Gambia had been added to the list as late as Friday, after a country representative unexpectedly announced its mine-free status to the gathering, Laila Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the Geneva event, told AFP. As for the perhaps most surprising name on the list of countries not considered landmine-free until this year, Denmark in July finished clearing minefields left over from World War II, when Nazis put about 1.4 million landmines along the Jutland peninsula to ward off an allied invasion. Following the new additions, 36 signatory countries to the Mine Ban Treaty are still in the process of clearing mines, organisers said. "Fifteen years after the opening of the Mine Ban treaty, we still see a high level of commitment. . . aimed at ending for all time the scourge of landmines," said Stephen Goose, chair of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which oversees the implementation of the 1997 treaty.
Poland's announcement during the conference of its imminent ratification of the treaty was also grounds for celebration, ICBL said, pointing out that Polish participation will mean that all EU member states will be part of the pact as the 161st signatory country.