Biden Keeps Trumpâs Policy Retaining Land Mines in U.S. Arsenal, for Now
On the campaign trail, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had pledged to reverse his predecessorâs land mine policy. A Pentagon spokesman said the matter was under review.
Antipersonnel land mines, small explosive weapons that are buried underground or laid on the surface and meant to kill or maim people, can remain deadly for many decades.Credit.Louai Beshara/Agence France-Presse â Getty Images
April 6, 2021, 3:50 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON â The Defense Department announced Tuesday that it would retain the Trump administrationâs policy and keep antipersonnel land mines in its arsenal, reserving the right to use them in war.
Last Updated On: Apr 07 2021 12:58 Gmt+3
“It must be nice to able to wear a shirt.’’
The remark above was uttered by a child I met last year, who was crippled by a landmine explosion in the majority Kurdish southeast of Turkey.
The story of this boy, who I will call Hasan, echoes that of hundreds of children in the region, whose bodies have been riddled with shrapnel due to the existence of some 400,000 landmines laid in the region in the 1990s, at the height of a conflict between the Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants.
Children in the region generally reach for what they think is a toy as they are grazing animals, out playing with their friends or en route to school. Then there is a horrifying explosion followed by a deep, dark abyss.
Biden to keep Trump-era land mine policy in place during review thehill.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehill.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Home | News & Events | Zimbabwe without landmines: a crucial step towards development We salute our demining partners and the courageous frontline workers who carry out this dangerous work at great personal sacrifice.
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Niculin Jaeger
Lying dormant until triggered by a victim and intended to incapacitate, landmines maim civilians and render vast tracks of land unusable. Mines and unexploded ordnance leave a terrible legacy of war, long after the guns have fallen silent. Hidden from sight, they continue to kill and injure innocent civilians going about their daily lives, especially children. Their very presence hinders development and prevents families and communities from being able to return to their land and rebuild. Zimbabwe knows the long-lasting suffering that mines cause.
When do large-scale killings constitute genocide?
The term genocide has been in the news recently, in particular in connection with China’s treatment of its ethnic Uighur population. But as Imogen Foulkes writes, the restrictive definition of the word makes applying the term anything but easy.
This content was published on April 6, 2021 - 15:00
April 6, 2021 - 15:00
Imogen Foulkes
We’ve just come to the end of another lengthy session of the UN Human Rights Council, at which some very grave human rights situations were addressed: Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria, North Korea, Belarus…and much more. No country, let’s be honest, has a perfect human rights record – when the council discussed systemic racism, it focused with good reason on recent events in the United States. Its latest reports on child poverty have shown the United Kingdom in a less than flattering light.