Ploughshares Fund Welcomes US Move Away From Landmines
Ploughshares Fund Welcomes US Move Away From Landmines
Strengthened International Norm Against Banned Weapons
Washington, D.C. – In response to the Obama administration’s announcement today that it will not produce or otherwise acquire any anti-personnel landmines in the future, including to replace existing stockpiles as they expire, Joe Cirincione, President of Ploughshares Fund, released the following statement.
"Landmines have never been consistent with American values or America’s national security interests. As an early and sustained funder of the Nobel-Prize-winning International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Ploughshares Fund welcomes this step away from the use of these indiscriminate killers. We strongly urge President Obama to continue in this direction by destroying the existing mines, committing never to use them again, and joining 161 other nations – including all our NATO allies – as a party to the Mine Ban Treaty before the end of his administration.
“As the world’s preeminent military power and an international leader in human rights and democracy, public commitments by the United States influence militaries around the world. Even though the United States has far to go, we believe that this measured step strengthens the international norms against horrific weapons, like landmines, poison gas and nuclear weapons, which arbitrarily kill civilians. Children, families and nations will be safer without these weapons.”
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Ploughshares Fund is the largest grantmaking foundation in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to security and peace funding. For more information, please visit www.ploughshares.org.