Republic of Peru
Ambassador Oswaldo de Rivero
Peru signed the Mine Ban Treaty on December 3, 1997, and completed destruction of its stockpile of 322,892 antipersonnel landmines in 2001. Oswaldo de Rivero was Peru’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations until early 2004. Prior to that, he was the nation’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization. The following is excerpted from Ambassador de Rivero’s address to the UN General Assembly on November 21, 2001. In recent years, the political will to eradicate antipersonnel mines has undoubtedly increased. It could not be otherwise, because antipersonnel mines are odious weapons that claim innocent victims among the civilian population —…
