Trump Administration walks away from Ottawa Treaty adherence. - Ceasefire.ca

Trump Administration walks away from Ottawa Treaty adherence. - Ceasefire.ca: Former Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy was a key actor behind the ground-breaking government-civil society coalition that was instrumental in achieving the Ottawa Treaty. Together with John English, a former landmines ambassador, he penned an eloquent commentary entitled: The Ottawa Treaty: Trump has to be stopped from removing landmine protections (globeandmail.com, 6 February – paywalled). The authors have kindly agreed to our inclusion of a pdf. version of the commentary, which can be accessed here . Decrying the “specious reasoning” of military necessity, Axworthy and English recall the important role played by veterans in securing the treaty, thus: reinforcing the case that the military utility…was peripheral but the danger of killing and maiming soldiers and civilians was extremely high. Other commentators note that the “widespread outcry” over this retrograde step reflects how deeply these indiscriminate weapons have been stigmatized since 1997, when the Mine Ban Treaty was adopted. Axworthy and English conclude their analysis with a call to action for the Government of Canada: Canada must take a stand to defend the integrity of a remarkable and historic treaty that bears the name of our national capital, restore funding for landmine removal and seek to mobilize other governments in a condemnation of the Trump administration’s attack on landmine security and protection.