CIDA Photo: Roger LeMoyne

-- Khaliq, age 14, in the hospital recovering from the loss of his leg after stepping on a landmine near Kandahar, Afghanistan

In 80 countries around the world, children live with the daily threat of landmines. Unexploded ordnance (UXO) is an added danger: bombs, shells and grenades that don't explode on impact can go off years or even decades later. Landmines and UXO are a direct threat to children. While most mines are hidden, butterfly mines' and brightly coloured cluster bombs are the size and shape of toys, making them attractive to children. Mines are designed to injure and maim adults, but since children are smaller, the explosion of even the smallest mine can be deadly to them.

Landmines affect the right of children in many ways. Landmines make access to schools, clinics and water sources unsafe, preventing education, health care and proper nutrition. Landmines make daily chores such as cultivating fields, herding animals and searching for firewood potentially deadly activities. Many poor children work as scavengers, and may collect landmines or UXO as scrap metal to sell at their local market. Landmines even affect a child's ability to play, as play areas, sports facilities and cultural centres may be mined, and therefore unusable.

Children who survive mine or UXO injuries face severe medical problems. Treatment and rehabilitation can cost far more than even people with good jobs can earn in a year. Even when children themselves are not the victims, landmines can greatly affect their lives by injuring or killing their parents or other family members.

• The Ottawa Convention on landmines was created in 1997 and became international law in 1999.
• Eight of the 12 major producers and exporters of landmines have ceased production of these weapons since the Ottawa Convention became law.
• The Ottawa Convention requires countries to destroy their stockpiles of landmines within four years and destroy all landmines in areas they control within 10 years.
• So far, 20 million landmines have been destroyed from stockpiles in 50 countries. However, around 250 million landmines still remain in 105 countries.
• Since the introduction of the Ottawa Convention, mine casualties in some of the most severely affected countries have declined, and many schools, homes, play areas, farms, health services and water points have been reopened.

1. Countries that have not yet ratified the Ottawa Convention on landmines should do so. Countries that have ratified the Convention must pass laws to ensure landmines and UXO are eliminated.
2. Donor countries must provide more support to help countries affected by landmines.
3. United Nations agencies and NGOs should work together to ensure that the rights of children will be a priority in mine action programs.
4. Companies and countries that have used landmines and UXO or have profited from their sale should be identified and should have to contribute money to mine action programs. Leaders who are responsible for deaths, injuries and economic damage through the use of landmines should be held accountable under international law.
5. A world-wide ban on the use of cluster bombs should be imposed.

Ratify = to give formal approval to something, such as a law, agreement or convention.
NGO = NGO stands for Non-Governmental Organization. An NGO is a private group ororganization that provides humanitarian aid. They may work with government agencies, but they are not part of the government.