Ridding the World of Landmines

Book excerpt: 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?