India, Pakistan told to ban landmines

NEW DELHI: In a joint public statement, the India and Pakistan chapters of Amnesty International, Greenpeace India and the Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy have called upon the governments of the two countries to immediately halt the use of anti-personnel mines and declare this publicly.
In a statement issued here, the organisations also demanded that the two countries ratify the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty and comply with all its provisions.
The treaty, ratified by 123 countries, prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel landmines.
Moreover, the statement also demands that the two countries take immediate steps to begin mine clearance while taking steps to protect civilian lives and ‘‘uphold and respect at all times the standards and fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law’’.