The question then arises of who should pay
for the damage done by the mines and bombs when they detonate, or the cost
of extracting and deactivating the abandoned explosives. Many times the UN
doesn’t need to get involved because the affected countries are well
developed, like Germany, and can deal with the problem on their own. But in
cases where the country is unable to address the issue, such as developing
countries or countries where war is ongoing, the UN usually steps in.
In 1997, the UN created the UN Mine Action
Service (UNMAS), which deals with mine removal, serving “as the focal point
for mine action and to support the UN’s vision of: a world free of the
threat of landmines and unexploded ordnance, where individuals and
communities live in a safe environment conducive to development, and where
mine survivors are fully integrated into their societies.” The UNMAS also
created regional divisions in response to specific humanitarian need. For
example, the Mine Action Coordination Center South Lebanon (MACC SL) was
created “to provide a planning, coordination and quality assurance
capability that ensures landmine and unexploded ordnance clearance
undertaken within [South Lebanon] is done in the most effective, safe and
time efficient manner.” The UN has also stationed Blue Helmets (UN
Peace-keeping forces) in Lebanon to stand guard over unexploded cluster
bombs abandoned there after wars with Israel, but the Blue Helmets can only
remain in Lebanon as long as there is not a more urgent need for them
elsewhere in the world.
Israel does, however, acknowledge the damage
caused by these weapons and make an effort to clear away old landmines and
dispose of them where they will not harm civilians, but in spite of efforts
on the part of Israel and the UN, live explosives from past wars remain
where they could harm innocent civilians years after the end of the war. In
October of 2006, the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Christian Aid and
its partners estimated that at least one million rocket and artillery bombs
continue to pose a threat to those who are returning to Lebanon from the
surrounding countries to which they fled during the wars with Israel. Nizar
Amine, part of an organization that repairs damaged schools, stated that “at
least a few times a week we hear that someone has been injured or killed by
a cluster bomb.” The UN Mine Action Coordination Center estimated that
“around 40% of Israel’s cluster bombs failed to detonate.”
Though we used Israel and its neighbors as an
example, the problem of how to deal with live explosives remains in most
countries who’ve waged war on their own soil. But the question remains,
what more can the United Nations do? How far does their jurisdiction and
authority extend in this situation? Who should be responsible for removing
live explosives or repairing the damage caused by said explosives detonating
in peace time?
The UN has introduced motions to ban
anti-personnel explosives altogether. These resolutions stress the need to
limit the stockpiling of arms, mines, and other weapons, but though many
countries have taken steps to reduced their arms, most of the super powers
still cling to such weapons. The UN is trying very hard to minimize
suffering and so is urging all countries not only to adopt the measure, but
to ratify it in their constitutions and strive to eliminate the use of
anti-personnel explosives. With these resolutions, the United Nations is
also trying to simplify political and economic reconstruction after a war.
But do they have the authority to enforce such resolutions? How could they
punish an infraction?
Some
Useful Sources to Begin Your Research:
CIA World Fact Book-
general country information:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
Relief Web:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc100?OpenForm
Information about
treaties:
http://www.icbl.org/treaty/un
The MACC SL website:
http://www.maccsl.org/aboutmaccsl.htm
The UN Mine Action
Service website:
http://www.icbl.org/lm/2002/appendices/unmas.html
