Nobel Prize laureate visits Ukraine (05/31/98)

Nobel Prize laureate visits Ukraine

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams came to Kyiv on May 25 calling on Ukraine to accede to the international ban on anti-personnel land mines.

Ms. Williams, who was awarded the $1 million prize in 1997 for her five-year campaign to ban land mines, said Ukraine must remain a leader in the disarmament process and continue to set examples for other countries, as it did with its 1994 unilateral decision to give up its nuclear weapons.

"The tide of history is changing in many areas," said Ms. Williams. "Ukraine has led this tide in many spheres such as military and nuclear disarmament. I believe that Ukraine's role is to become a leader in this issue in this region."

In Kyiv, Ms. Williams and representatives of the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines, an umbrella organization of more than 1,000 organizations worldwide begun by Ms. Williams in 1992, met with President Leonid Kuchma and Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasiuk. Ms. Williams said her meeting with the president was fruitful and she expressed her belief that soon Ukraine would join the 126 countries that signed the international ban last December in Ottawa.

Canada has led the international movement to ban land mines, and its ambassador to Ukraine, Christopher Westdal, hosted Ms. Williams in Kyiv.

At a meeting with students at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy Ms. Williams, a U.S. citizen, said Ukraine has already done much in accordance with the international treaty, and therefore the final step that it needs to take to sign the treaty is not a large one. "It is our belief that Ukraine could easily sign this treaty," said Ms. Williams.

Ukraine has halted the manufacturing and export of anti-personnel land mines and has destroyed approximately 1,100 of its estimated stockpile of some 10 million devices. "Of course it's a drop in the ocean, but we believe the country understands the issue and is very interested in continuing the process," said Ms. Williams.

Formally Ukraine has said that it supports the Ottawa treaty but that it currently does not have the financial ability to destroy its stockpiles. Ms. Williams estimated that it costs approximately $1 to destroy a land mine.

Ukraine, as well as the United States and Russia, are the principal hold-outs to a universal ban on the worldwide production of land mines. All of the NATO countries have signed the treaty except for Turkey, as have all the European Union countries, with the exception of Finland.

During her presentation Ms. Williams called on Ukraine not to wait on the lead from Russia or the United States, but to take the initiative. "If everybody waited for the other guy, then nothing would get done," said Ms. Williams, who was scheduled to visit Moscow after her Kyiv stop.

Russia, the United States and, to a lesser degree, Ukraine have been the principal manufacturers of land mines, which are inexpensive to produce and particularly effective against foot soldiers.

Land mines were widely used in military conflicts in Vietnam and Afghanistan, and more recently in Bosnia. Ms. Williams estimated that 2.5 million land mines worth $200 million continue to be manufactured annually.

Land mines, which remain in the ground and can maim and kill long after military conflicts cease, are estimated to annually cause 26,000 deaths, a large number of which are the deaths of children. Land mines exposions kill a person every 20 minutes, 800 people a month, while maiming an additional 1,200 victims, according to United Nations statistics. It is estimated that 100 million undetonated land mines are buried in approximately 60 countries worldwide.