The European Parliament adopted a resolution on a mine-free world.

The resolution had been tabled by the Greens/ALE, ALDE, GUE/NGL and PES groups.

It expresses its grave concern at the harmful and widespread impact of landmines and unexploded ordnance on civilian populations, especially children, noting that there are still between 15 000 and 20 000 new victims every year, most of them civilians, and many of them children, adding to the many hundreds of thousands of mine survivors around the world in need of care and assistance for the rest of their lives. Parliament calls on all states that have not signed the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction Convention to accede to it without delay and urges all states that have signed but not ratified the Convention to do so without delay, with particular references the three remaining Member States of the enlarged EU.

All States Parties must thoroughly implement the Nairobi Action Plan adopted at the First Review Conference of States Parties to the Convention held at Nairobi in 2004, to achieve the Convention's humanitarian and disarmament aims in the period 2005-2009.

Members welcome the EU's pledge of EUR 140 million for the period 2005 – 2007 for its new mine action strategy , and urges the EU to ensure that these resources are confirmed by the yearly budgetary decisions and that sufficient resources are made available after 2007.

Parliament goes on to call on the Commission, Council and Member States, as appropriate, to:

mainstream compliance with the Convention into development programmes with third countries in cases where anti-personnel landmines stand in the way of economic and social development; create specific incentives for countries where anti-personnel landmines do not directly affect economic and social development to comply with the Convention. Member States that are States Parties to the Convention must push for the broadest possible interpretation of the concept of 'anti-personnel landmine' to include all those landmines that can be set off unintentionally by a person, independently of the technical category ('anti-vehicle', 'anti-personnel landmine') to which they belong; strengthen European leadership in global disarmament, with a view to replicating the success story of the Convention in other areas, namely in the domain of anti-vehicle mines, cluster munitions and small arms and light weapons; strengthen assistance to States Parties in need, particularly to improve and increase assistance provided to mine survivors and their families, to ensure that the first mine clearance deadlines in 2009 are met and to destroy stockpiles which may represent a particular challenge because of the type or quantity of mines to be destroyed and the locations/conditions of stockpiles, and also to make such assistance available in areas under the control of NSAs; prohibit through appropriate legislation financial institutions under their jurisdiction or control from investing directly or indirectly in companies involved in production, stockpiling or transfers of anti-personnel mines and other related controversial weapon systems such as cluster sub-munitions; ensure compliance with the legislation prohibiting investment in companies involved in anti-personnel mines, by creating effective control and punishment mechanisms. This implies the obligation for financial institutions to adopt a policy of full transparency regarding the companies in which they invest.

Parliament goes on to call on the USA to reconsider its February 2004 announcement that it will not join the Convention, that it will retain its 8.8 million "smart" (self-destructing) anti-personnel mines for use anywhere in the world indefinitely, and that it will retain its 1.2 million "dumb" (non-self-destructing) anti-personnel mines for use in Korea until 2010. It further calls on the USA to stop delivery of anti-personnel mines to EU Member States and other friendly countries. China is asked to reconsider its production of landmines and to destroy its colossal stockpile estimated at over 100 million anti-personnel landmines. Parliament calls on Russia to stop using anti-personnel mines in its conflict in Chechnya and remove any stockpiles still at the disposal of its forces in Georgia and Tajikistan. Colombia is called upon to facilitate humanitarian demining programmes and related activities in the context of local or regional humanitarian agreements, for the sake of the civil population.

Lastly, Parliament calls on the EU to strengthen European leadership in global disarmament, with a view to replicating the success story of the Convention in other areas, namely in the domain of anti-vehicle mines, cluster munitions and small arms and light weapons.

T6-0298/2005
OJ C 157 06.07.2006, p. 0408-0473 E

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on a mine-free world.

The resolution had been tabled by the Greens/ALE, ALDE, GUE/NGL and PES groups.

It expresses its grave concern at the harmful and widespread impact of landmines and unexploded ordnance on civilian populations, especially children, noting that there are still between 15 000 and 20 000 new victims every year, most of them civilians, and many of them children, adding to the many hundreds of thousands of mine survivors around the world in need of care and assistance for the rest of their lives. Parliament calls on all states that have not signed the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction Convention to accede to it without delay and urges all states that have signed but not ratified the Convention to do so without delay, with particular references the three remaining Member States of the enlarged EU.

All States Parties must thoroughly implement the Nairobi Action Plan adopted at the First Review Conference of States Parties to the Convention held at Nairobi in 2004, to achieve the Convention's humanitarian and disarmament aims in the period 2005-2009.

Members welcome the EU's pledge of EUR 140 million for the period 2005 – 2007 for its new mine action strategy , and urges the EU to ensure that these resources are confirmed by the yearly budgetary decisions and that sufficient resources are made available after 2007.

Parliament goes on to call on the Commission, Council and Member States, as appropriate, to:

mainstream compliance with the Convention into development programmes with third countries in cases where anti-personnel landmines stand in the way of economic and social development; create specific incentives for countries where anti-personnel landmines do not directly affect economic and social development to comply with the Convention. Member States that are States Parties to the Convention must push for the broadest possible interpretation of the concept of 'anti-personnel landmine' to include all those landmines that can be set off unintentionally by a person, independently of the technical category ('anti-vehicle', 'anti-personnel landmine') to which they belong; strengthen European leadership in global disarmament, with a view to replicating the success story of the Convention in other areas, namely in the domain of anti-vehicle mines, cluster munitions and small arms and light weapons; strengthen assistance to States Parties in need, particularly to improve and increase assistance provided to mine survivors and their families, to ensure that the first mine clearance deadlines in 2009 are met and to destroy stockpiles which may represent a particular challenge because of the type or quantity of mines to be destroyed and the locations/conditions of stockpiles, and also to make such assistance available in areas under the control of NSAs; prohibit through appropriate legislation financial institutions under their jurisdiction or control from investing directly or indirectly in companies involved in production, stockpiling or transfers of anti-personnel mines and other related controversial weapon systems such as cluster sub-munitions; ensure compliance with the legislation prohibiting investment in companies involved in anti-personnel mines, by creating effective control and punishment mechanisms. This implies the obligation for financial institutions to adopt a policy of full transparency regarding the companies in which they invest.

Parliament goes on to call on the USA to reconsider its February 2004 announcement that it will not join the Convention, that it will retain its 8.8 million "smart" (self-destructing) anti-personnel mines for use anywhere in the world indefinitely, and that it will retain its 1.2 million "dumb" (non-self-destructing) anti-personnel mines for use in Korea until 2010. It further calls on the USA to stop delivery of anti-personnel mines to EU Member States and other friendly countries. China is asked to reconsider its production of landmines and to destroy its colossal stockpile estimated at over 100 million anti-personnel landmines. Parliament calls on Russia to stop using anti-personnel mines in its conflict in Chechnya and remove any stockpiles still at the disposal of its forces in Georgia and Tajikistan. Colombia is called upon to facilitate humanitarian demining programmes and related activities in the context of local or regional humanitarian agreements, for the sake of the civil population.

Lastly, Parliament calls on the EU to strengthen European leadership in global disarmament, with a view to replicating the success story of the Convention in other areas, namely in the domain of anti-vehicle mines, cluster munitions and small arms and light weapons.

T6-0298/2005

B6-0414/2005

B6-0423/2005

B6-0425/2005

B6-0427/2005

B6-0429/2005

B6-0440/2005

RC-B6-0414/2005

Debate in Parliament