Landmines and unexploded ordnance claim thousands of lives every year. Many victims are civilians, often killed or maimed long after war has ended.

Antipersonnel mines can stay in the soil for decades, posing a threat to farmers, animal herders and children.

Along with unexploded ordnance, they present a serious impediment to resettling shattered communities at the end of a conflict.

The movement to outlaw these weapons took off in 1992 when a handful of humanitarian groups founded the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), a cause kept in the headlines by Princess Diana among others.

Lobbying led to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. The ICBL and its coordinator, Jody Williams, won the Nobel Peace Prize the same year.

The treaty has succeeded in stigmatising the use of landmines throughout the world to such an extent that most states and even some rebel groups have now declared they won't use them.

In 2007, only two countries were confirmed to be using landmines - Myanmar and Russia. Nepal, which was previously listed as a user, stopped laying mines after a 2006 ceasefire.

More than 80 percent of states have joined the Mine Ban Treaty, including many nations that at one time produced mines. Major countries that haven't signed include the United States and China.

For the purposes of this briefing the words mines and landmines are used to mean antipersonnel mines except where otherwise stated.

Non-state armed groups are now the major users of landmines.

However, with so many countries having halted production and destroyed stockpiles it is now harder for rebel groups to obtain factory-made mines. Some groups lift them from the ground or buy them from corrupt officials. But many now make their own improvised devices.

The FARC rebel group in Colombia is one of the world's largest users of mines, causing hundreds of casualties a year. The ELN rebel group in Colombia also uses mines. The Colombian government has linked the location of mines to coca routes.

Others countries where armed groups were known to be using mines in 2006/2007 include Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan and Russia/Chechnya. This is fewer than in previous years.

There are also many countries where there are unconfirmed reports of rebels using mines. However, an increasing number of armed groups are embracing a mine ban. These include groups in Burundi, Senegal, Sudan and Nepal.

The adoption of the Mine Ban Treaty in 1997 marked the first time that nations agreed to ban a weapon that was already in widespread use.

Signatories agree they will not use, develop, manufacture, stockpile or trade in anti-personnel landmines and that they will clear minefields and destroy stockpiles.

Even campaigners have been surprised by how fast it has been taken up. And many countries that haven't joined the treaty largely abide by its core obligations.

But there were worrying signs in 2007 among some non-signatory states, according to Landmine Monitor, the ICBL's monitoring arm.

• There were serious allegations that Israeli and Georgian forces used antipersonnel mines. Both governments denied this.
• Pakistan threatened to mine its border with Afghanistan.
• Poland backed off its commitment to join the treaty soon.
• The United States is moving towards production of a new landmine system that appears incompatible with the Mine Ban Treaty.
• South Korea has initiated production of remotely delivered mine systems.
• Conflicts in Lebanon and Somalia appear to have stalled progress towards these countries joining the treaty.

The Mine Ban Treaty, also called the Ottawa Convention, does not ban remote-controlled mines or anti-tank mines, which require a lot of pressure to detonate.

Many insurgent groups, like those in Iraq, use what are known as improvised explosive devices or IEDs. Those that are victim activated are considered as antipersonnel mines and banned under the treaty, but remote-controlled IEDs are not.

Signatories are required to clear all mined areas under their control within 10 years. But almost half the 29 countries with deadlines in 2009 and 2010 are not expected to meet them.

The 14 countries running out of time include Bosnia, Cambodia, Chad and Croatia. Britain, which is responsible for clearing mined areas on the Falkland Islands, is among several countries that have failed even to begin clearance operations.

Removal of landmines is dangerous, slow and costly. Deminers armed with metal detectors and metal prods have to clear heavily mined sections manually, inch by inch.

No machine can do the work. Dogs are only effective for checking areas where there are few mines. Clearance agencies remain divided over their use.

Other problems make the work very slow. Firstly, it is extremely rare to have a meaningful map showing the locations of mines. Secondly, mined areas are very often heavily overgrown. Deminers have to remove every bit of vegetation, all the while checking for trip wires, before they can start combing the area.

Dozens of deminers are killed every year. But the mines are not always the only danger. In Afghanistan deminers have been killed by Taliban insurgents. Poor security has also hampered demining operations in Iraq and Sri Lanka.

Deminers focus on clearing areas that will have the most benefit to civilians - for instance contaminated land near wells and water sources or land needed for farming or raising livestock.

For progress on clearance see the Landmine Monitor's Mine Action section.

Signatories to the treaty are also required to destroy their stockpiles within four years and most have already done so.

But an estimated 176 million mines are still held by countries around the world. The vast majority belong to three states outside the treaty: China (estimated 110 million), Russia (26.5 million) and the United States (10.4 million). Other states with large stockpiles include Pakistan and India.

Mines are specifically designed to shatter limbs beyond repair. They are an unusual weapon in that their purpose is to maim rather than kill - the idea being that the enemy has to use up more resources caring for injured fighters than dead ones.

Mine blast survivors not only have to deal with amputation and lifelong physical disability but also social, psychological and economic implications.

Three quarters of victims recorded in 2006 by Landmine Monitor were civilians and a third of these were children. But in Afghanistan, Nepal and Somaliland, children accounted for over half of recorded casualties.

Boys between five and 14 years are a particularly high-risk group. Many are in the fields herding animals. Others may detonate mines or pick up explosive debris while playing outdoors.

Colombia remains the country with the highest number of recorded casualties - three a day. Burma, Chad, India, Pakistan and Somalia all saw increases in 2006 while Lebanon noted an approximately tenfold increase, according to Landmine Monitor.

But the global annual death and injury toll has fallen significantly. For a long time it was estimated there were 15,000-20,000 new casualties a year. But in 2006, the recorded figure was 5,751 (1,367 killed and 4,296 injured).

However, the real toll is almost certainly higher as records in most affected countries are inadequate or non-existent.

Click here for Landmine Monitor's report on casualties.

Mines are not the only leftovers of war that kill and maim long after fighting has ended.

Anti-landmine campaigners have now turned their attention to cluster bombs, which they blame for maiming and killing tens of thousands of civilians.

Cluster bombs are dropped from planes or fired by mortars. The canisters open in mid-air releasing a multitude of bomblets that scatter over a wide area.

A single canister can contain hundreds of bomblets. Most explode immediately, but others - up to 10 percent by some estimates - don't. They can be triggered years later by touch, motion or even static electricity from someone's clothes.

The bomblets, which are designed to pierce tank armour, carry more explosives than an antipersonnel landmine. But their shape and size are appealing to children, who often mistake them for toys.

The Soviets first used cluster munitions in World War Two against Nazi tanks. They have been used in Vietnam, Cambodia, Congo, Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Afghanistan and most recently Lebanon.

The U.N. Mine Action Coordination Centre estimates there are about 500,000 unexploded submunitions left over from the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

In the Balkans, civilians are wounded or killed every year by explosive debris while ploughing fields or collecting wood in forests. The former Yugoslav countries will need at least another decade to clear affected areas.

A Norwegian initiative known as the Oslo Process has called for cluster bombs to be banned by 2008. Some 80 states have pledged their support, but big arms producers such as the United States and Russia have not taken part.

However, Steve Goose of Human Rights Watch says the proposed new treaty would have a powerful effect, even on those who did not sign right away.

"We've seen it with the landmine treaty, where even governments who decided not to join are largely abiding by the provisions. They don't want to risk public condemnation. We think this will happen with cluster munitions as well," Goose says.