March, 30 2022, 04:04pm EDT
Russia Uses Banned Antipersonnel Mines in Ukraine
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munition Coalition (ICBL-CMC) Calls for International Condemnation and Immediate End to Use
WASHINGTON
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munition Coalition (ICBL-CMC) strongly condemns the use of internationally banned antipersonnel landmines by Russian forces in the Ukraine conflict, as reported by member Human Rights Watch.
"Use of antipersonnel landmines by Russian armed forces in Ukraine and anywhere, is unacceptable. These indiscriminate weapons kill civilians and leave a terrible legacy of suffering for years to come. We call for an immediate halt to all use, and for the 164 members of the Mine Ban Treaty to speak up and condemn this action," said ICBL-CMC Director, Hector Guerra. Ukraine is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty while Russia remains outside of the treaty.
Use of banned antipersonnel mines follows the widespread use by Russia of cluster munitions since it invaded Ukraine in February, killing and injuring civilians.
Since 1999, Russian forces have used antipersonnel landmines in Chechnya, Dagestan, Tajikistan, and on the border with Georgia according to the Landmine Monitor. Mine use by a Russian government- linked military company operating in Libya was also reported following the 2020 conflict there. Russia has produced at least 10 types of antipersonnel landmines since 1992, including the rocket delivered mines identified in Ukraine - POM-3 or "Medalyon" antipersonnel mines.
ICBL-CMC urges Russia and all parties to guarantee protection of civilians, respect for international humanitarian law, and to adhere to the international norm banning use of antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions.
"There is an urgent need for risk education in Ukrainian communities affected by mines, cluster munition remnants and other explosive remnants of war resulting from Russia's use of these banned weapons," said Guerra.
ICBL-CMC works for a world free of antipersonnel landmines, cluster munitions, and other explosive remnants of war, where all lives are protected: a world where contaminated land is cleared and returned to local populations for productive use and where the needs of affected communities and survivors are met and their human rights guaranteed.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is committed to an international ban on the use, production, stockpiling, and sale, transfer, or export of antipersonnel landmines.
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The United Nations' special envoy to Syria said Tuesday that the Israeli military's rapid move to seize Syrian territory following the Assad government's collapse is a grave violation of a decades-old agreement that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims is now dead.
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Hours earlier, Pedersen told Zeteo's Mehdi Hasan that "this needs to stop," referring to Israel's further encroachment on the occupied and illegally annexed Golan Heights.
"This is a very serious issue," Pedersen said, rejecting Netanyahu's assertion that the 1974 agreement is null. "Let's not start playing with an extremely important part of the peace structure that has been in place."
"The message to Israel is that this needs to stop, What we are seeing in the Golan is a violation of the 1974 agreement. This is a very serious issue."
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According to a statement from Murphy's office:
Under the law, boards of education and governing boards of public libraries are barred from excluding books because of the origin, background, or views of the material or of its authors. Further, boards of education and governing boards of public libraries are prevented from censoring library material based on a disagreement with a viewpoint, idea, or concept, or solely because an individual finds certain content offensive, unless they are restricting access to developmentally inappropriate material for certain age groups.
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New Jersey Association of School Librarians President Karen Grant said that "the Freedom to Read Act recognizes the professionalism, honor, work ethics, and performance of school and public library staff" and "promotes libraries as trusted sources of information and recognizes the many roles that libraries play in students' lives."
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Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) similarly stressed that "birthright citizenship is enshrined in the Constitution as a cornerstone of American ideals. It reflects our belief that America is the land of opportunity. Sadly, this is just another in the long line of Trump's assault on the U.S. Constitution."
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As Mother Jones reporter Isabela Dias detailed Monday:
Critics of ending birthright citizenship for the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants argue it would not only constitute bad policy, but also a betrayal of American values and, as one scholar put it to me, a "prelude" to mass deportation.
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