2014-07-01 17:03:00

Pope: anti-personnel mines prolong conflict and nurture fear


(Vatican Radio) In a message to participants to the just ended Third Review Conference of the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of anti-personnel mines and on their Destruction, Pope Francis expressed his solidarity towards victims of anti-personnel mines and praised the Conference as an occasion to chart forward the global effort to end the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines.

Listen to our report:  

The Conference, held in Maputo from 23 to 27 June, saw the participation of over 1,000 representatives of States and international and non-governmental organizations. 

The message, sent by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of Pope Francis describes anti-personnel mines as the weapons of cowards, and points out that the wounds inflicted by anti-personnel mines remind us that the use of weapons in general represent a defeat for all.
 
The Pope takes the occasion to praise participants at the Conference for their capacity to look to the future and to renew their commitment to make binding decisions that will change the daily life of “so many families, communities, regions and countries who continue to live every day in fear of landmines, in insecurity and poverty”.  He points out that “the environment that surrounds them implies a constant threat whilst it should be a source of fertility, development and enjoyment of life”.

Each person – Pope Francis says - is in search of peace, the opposite of fear. “Anti-personnel mines are subtle because they prolong war and nuture fear even when conflict has ended”.

He says that all people, whether direct or indirect victims of landmines, remind us at every moment of the human failure regarding peace and stability, which are in the interest of all.

And Pope Francis urges all actors of this humanitarian enterprise to preserve the integrity of the Convention, to develop and implement it as closely and quickly as possible. He calls on all countries to engage in the Convention, so that there are no more victims of anti-personnel mines.

“So that there are no more areas affected by mines in the world, and that no child should live in fear of landmines!” 

The Pope concludes his message expressing his hope that this Convention  may represent a model for other processes, “in particular for nuclear weapons and other weapons that should not exist”.

And putting the human person at the center of  efforts for disarmament, he asks: “What is the meaning of peace, security and stability if our societies, our communities and our families live in constant fear and destructive hatred?”

“Let us give space to reconciliation, hope, and love that are expressed in the commitment for common good, in international cooperation to help the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters, in the implementation of policies based on our common dignity”.

 

 








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