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90_HR0272
LRB9006071KBkb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Antipersonnel land mines kill or maim an average
3 of 71 persons per day, the majority of whom are civilian; and
4 WHEREAS, The estimated 80,000,000 to 110,000,000
5 antipersonnel land mines, strewn across at least 64
6 countries, cause havoc in the economics of developing
7 nations: refugees cannot return home, farmers cannot till
8 fields, relief shipments cannot be delivered, herd animals
9 cannot approach water holes, health care systems are
10 overwhelmed by land mine victims, and clearance costs are
11 extraordinary; and
12 WHEREAS, The ecological and economic impact of
13 antipersonnel land mines has yet to be fully calculated; they
14 render arable land useless and contribute to over-farming of
15 suitable land; and
16 WHEREAS, The United States has been a major producer and
17 exporter of antipersonnel land mines for more than the past
18 25 years; and
19 WHEREAS, The cost to the American taxpayers of salaries,
20 equipment, transportation, and other need of removing
21 antipersonnel land mines was approximately $17,000,000 from
22 1989 to 1996 and will continue to adversely affect the
23 civilian sector of the United States economy; and
24 WHEREAS, Despite international momentum for a global ban
25 of antipersonnel land mines, a recent United Nations
26 conference failed to negotiate a ban; and
27 WHEREAS, At the Ottawa International Strategy Conference
28 in Ottawa, Canada, in October 1996, the governments of 50
29 nations adopted the "Ottawa process" recognizing the urgent
30 need for a ban on antipersonnel mines and outlined actions
31 for reaching a ban rapidly in the hope of signing a treaty to
-2- LRB9006071KBkb
1 ban antipersonnel land mines in Ottawa in December 1997;
2 therefore, be it
3 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
4 NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
5 urge the United States to take action to negotiate an
6 international ban on the manufacture, stockpiling, transfer,
7 and use of antipersonnel land mines, with a view to
8 completing the negotiations as soon as possible, by active
9 participation in the Ottawa process by which an international
10 treaty banning antipersonnel land mines will be ready for
11 signing in December 1997; and be it further
12 RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the
13 President of the United States, the presiding officers of the
14 United States Congress, and the Congressional delegation from
15 Illinois.