States Parties 161 States Not Party 36
The year was an eventful one, an important one for consolidating our work and laying the groundwork for the future. The ICBL and all of our members have indeed been preparing internally and externally for the road ahead. Throughout 2003 we worked locally and globally to ensure that governments, partners, and ourselves prepare a solid foundation upon which to build the critical First Review Conference of the Convention, the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World. The Summit is a landmark event in the life of the convention. Everyone involved in eradicating landmines will be represented, and campaigners are working hard to ensure it generates much media and public attention. The Summit takes place halfway between the treaty's acceptance in international law (1999) and the deadline (2009) for clearance of mined areas by the first States that joined the Convention. More than an opportunity to assess progress thus far, the Summit will focus on the future. Its outcomes will be far-reaching: discussions and the Summit documents will chart the way forward for the full implementation and universalization of the treaty. As ICBL Ambassador Jody Williams noted, "it sets… the framework of action as we move into the next five years of the life of the Mine Ban Treaty. It will help reaffirm our joint commitment to ensuring that the words of the Mine Ban Treaty continue to be transformed into concrete reality, improving the lives of landmine survivors around the world and continuing to reduce the number of people victimized by this weapon of terror.
In addition to working hard to solidify the foundation for the framework of action for the next five years for the entire landmine movement, with our government, UN and ICRC partners, we also worked to solidify the ICBL foundation as we move into the next phase of our coalition. At our General Meeting in Bangkok in September 2003 we concluded an extensive and comprehensive consultation process regarding the future of the network for the post 2004 period. For me personally it was exciting to be planning the future back in Thailand, where I first began work on the campaign 12 years ago. We've come so far, I thought, but have not lost our passion nor our creativity in seizing opportunities. The entire network showed our strength in constructively addressing the important issues of transition and this new phase. Members exchanged experiences and vision, energized one another and re-affirmed their commitment, pledging to continue our work for a mine-free world.
The General Meeting adopted an Action Plan to guide the ICBL's work during the period from September 2003 to December 2004. The General Meeting also adopted the post 2004 Strategy which included re-affirmation of the goals of the ICBL; entrusting the Coordinating Committee to develop, with consultation with the network, a Plan of Action 2005-2009, to be adopted in Nairobi; and endorsing the concept of the ICBL continuing to engage in the same types of activities as in the past, but in a gradually more decentralized fashion post-2004, with national campaigns, organizations and focal points playing an enhanced role. Indeed throughout 2003 we worked to lay a solid foundation to ensure a successful Nairobi Summit, and to ensure a concrete action plan for finishing the job that we all began. We prepared our own house to enable us to do so - to maintain the mature, vibrant coalition that we are, unafraid to adapt to evolving circumstances. Our transition plan is the foundation that will enable us to meet the challenges of finishing the job - with our characteristic focus, flexibility and flair! I'm utterly confident in our ability to do so.
The progress we continue to make in the movement to ban antipersonnel mines would not be possible without the continued support of our donor and member organizations. We would like to extend our gratitude to all our campaign partners for their ongoing in kind and financial donations that allow us to continue our work:
Your continued cooperation and action is needed now and in the coming years to ensure that we can finish this job and truly create a landmine-free world.
Members of this unique civil society network took actions globally, nationally, regionally and internationally to help universalize and support implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. Activities from January until September focused on preparations for the Fifth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty (5MSP) held September in Bangkok, Thailand, and on Treaty universalization efforts in Asia. Actions from October to December centered on raising domestic support and awareness of the upcoming Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World, the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty. Campaigns worked to ensure that their governments come to Nairobi prepared to re-commit to eliminating landmines in the long-term.
Throughout 2003, campaigns made sure the landmines issue was included in forums in all parts of the world including: Arab League, Association for South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), European Union, Francophonie, Group of Eight (G8), Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Organization of American State (OAS), Organization for African Unity (OAU), Rio Group and many other regional and international forums and organizations.
Campaign actions included letter-writing, interventions at forums, lobby meetings, poetry contests, student workshops, photo exhibitions and many other types of activities to raise awareness and promote both government and civil society action to ban landmines. These efforts helped to ensure that all countries with 1 March stockpile destruction deadlines met their treaty obligations. Sustained campaign support and pressure over many years led to countries including Greece, Turkey, Serbia and Montenegro and Belarus becoming Treaty States Parties.
