UN General Assembly
1997

the burning questions of underdevelopment and at stopping the processes of degradation of the ecological habitat of our planet. Armed conflicts continue to take their toll, sometimes decades after the cessation of hostilities, due to the presence of anti-personnel landmines. The plight of tens of thousands of innocent victims has been a growing source of international concern in no small part as a result of effective advocacy by human rights groups and humanitarian organizations. Hungary stands for the total ban of these devices. My Government has supported the Ottawa process from its very inception; it welcomes the success of the Diplomatic Conference held on this issue at Oslo and intends to become one of the first signatories of the new Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. This is an important milestone in the development of international humanitarian law and in the endeavour to put an end to 14 the immense human suffering caused by the proliferation and indiscriminate use of these weapons. At the same time,