Biden administration decides to limit anti-personnel landmines

Washington, D.C. (June 22, 2022) – After the Biden administration announced policy changes to limit the use of anti-personnel land mines around the world, Allyson Neville, Senior Advisor of Humanitarian Policy at Save the Children, issued the following statement:

“Save the Children applauds the Biden administration for making good on its promise to limit the use of anti-personnel landmines. We further appreciate the clear recognition that mines have long posed a significant and disproportionate threat to children around the world. More than half of the civilians killed by mines are under the age of 18. Such loss of life is unacceptable. We strongly urge the U.S. government to swiftly and fully implement the steps outlined in yesterday’s announcement, ultimately aligning U.S. practices with the Ottawa Convention – the Mine Ban Treaty.

“While this is a vital step in the right direction, more can and must be done to better mitigate civilian harm in conflict contexts. This should include robust action by the Department of Defense as they continue their ongoing efforts to build out an action plan and implement recommendations specific to civilian harm mitigation. The U.S. should also take action and demonstrate leadership around important multilateral initiatives like the political declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) and the Safe Schools Declaration. The world’s children will be all the safer for these actions.”