For more information about specific campaign events please refer to the ICBL Landmine Update, the ICBL's Quarterly Newsletter, which provides a summary of some of these events. The Landmine Update is available online atwww.icbl.org/update/landmines/
By 31 December 2003, 141 countries were States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty. Burundi (22 October), Sudan (13 October), Greece (25 September), Guyana (5 August), Lithuania (12 May), São Tomé e Principe (31 March) and Cyprus (17 January) ratified the Treaty. Turkey (25 September), Serbia and Montenegro (18 September), Belarus (3 September) and Timor Leste (7 May) acceded to the Treaty. Of these 11 new States Parties, eight are mine-affected. Turkey and Greece's joint Treaty accession/ ratification was a groundbreaking and precedent setting peace and confidence-building measure.
The Intersessional Work Programme was established in 1999 to ensure systematic and effective implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. The Programme holds two weeklong sessions per year, the Intersessional Standing Committee (ISC) meetings, where governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and other experts come together in Geneva for informal discussions on Mine Ban Treaty implementation. Four Standing Committees meet during the week: Victim Assistance and Socio-economic Reintegration; Mine Clearance, Mine Awareness and Mine Action Technologies; Stockpile Destruction; and, General Status and Operation of the Convention.
Dozens of ICBL campaigners participated in the ISC meetings, held 3-7 February and 12-16 May at the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD). The ICBL and Landmine Monitor Regional Meeting for Europe was held during the February session.
The ICBL worked with Standing Committee Co-Chairs and Co-Rapporteurs to help prepare their participation in these meetings. The ICBL made interventions in each Standing Committee on issues of concern and arranged side meetings and events with all government delegations. Progress was made in each issue area, as well as preparation for the Fifth Meeting of States Parties and the First Review Conference. These meetings provided an opportunity to work with our partners to push the mines agenda forward with States Parties to the Treaty as well as countries not Party to the Treaty.
For more information please visit www.icbl.org/sc
The Mine Ban Treaty requires that a Meeting of States Parties (MSP) be held once per year, with the venue alternating between the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and a mine-affected country. The Fifth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty (5MSP), the largest landmines event of 2003, was held from 15-19 September at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand.
Civil society was well represented at the 5MSP, with 206 ICBL members from 65 countries participating in the Bangkok meeting and surrounding events. The ICBL issued statements and made interventions throughout the 5MSP and extensive press engagement resulted in significant local, regional and international media attention.
Campaigners participated in an orientation meeting before the 5MSP began, and had opportunities to take part in an interfaith prayer service, field visit to mine-affected areas along the Thai-Cambodian border and a one-day workshop on engaging non-state actors organized by the ICBL's Non-State Actors Working Group. Throughout the 5MSP, ICBL members participated in daily morning briefings, numerous regional and thematic meetings and met with government delegates in addition to the offical meetings and events. The ICBL held a panel discussion on "The Landmine Ban in the Gulf: Challenges and Possibilities" and the Non-State Actors Working Group held a discussion on "Engaging Non-State Actors in a Landmine Ban." Five youth campaigners participated in the ICBL's "International Youth Capacity Building in Mine Action Seminar."
Exhibitions at the United Nations included "Claiming the Future- the Impact of UXO and Landmines on Lao PDR," a collection of photos and book launch organized by the ICBL Australia Network and a Geneva Call exhibition on non-state actors. The Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines hosted "The Perfect Survivor" mechanical chair and photography exhibit at the World Trade Center.
Throughout the week the ICBL emphasized the need for sustained and increased efforts to ensure the Mine Ban Treaty is fully universalized and implemented. The end of the 5MSP marked one year until the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World, the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty, opens in Nairobi, Kenya.
A Report on Activities was compiled and distributed to campaigns and governments. For more information please visit www.icbl.org/5msp/5msp-report.pdf
As participants left Bangkok after the 5MSP all roads led to Nairobi. The Nairobi Summit on a Mine Free-World, the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty, will be held from 29 November - 3 December 2004 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Like Meetings of States Parties, the Nairobi Summit will be an official government meeting held under the auspices of the United Nations and the ICBL will participate as observers. The meeting will develop targeted strategies and actions to guide universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty from 2004 through 2009, when the next Review Conference will be held and the first States Parties reach their mine clearance deadlines.
The ICBL participated in a ceremony held 2 December in Nicosia, Cyprus to launch the Road to Nairobi, a yearlong series of activities leading up to the Nairobi Summit. The ICBL will work with States Parties and other governments and international organizations on the Road to Nairobi to ensure that States Parties arrive at the summit fully prepared to re-commit themselves in the long-term to working to fully universalize and implement the Mine Ban Treaty.
