would still reduce markets for the mines and increase pressure on countries to accept a ban, Egeland said.

Norway’s goal is an unconditional ban, with no exceptions, but Egeland acknowledged that reaching that goal will be tough.