The Taliban’s use of landmines and human shields and the Pakistani army’s aerial and artillery attacks are placing civilians at unnecessary risk in the continued fighting in Pakistan’s Swat valley.

The United States should reconsider its stance and join the treaty banning antipersonnel landmines. Sunday, March 1 will mark 10 years since the treaty became binding international law.

Niger’s armed forces and the rebel Nigerien Movement for Justice should end abuses against civilians in the conflict in the northern Agadez region of Niger. The rebels took up arms in February 2007 over the perceived economic marginalization of Tuaregs. The conflict threatens the livelihoods of tens of thousands in Niger’s vast northern desert areas.

Many states are not on course to meet their Mine Ban Treaty mine clearance obligations, according to Landmine Monitor Report 2007: Toward a Mine-Free World.

Guerrillas’ use of antipersonnel landmines is having a devastating impact on civilians in Colombia, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. New reported casualties have escalated dramatically in recent years, due largely to increased use of landmines by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas.

The widespread use of landmines by the Burmese army against civilians to terrorize them and hamper the annual harvest season should cease, Human Rights Watch said today. The Burmese government is the only government in the world that has used antipersonnel mines on a regular basis throughout 2006.

There was a decrease in use of antipersonnel mines by both government and rebel forces in 2005 and the first half of 2006, according to a 1,230-page report released today by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). The report details impressive gains in the global ban on antipersonnel landmines, but highlights areas of serious concern as well.

In introducing legislation against victim-activated landmines, U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter took a critical step today toward ensuring that the production of antipersonnel landmines does not resume in the United States.