In a time of "smart weapons," land mines are especially dumb. The problem results from a pernicious consequence of design: Land mines are indiscriminate. They lack a safety or "off" switch; they can't be aimed, unlike other weapons; and they don't know the difference between soldiers and civilians, guerrillas and peacekeepers, trucks and aid workers, livestock and children. Land mines linger as the scattered remains of war, months and years after peace treaties are brokered. This was the abiding concern of the architects of a watershed treaty to ban land mines, which in December 2007 marked its 10-year anniversary. In that time, the global use, trade, and production of mines has declined, but hard work lies ahead for demining teams, doctors, survivors, activists— and graphic designers.
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