Human Rights Watch has published an important new briefing paper on US landmine policy (read the press release here.)

I say important, but in fact much of the material contained in the document has been debated by the landmine community for some time.

Indeed, I was reporting on much of it during last year's Nairobi Review Conference.

HRW's paper is important, however, because it distils many of the arguments why campaigners believe the Bush administration should sign up to the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty.

The recommendations are hardly earth-shattering; the Bush administration should reverse its decision not to join the Mine Ban Treaty and should not insist on the right to use self-destruct antipersonnel mines indefinitely.

Again, HRW have been calling for this for some time.

So the Human Rights Watch paper is more of a pull-together than a source of revelations.

Even so, it's essential reading for anyone interested in landmine issues -- although I was disappointed HRW couldn't even give grudging credit to the US for spending $800 million since 1993 on humanitarian mine action programmes.