Ridding the World of Landmines

Abstract

This book looks at how international treaties can be used to establish successful national programmes. It is concerned specifically with national mine action programmes, focusing on the capacity of the national governments (also referred to as "the state") to implement the "Convention on the prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and on their destruction."

The Convention, which is also referred to as the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) or "Treaty", was finalised on September 18, 1997 in Oslo. Ten years after its creation, the Treaty has proven a successful tool to address the humanitarian disaster caused by landmines, yet most of the mine affected country signatories to the MBT have not been able to meet their clearance deadline. This book examines the underlying reasons for the discrepancy between the terms of the Treaty and the reality of its implementation, exploring its successes and shortcomings. In doing so, the book sets out to answer the research question: considering the disparate levels of success among countries committed to implementing the Mine Ban Treaty, what are the key functions of governments and governance structures in ensuring the successful implementation of the Treaty?

About the Author

Dr. Bjork has worked with conflict and post-conflict economies for over 15 years, specialising in policy reform. He is a regular contributor to national planning assessments and national strategy development in mine action and security related areas, participates in negotiations with key stakeholders to resolve conflict, and has led evaluations of the complex dynamics of post-conflict societies. Dr. Bjork has substantial field experience from most of the world's conflict-affected countries and works to contextualize humanitarian field operations within the wider international discourse of post-war recovery.