'Turkey will Not Achieve Target for Mine Clearance by 2025'

Photo: Muteber Öğreten

Click to read the article in Turkish

Two months from today the 4th Review Conference opened on November 25 in Oslo, Norway, setting the stage for the countdown to 2025 for a mine-free world.

Delegations, civil society organizations and international organizations from around 100 countries joined the conference to assess the current situation regarding the implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines.

A roadmap will be set for the next five years, considering what the countries have done in the past five years on mine clearance and the obligations of the convention.

'Turkey will need extra time again'

Muteber Öğreten, the coordinator of "A Turkey Without Mines Initiative" commented on the situation in Turkey, recalling that it requested extra time for mine clearance.

"In 2014, Turkey requested extra time until 2022 because it was not able to carry out mine clearance," he told bianet, adding that the developments who that Turkey will not accomplish its goal in 2022 either.

"'Finish the job by 2025!' The campaign is going on under this slogan. But Turkey will not catch this date either, so it will want to request extra time again.

"However, Oslo is currently trying to avoid additional time demands from countries. So this will not be the case. Twelve delegations from Turkey attended the meeting. They have not spoken yet.

"Twenty thousand people used to be killed or injured every year. This number has dropped to around six thousand. These are the results accomplished by decreasing the number of mines in stocks, clearing mines buried in soil, and the implementation of the convention. We think that the road map will make this number even smaller. "

ICBL wants a commitment to 'Finish the job'

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) previously said that it wanted to see the following in Oslo:

• Strong condemnation of any new mine use (including mines of an improvised nature) and commitment to concrete efforts to prevent any future use.
• New States announcing Treaty accession.
• Announcements of concrete new achievements on Treaty implementation.
• Clear statements of commitment to, and plans for completion of work by 2025 to the fullest extent possible.
• Clear commitment of effort and resources to Finish the Job.
• Your ongoing engagement and persistence at the national level is key to achieving these goals! Below are five concrete actions you can take in the days and weeks ahead to help ensure the success of the 4th Review Conference on a Mine Free World.
• Ensure your government is sending relevant and empowered decision-makers to Oslo.
• Encourage governments to include survivors and/or victims in their delegations .
• Ask delegations to arrive in Oslo prepared to report on recent achievements, present plans on how they are going to finish the job as soon as possible/by 2025.
• Encourage support for ambitious RevCon outcome documents and in particular the Oslo Action Plan. (RT/VK)