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Total of 48 mln stockpiled landmines destroyed so far

Xinhua, May 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

A total of 158 of the 162 parties of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention have destroyed over 48 million stockpiled landmines since 1999 and no longer hold stocks inside their territory, the convention's permanent committee announced here on Friday.

The Mine Ban Treaty's permanent committee concluded a two-day meeting here Friday, with over 300 representatives of 75 states, international and non-governmental organizations present.

According to the official statement released after the meeting, 30 parties are still in the process of clearing mined areas, with two countries, Ecuador and Algeria, indicating during the meeting that they were well on course to meeting their deadlines within the next year.

The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or the Ottawa Convention, was adopted in Oslo in 1997, and opened for signature in Ottawa the same year. It entered into force in 1999. Endit