Thailand


 * Country: ** Thailand
 * Topic: ** Thailand- Landmines
 * Name: ** Remeny Perez
 * Period: ** 0

Landmines have, and always will be known for causing conflicts in the past- and for the years to come. With 110 million landmines currently buried around the world disguised as toys, many minds are trying to find ways to fund the removal of them. Many people are not educated on landmine dangers and there whereabouts, which causes many deaths. With the high cost for everyday necessities, people who work in possible mine infested land, must take the risk in order to bring in money. One main effect landmines cause is a decrease in food production. It has been calculated that mines have caused a decrease in food production by 25%. Poverty has also increased along with the amount of planted mines. While many mines are planted in farms and areas where goods and water are needed, trucks full of these goods can not take the risk of driving into the mines. In Cambodia, with 841 casualties and 33% of them children, the conflict about landmines has raised many eyebrows. With mine groups such as, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and Conference of State Parties, the rights of the disabled from mines has highly been improved. The Ottawa Treaty has a 10 year goal to clear any bombs or mines that have been exposed to a state/country's land, and 135 states and 81 countries have all signed the treaty. All around the world, each year, approximately 175,000 deaths are caused by the landmines.
 * __ Background: __**

The use of landmines around the world is causing many problems, however. The UN has become more involved with the issue and resolving it more quickly. In the United Nations Mine Action Service committee, they believe they have found more useful ways to reduce the amount of landmines around the world. An important point that the committee is trying to resolve mines is the fact of clearing all the mines in an area without searching every single section of the land. "A team of 14 UN agencies, programmes, departments and funds supports and manages mine action efforts in 42 countries and territories." (UN News Centre)The Croatian Mine Action Centre and the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mines Victims Assistance has met in Sibenik for further understanding how to indicate where the mines are located before going to destroy them. The UN's "Mine Action and Effective Coordination: the United Nations Inter-Agency Policy," is an organization that is assisting other committees in demining the fields. " UNICEF is the lead agency for mine risk education within the United Nations system." ([|http://cyberschoolbus.un.org])
 * __ United Nations Involvement: __**

Landmines in Thailand have been known to cause problems not only to its own country, but also to its borders. The Anti-personnel Mine-ban treaty was ratified on December 3, 1997 and then became a state party just 2 years later. The land that was considered to be capable of holding mines was three times bigger in 2004 than 2005. With 2,557 square kilometers of land that is contaminated in Thailand and three fourths of that on the Cambodian border, it has caused many upset people from both countries. Thailand's Army, Navy, Air Force and Police were given 4,790 mines to use to train and understand the more about them. More than 100 people each year are killed from the effects of Thailand landmines and for some, the lack of education on the mines, had lead them to their graves.
 * __ Country Policy and Involvement: __**

Thailand believes the landmine issue needs to be reduced and then resolved. Thailand is spending money on the issue that they can not afford, however is still needed. The UN should give more funding to committees that are apart of reducing landmines around the world. If the UN was able to propose more money to Thailand, then we could use that money for giving more education on the dangers and background of landmines.
 * __ Solutions: __**