Biden moves to restrict military's use of land mines
The Biden administration on Tuesday moved to limit the U.S. military’s use of landmines, reversing a Trump-era policy that loosened restrictions on anti-personnel landmines.
“The world has once again witnessed the devastating impact that anti-personnel landmines can have in the context of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked war in Ukraine, where Russian forces’ use of these and other munitions have caused extensive harm to civilians and civilian objects,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
“President Biden is committed to continuing the United States’ role as the world’s leader in mitigating the harmful consequences of anti-personnel landmines worldwide,” she said.
The White House said that Biden had directed the U.S. to align its policy on landmine use alongside the border between South Korea and North Korea with provisions of the Ottawa Treaty, a 1997 treaty with the goal of eliminating the use of anti-personnel landmines around the world.
The White House said that Biden would bar “the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines.”
Additionally, the White House said Biden would order the Pentagon to work to find “alternatives” to such landmines that would allow the U.S. to join the Ottawa Convention, which the U.S. cannot join because of its current policies.
— Developing
Source: TEST FEED1
