Every 30 minutes, of everyday, someone finds a landmine by accident and either loses their life, or suffers horrific injuries.

Over 90% are innocent civilians. One third are children.

Landmines also severely impede and disrupt development in poor countries struggling to recover from conflict. In this way landmines indirectly affect millions of people.

What happens when you step on a landmine? Click to find out.

It only costs about £1 to clear a square metre of minefield.

http://www.landmines.org.uk/

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Thanks for the map, of countries affected by landmines.

Now, let's have ANOTHER map, for the countries that MANUFACTURE landmines!

I BET THEY ARE NOT THE SAME COUNTRIES!!!______________________

Manufacturing these weapons from Hell should be a WAR CRIME!!!!! in EVERY instance!

How IMMORAL, to make huge WAR PROFITS from OTHER countries where you DON'T have friends, family and children!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

STOP THE PRODUCTION AT THE SOURCE -- THE ONLY SOLUTION -- cleanup goes on for decades after conflict and will NEVER END as long as there exists a single land-mine manufacturer getting RICH, on the Planet!

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It should be quite possible to get a list of land-mine manufacturers.

In the U.S.? Canada? Europe? China?

In the case of the big multinationals, of course, the OWNERS may be in a different country than the MANUFACTURERS. The OWNERS also need to be held as responsible, and GUILTY!

I read somewhere that a landmine costs pennies to make; and is sold {to the U.S., which uses them in Korea, among other places} for a LOT more, a HUGE profit. {WHICH WE THE U.S. TAXPAYERS ARE OF COURSE PAYING FOR -- TO KILL AND MAIM LITTLE CHILDREN OUT PLAYING!!!} A landmine is one of the most profitable things a weapons-maker can deal in!

 Landmines WAY DISPROPORTIONALTELY kill civilians, and NOT the soldiers they are supposed to be aimed at. Soldiers KNOW how to avoid landmines, and do. Landmines are under the soil or among plant growth YEARS, EVEN DECADES, after all conflict is OVER. CHILDREN playing or exploring or doing their chores herding goats, etc., are the MAIN casualties.

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The U.S. has refused to sign a land-mine ban.

Another map! Which countries HAVE signed the land-mine ban treaty!

[Would do the research if I had time; or if I come across this in the next few days. Probably not too difficult. I had some of this info, but if it's in my files still I don't know where {from before I discovered the Internet!}. Don't count on me to look this up. I think it would be interesting and a basis for deciding on actions, to have such a database, with MAPS.]

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The treaty the U.S. has refused to sign bans the manufacture, sale, and use of landmines.

The U.S. has refused to sign, because it claims it "needs" landmines for use on the border between South Korea and North Korea.

As ALL Koreans are HOPING for their country to become a UNIFIED Korea again --

YOU CAN IMAGINE THE HAVOC THAT THESE LANDMINES LAID BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT WILL CAUSE IN FUTURE DECADES WHEN THE RE-UNITED FAMILIES TRY TO CROSS THE BORDERS BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH. {Hah! you think we'll clean up our own mess???}

It costs just pennies to manufacture a landmine, using the CHEAPEST scrap metals; it costs a lot more to buy the thing, and they are bought in amazingly large quantities; and it costs a LARGE amount, a figure which is easily available but I don't have it, to DISMANTLE EACH AND EVERY LAND MINE; not to mention the lives that are lost even among the skilled technicians that do the work; or their loss of limbs occasionally when something goes wrong; or the enormous stress of this work, the toll on their health!

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Laws should be passed MAKING LAND MINE MANUFACTURERS LIABLE FOR ALL THE COSTS OF DISMANTLING AND CLEANUP OF ALL THE LANDMINES THEY PRODUCE. Removing the profit motive.

It COULD be done. By the International Community. ONLY way to stop land mines, is at the SOURCE OF PRODUCTION. As long as they are being PRODUCED, someone is going to use them.

As long as there are those ENORMOUS profits to be made, someone will manufacture them. So, REMOVE THE INCENTIVE. It's THAT simple.

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