For more information on the Nairobi Summit visit www.icbl.org/nairobisummit
Landmine Monitor is the ICBL's civil society-based initiative that monitors compliance with the global norm against mine use established under the Mine Ban Treaty and evaluates progress in providing assistance to mine victims and mine action programs. This marks the first time that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have come together in a sustained and coordinated way to monitor and report on the implementation of an international disarmament or humanitarian law treaty. Its reports are viewed internationally as the baseline from which to analyze implementation of and compliance with the Treaty, and have received widespread acclaim from governments, the media and NGOs alike.
Campaigns in 15 countries held events to mark the 9 September global release of the fifth annual Landmine Monitor report, Toward a Landmine-free World: Landmine Monitor 2003. It contains information on every country in the world with respect to landmine ban policy, use, production, transfer, stockpiling, mine clearance, mine risk education and survivor assistance. The report was prepared by 110 researchers in 90 countries who systematically collected and analyzed information from a wide variety of sources. The 2003 Report is available at www.icbl.org/lm/2003
All States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty have fully adhered to the prohibition of mine use. As the global norm against mine use established under the Treaty is strengthened, overall global mine use continues to decline.
As the United States, a Treaty non-State Party, prepared to wage war in Iraq, the ICBL noted increasing stockpiles of American landmines in the Gulf region and urged the United States not to use mines in any impending conflict. The ICBL also cautioned States Parties that assisting in the use of mines in joint operations with a non-State Party would contravene the spirit and letter of the Treaty.
On 1 March, the fourth anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty taking effect, the ICBL issued a media statement and call to action against any possible use of mines by all parties to the Iraq conflict. The United States refrained from using mines, however, Iraq, also a Treaty non-signatory, and non-state actors did use mines at the outset of the conflict. The ICBL issued a press statement on 21 March condemning this new mine use.
For more information please visit www.icbl.org/country/iraq and www.icbl.org/country/usa
Universalizing the Mine Ban Treaty and solidifying the global norm against mine use remains a core aspect of the ICBL's work. Partly a result of campaign efforts, throughout 2003 a total of 11 countries became States Parties to the Treaty. These new States Parties included Belarus, a country with a very large mine stockpile, and countries engaged in conflict including Sudan and Burundi. Greece and Turkey joined the Treaty simultaneously in a show of mutual confidence.
The ICBL has a carefully prepared universalization strategy, which is continually updated based on Landmine Monitor research and consultation with partner organizations and governments. The ICBL continues to play an active role in the Universalization Contact Group, a group of governments and international organizations who work together to promote Treaty universalization.
With only 17 of 35 Asian countries party to the Mine Ban Treaty and ongoing mine use in 4 countries, ICBL universalization efforts throughout 2003 focused on Asia. The Asia Appeal was launched in the lead-up to the 5MSP, calling for concerted efforts to universalize the Treaty in the region. In response to an action alert issued in July, members worldwide lobbied China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Vietnam to adhere to the norm prohibiting mine use.
In February the ICBL traveled to Burma to meet with organizations engaged in mine action and to show support for the mine ban. To strengthen universalization efforts in the Pacific, an ICBL representative participated in a New Zealand Government mission to Papua New Guinea in April to encourage that country to join the Mine Ban Treaty.
On the eve of the 36th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, held in June in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the ICBL issued a call for "10 out of 10" ASEAN member states to join the Treaty. The ICBL worked with the Cambodian Campaign to Ban Landmines to send letters to all diplomatic missions in Cambodia with a copy of the report ASEAN and the Banning of Antipersonnel Mines.
Landmine Action and the ICBL partnered on a South Asia Capacity Building Project, which saw campaigners from mine-affected States Parties serving as mentors for their campaign colleagues in mine-affected non-States Parties. ICBL contributions to the project including holding a workshop on fundraising skills for program participants.
The Non-State Actors Working Group conducted a mission to Nepal in June to assess the landmine situation in the country and encourage all parties to the conflict to adhere to the international norm against mine use.
Finland is the only European country to remain completely outside the mine ban. The Finnish Campaign to Ban Landmines (FCBL) invited the ICBL to Helsinki in April to meet with parliamentarians and representatives of government ministries, the diplomatic community and non-governmental organizations to discuss Treaty accession. In September, the ICBL supported the FCBL's two mine action days.
The ICBL is committed to supporting states as they implement all Mine Ban Treaty provisions. Under Article 4 of the Treaty all States Parties must destroy their stockpiled antipersonnel mines within four years of the Treaty entering into force. The ICBL worked with 45 states to ensure they destroyed their stockpiled mines within the given timeline. Many campaign members participated in stockpile destruction events in their countries. All these states met their 1 March deadline, destroying a combined total of 30 million antipersonnel mines.
