U.N. concerned over Iraqi minefields

BAGHDAD, July 2 (UPI) -- It is unlikely Iraq will meet its obligations under the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Treaty in part due to the sheer volume of the contamination, a U.N. report says.

A report by UNICEF and the U.N. Development Program finds 20 million landmines and more than 2 million cluster bombs have contaminated more than 650 square miles of the Iraqi landscape.

The UNDP-UNICEF reports says decades of conflict have left Iraq as one of the most contaminated countries in the world in terms of landmines and other unexploded ordnance.

"Unfortunately, with the government's current capacities and resources, it is unlikely Iraq will be able to meet its obligations under the Antipersonnel Mine Ban Treaty, as it will take decades to clear all mines and unexploded ordnance," said Paolo Lembo, UNDP's country director for Iraq.

Iraqi accession to the Mine Ban Treaty came into force in 2008. Iraq is obligated as a signatory to that treaty to ban the use, transport or acquisition of landmines, destroy all stockpiles in four years and clear all fields in the next decade.

"At the onset of Iraq's ratification of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, we have been engaged in the very difficult task of seeing Iraq's obligations to the convention fulfilled," said Iraqi Environment Minister Narmin Othman. "This report makes abundantly clear the enormity of the task ahead and that more must be done."