That agreement has now been signed by 125 nations who agree to ban land mines. The facts speak loudly for themselves. An estimated one hundred million active land mines threaten people in some sixty countries, both during wars and decades after they end. About 26,000 people are killed or maimed by mines annually. Fifty percent of those who step on mines die, and most survivors are permanently disabled.
Land mines make large tracts of agricultural land unusable.
International law requires combatants to do all they can to ensure that civilians are not harmed, but land mines are completely indiscriminate. They can't distinguish between the footfall of a soldier and that of a child. We had no idea that people would rally 'round to the degree that they did. Sirkin helped organize investigations by PHR physicians in countries including Somalia, Mozambique, El Salvador, and the former Yugoslavia to gather evidence on the medical effects of land mines and other human rights abuses. Reports based on their findings helped sway millions.