Theories "Just Peacemaking" much more than non-violence There is a compassionate rebel in everyone Healing the wounds of war Peacemakers Children can learn to be Peacemakers Local Peacemaker Makes a Difference The landmine issue Banning landmines: why the US won't sign the treaty Kids on the edge of a minefield |
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Video of Williams' message to peacemakers Jody Williams meets St. Paul, Minn. children |
The US and the Treaty to Ban Landmines
NOBEL peace laureate Jody Williams is horrified and embarrassed that her home country, the United States, refuses to sign the international treaty to ban landmines. So far, 133 countries have signed this treaty and 77 have ratified it. So why hasn't America stepped forward? Aren't we supposed to be a world leader? Williams shook her head. When she spoke at a Peace conference last February, Williams met with Peace Matters writers. She said the biggest factor standing in the way of the US signing the treaty is "the desire of the Pentagon to stand outside of the laws of war." 
The landmine issue Williams explained that when a landmine is put into the ground, it is a useful weapon during the battle in that region. But when the war is over, many landmines remain undetonated in the ground. Mines do not distinguish between soldier and citizen. Citizens suffer for years. Innocent men, women, and children become victims of landmines every 20 minutes around the world. Williams gave the example of Cambodia. Landmines contaminate at least 50 percent of the land in that country. When the war was over and the refugees came back home, the government planned to give them each a plot of land big enough for them to grow enough rice for their families. But the government only had enough land for 1200 of the 85,000 families. "That is the long-term impact of anti-personnel landmines," Williams said. Impunity and the US Military "That is directly saying 'I do not want the laws of war to apply to the weapons I use,' " Williams said. "That means our military wants to behave with impunity vis a vis the weapons we use. [With the US] as the sole remaining superpower and the self-appointed police of the planet, I find that horrifying." Not only is the US acting like a spoiled brat, she said, it is setting an example for others to do the same. "In Central America, the Salvadoran military, trained by our military to be better at their respect for human rights, tortured and killed people, with no consequences," she said. When military leaders suffer no consequences for their actions, they only get more power. And so the vicious cycle continues. |