To educate and engage governments in the Americas about the need and process to enact Article 9 domestic legislation as required under the Mine Ban Treaty, the ICBL organized a workshop for Spanish-speaking countries, held February in Geneva, Switzerland. The seminar provided a basis for continued dialogue with governments in the region throughout 2003 about how to implement national legislation. A workshop for campaigners on how to support government efforts to enact domestic legislation was held April in Rome, Italy.
The ICBL's four thematic working groups are crucial in efforts to ensure that the Mine Ban Treaty is fully implemented. These groups, covering Mine Action, Non-State Actors, Treaty Issues and Victim Assistance, are informal networks of campaigners who join together to share information and take focused actions to make certain that both States Parties and other actors fully implement all aspects of the Treaty. The groups are chaired by experts in each field.
The Working Groups prepared and delivered interventions during the ISC Meetings and the 5MSP. They helped to set guidelines and standards, circulated information and ensured that much needed actions were taken on their areas of focus. They helped to channel civil society input into decision-making on these topics.
The ICBL General Meeting was held from 20-21 September in Bangkok, Thailand. Previous meetings were held in Washington DC, USA (March 2001), Maputo, Mozambique (May 1999) and Frankfurt, Germany (February 1998). One hundred sixty campaign members from 70 countries participated in the two-day meeting.
Discussions focused on determining the priorities and nature of the ICBL's future activities. The campaign re-committed itself to meeting remaining challenges in Mine Ban Treaty universalization and implementation. It adopted the Bangkok-Nairobi Action Plan to guide the ICBL's work from September 2003 to December 2004. As well, campaigners adopted a framework document on the proposed structure, goals and activities of the organization from 2005 onwards.
The Bangkok- Nairobi Action Plan, Post-2004 Plan and summary report of the General Meeting are available online at www.icbl.org/resources/gm03/
Every year Landmine Monitor holds a series of regional meetings, in addition to a global meeting to prepare its annual report. These meetings are held in conjunction with the ICBL and integrate both research and advocacy activities.
To help prepare Toward a Landmine-free World: Landmine Monitor 2003, the Asia-Pacific regional meeting was held January in Colombo, Sri Lanka and researchers from the Middle East, North Africa and Europe met in Geneva, Switzerland during February. Over 70 researchers from 65 countries met in Rome, Italy from 7-9 April for the 2003 Landmine Monitor Global Researchers Meeting.
The series of regional and global ICBL and Landmine Monitor meetings to prepare the 2004 annual Landmine Monitor report is focused on bringing the mines issue back to the forefront in mine-affected countries and states that remain outside the mine ban. The regional meeting for the Commonwealth of Independent States was held in November in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and researchers from the Middle East and North Africa met in the United Arab Emirates in December. Additional meeting to prepare for the 2004 report are scheduled for 2004.
On 1 March campaigns around the world celebrated the fourth anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty's entry into force. The ICBL issued a press statement to mark this important event, which coincided with the first Treaty-mandated deadline for stockpile destruction. All forty-three countries with 1 March stockpile destruction deadlines met their treaty obligations.
The ICBL launched its preparations for the Nairobi Summit in December to mark the sixth anniversary of the opening for signature of the Mine Ban Treaty and the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the ICBL and Jody Williams, as well as to celebrate the International Day for Disabled People. Campaign members participated in the launch of the Road to Nairobi in Cyprus and the ICBL issued an Action Alert calling on civil society to work with governments and media to generate support for the Review Conference. Letters were sent to Foreign Ministers on the 3 December Treaty annivserary with a copy of the ICBL's Report on Activities for the 5MSP. Campaigns organized events around the globe to celebrate.
Throughout 2003 the ICBL collected funds to support the Sponsor a Mine-Detection Dog Program. Contributions enabled Norwegian People's Aid's (NPA) mine detection dog program in Bosnia and Herzegovina to purchase "Dina," a Belgium Shepherd. Dina, along with handler Marija Beze, NPA's first female mine detection dog trainer and handler, are now hard at work detecting landmines. Support for the program in 2003 also allowed NPA to purchase 14 portable kennel cages and one month of dog food to nourish their entire team of mine detection dogs.
Raising the Voices (RTV) is a landmine survivor-advocate training project coordinated by Landmine Survivors Network on behalf of the ICBL Working Group on Victim Assistance. Ten landmine survivors from South and Southeast Asia participated in the the program and attended both the ISC meetings and the 5MSP. They were introduced to human rights and disability law, the ICBL and received training in advocacy skills. They also issued a joint statement to the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, urging governments to promote the full participation of persons with disabilities in the workplace.
