- Thai/regional angle: This important diplomatic conference
hosted by the Government of Thailand will help tackle the problem of
antipersonnel mines that affects Thailand and more than a third of the countries
in the region.
Asia-Pacific region is a ‘bad neighbourhood’ as far as the
mine issue goes. Antipersonnel mines are still being used (e.g. in Nepal and
Burma), there are severely affected countries in this region (e.g. Afghanistan
and Cambodia) and also, it is home to more producers than anywhere else.
For
more information: see Landmine Monitor Report 2003: www.icbl.org/lm/2003 and
the regional overview (from Executive Summary): http://www.icbl.org/lm/2003/asia-pacific.html.
Interviews available with campaigners, researchers and landmine survivors from
the region.
- Personal stories: Interview one of the 120 representatives of the ICBL’s global network who will be in Bangkok including landmine survivors, deminers and campaigners. They come from over 50 countries and all have interesting stories and perspectives on the mine issue. Interviews can be arranged in various languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Thai, Khmer, Japanese, Arabic, Portuguese and more. Please write to media .t. icbl.org or contact Sue Wixley (ICBL media officer): + 66 (0) 5 164 2679. Also, see the biographies in this Media Kit.
- This is a good news story: a successful multilateral treaty has achieved a great deal in just five years: 50 million mines destroyed, vast areas of land cleared, de facto global ban on trade, fewer new victims in some countries, cessation of use e.g. Angola, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, overall drop in use, increase in funding in the past year. Speak to Jody Williams (Nobel Peace Prize laureate), Stephen Goose, (editor-in-chief of Landmine Monitor), or other experts from every region, on what has been achieved so far.
- Armed opposition groups using mines are a big part of the mine problem worldwide and in Asia e.g. Burma, Laos, Nepal. Although non-state actors cannot sign the treaty (since it is open to governments only), they can unilaterally declare an end to use, stockpiling of antipersonnel mines etc. and make a commitment to a mine-free future. Speak to ICBL experts who have lobbied armed opposition groups to reject antipersonnel mines.
- The work continues: in Bangkok, governments and civil society organisations are working together to deal with the aftermath of wars and ensure that one fall-out of conflict, antipersonnel mines, is eradicated for future generations. Meanwhile, conflicts rage in other parts of the region and world, and the landmine community tries to comes to terms with the Baghdad bombing and targeting of deminers in places like Iraq and Afghanistan...
- Landmines, still there in peacetime e.g. in Vietnam, Thailand,
Cambodia and dealing with them is increasingly done in the context of poverty
reduction.
Of the countries that experience landmine casualties worldwide,
the majority are not at war. This threatens the lives and limbs of ordinary
people and also their livelihoods. Landmines slow economic development and
reconstruction. For this reason mine clearance programmes are increasingly being
carried out as part of a national plan for development and reconstruction. Talk
to experts involved in mine action work in the field and also landmine
survivors.
- Other angles include a focus on specific countries: e.g. new States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty Belarus which joined on 3 September 2003, a very significant development as they stockpile 4.5 million mines and with neighbouring Russia, a non-signatory. Or countries where mines are still being used and landmine casualties have increased e.g. Colombia, Nepal. Or the U.S.A. for its continued refusal to issue a policy on the weapon, decrease in mine clearance funding. 3 dozen mine casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq.