THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

Statement by the Press Secretary

The President today applauded the action taken by the Senate giving its unanimous advice and consent to the ratification of the Convention on Conventional Weapons. The Convention is designed to restrict, for humanitarian reasons, the use in armed conflict of specific types of conventional weapons. Its most important element is a set of restrictions on the use of landmines.

The Convention's approval is an historic milestone in our effort to eliminate the terrible human suffering inflicted by deadly landmines around the world. Its approval today also assures the United States a key role in future negotiations to improve the Convention -- part of the Administration's comprehensive program to deal with the serious problem posed by antipersonnel landmines. These weapons pose an enduring threat to post-War reconstruction around the world and to innocent civilians, even in those countries where conflicts have ceased.

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