Two MEPs, Tony Cunningham (UK, PES) and Jan Bertens (Nl, ELDR), attended the conference signing of the Treaty on "A Global Ban on Landmines", in Ottawa from 2-4 December. The Ottawa Treaty has been signed by 121 countries, including 14 EU member states, and the aim is to impose a total ban on land mines, a ban for which Parliament has been campaigning since 1994.
The European Parliament delegation is calling on the 14 member states to ratify the treaty as soon as possible, as the Treaty can only come into force six months after 40 countries have ratified it. Canada is amongst the first to announce ratification, and ratification would reinforce the EU's political edge on this issue. Mr Cunningham welcomes all the pledges made by other countries, especially the UK's pledge to make any future aid conditional on the implementation of the treaty.
MEPs this month adopted a resolution tabled by Mr Cunningham and Mr Bertens on the Ottawa Treaty, and designed to prohibit the use of stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and to speed up destruction of existing mines.
The resolution calls for prompt ratification from member states, and for signature by those countries, which include Finland, USA, Russia and China, which have not yet signed. In a move to extend the scope of the treaty, the resolution seeks to include anti-vehicle mines and effectively to coordinate mine clearing at an international level.
To push the ban further, Mr Cunningham has put down a European Parliament Written Declaration calling upon the Council and Commission to use all possible channels available to urge the non-signatory countries to sign the treaty, in particular the USA. To represent Parliament policy, the Written Declaration requires 314 signatures from MEPs. The deadline is 16 January 1998.