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The Mine Ban Treaty is the international agreement that bans antipersonnel landmines. Sometimes referred to as the Ottawa Convention, it is officially titled: the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction.
The treaty is the most comprehensive international instrument for ridding the world of the scourge of mines and deals with everything from mine use, production and trade, to victim assistance, mine clearance and stockpile destruction.
In December 1997 a total of 122 governments signed the treaty in Ottawa, Canada. In September the following year, Burkina Faso was the 40th country to ratify, triggering entry into force six months later. Consequently, in March 1999 the treaty became binding under international law, and did so more quickly than any treaty of its kind in history. Today, the treaty is still open for ratification by signatories and for accession by those that did not sign before March 1999.
At the time of writing (January 2005) there are 144 member states of the treaty and a further eight signatory countries which still need to ratify the agreement. A total of 42 countries remain outside of the treaty entirely and these include China, Egypt, Finland, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia and the United States.
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ICQ: 91139591
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