Land mines are a particularly stupid weapon to use for several reasons, which I will outline below:

  • They are indiscriminate killers (though some have been designed to tell the difference between cattle and human beings, so as not to waste the mine on an animal, and some are designed to activate for groups of people as opposed to individuals).
  • When the war has ended and the troops have gone home, the land mines are STILL THERE (because the majority of the people who plant them can't be bothered to de-mine, or they WANT innocent civilians to be blown up years after a conflict has ended)

  • "Ever courageous, never sleeps, never misses." -unknown Khmer Rouge general on why a land-mine is a perfect soldier
  • Primarily civilians are affected by land mines Especially young boys who act as shepherds, because they take the cattle out to pasture and inadvertantly trigger these mines which are often brightly coloured, attracting the attention and curiousity of young children.
One of the most infamous is the 'butterfly' mine, designed to float to the ground from helicopters without exploding, but with a shape and colour that also make it a deadly toy.

There are 2 main types of land mines: Anti-Personnel and Anti-Tank mines, with the Anti-Personnel mines more dangerous for children, as it usually takes more weight to activate the anti-tank mines. Of course, the bombs dropped by the United States called 'cluster bombs' are roughly equivalent to anti-personnel bombs as a number of them land unexploded, waiting to be stepped on or picked up (or landed on by a box containing American airplane food).

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Landmines and on Their Destruction - The Mine Ban Treaty - entered into force on March 1, 1999. Over 137 countries have signed the Treaty including all of the European NATO allies. The United States, Russia, and China have not signed.

STATISTICS
30%-40% of all mine victims are children under the age of 15
It is estimated that Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world
The United States has the fourth largest anti-personnel landmine arsenal in the world,
with a stockpile of approximately 11.2 million AP mines

For more info, see these websites:
www.unicef.org
http://www.unicef.org/sowc96pk/hidekill.htm
www.icbl.org
www.icrc.org