The ICBL works closely with UN partners including the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs (UNDDA). The ICBL participated in meetings and forums with all these bodies throughout the year to ensure that they included strong Mine Ban Treaty advocacy in their programmatic work and to advocate for appropriate, effective and sustained mine action projects.
As a coalition of non-governmental organizations, the ICBL takes focused actions in close partnership with our member organizations, governments and international organizations. The ICBL supports and facilitates the work of members and encourages them to work together in concerted efforts to eliminate antipersonnel mines. This is a selection of some of the many activities undertaken in 2003.
In May, Handicap International Belgium participated in a workshop in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, focused on the implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty in both the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Uganda Campaign to Ban Landmines gave a presentation on the needs of Ugandan mine survivors during the General Assembly of the National Union of Women with Disabilities in Uganda (NUWODU) during October in Kampala.
The ICBL worked with government partners in preparation for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), held 5-8 December in Abuja, Nigeria, to ensure strong Treaty-related language was included in the final declaration. Item 29 of the final communique is related to landmines.
The Brazilian Campaign to Ban Landmines participated in events at the World Social Forum, held January in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Campaigners organized daily awareness-raising workshops and an information booth in the youth campground and distributed postcards addressed to Cuban President Fidel Castro, urging Cuba to join the Mine Ban Treaty. Campaigners from Brazil, Canada and Colombia participated in the Americas Regional Mine Action Seminar that took place in Lima, Peru from 12-13 August. The ICBL made interventions in workshops on regional planning and priority setting and victim assistance. Colombian members participated in a Regional Seminar on Victim Assistance held during November in Bogota, Colombia.
The Sri Lankan Campaign to Ban Landmines (SCBL) delivered two million-signature petitions calling for Sri Lanka to join the Treaty and the LTTE to stop using antipersonnel landmines.
Campaigners in Indonesia organized a seminar on 29 May for representatives of the Indonesian government, the diplomatic community and civil society to raise awareness of the mines issue and encourage Indonesia's ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty.
A Ban Landmine Campaign Nepal delegation met with Nepali Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa on 14
August. The delegation urged the Prime Minister to join the Mine Ban Treaty and encouraged him to send a high-level delegation to the 5MSP.
The Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines (TBCL) organized a series of activities to raise awareness and support for the mine ban in preparation for the 5MSP. Painted handprints were collected from throughout Thailand as part of the "Hold Hands Against Mines" initiative to demonstrate Thai solidarity and support for the mine ban. In April, 55 cyclists, including 35 landmine survivors, rode 135 kilometres to witness the destruction of Thailand's remaining stockpile of antipersonnel mines. A Ban Landmines Fair and awareness-raising workshops helped to create a local connection with the international meeting held in Bangkok.
The ICBL participated in The Second International Ottawa Convention Implementation Workshop held in Minsk, Belarus from 8-9 December and organized by the Belarus Campaign to Ban Landmines. The seminar examined the mine problem in Belarus and reviewed Belarus' obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty.
The Ukrainian Peacekeepers Veterans Association participated in Ottawa Convention: Participation of Ukraine, a seminar held 11-12 February in Kiev, Ukraine. ICBL Ambassador Jody Williams sent an open letter to the meeting, congratulating the Ukraine's progress with stockpile destruction and urging the Ukraine to take the next step and ratify the Mine Ban Treaty.
In November, representatives of the ICBL briefed the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC)'s Political Committee on the major findings of Toward a Landmine-free World: Landmine Monitor 2003 during a briefing at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
ICBL Ambassador Jody Williams participated in the Gorbachev Foundation Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, held in December in Rome. The Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines organized media interviews, a hearing with the Human Rights Committee of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Parliament, and a presentation at a University department of peacekeeping surrounding the Summit.
Landmine deadly legacy: Over 5 years after adoption of the Ottawa Treaty, a month-long photography exhibition and series of awareness-raising workshops was held at Warsaw University during March. The exhibition raised the public profile of Poland's status as the only European country to sign but not ratify the Treaty.
On 2-4 December, the ICBL met with EU representatives in Brussels, including members of the European Parliament, European Commission and the Council of European Union. The Parliament held a session on 3 and 4 December and all agreed to include a paragraph on landmines (40) in the "resolution on the Council and Commission statements on the preparation of the European Council in Brussels on 12-13 December 2003." Meetings were also held with the European Commission representative to discuss the preparation of its strategy for Mine Action.
The Campaign for a Turkey without Mines organized Antipersonnel Landmines in Turkey and Worldwide, a conference held in Istanbul on 26 April and organized in cooperation with the Swiss Campaign to Ban Landmines and Medico International. The conference issued a declaration calling on Turkey and Greece to join the Mine Ban Treaty as soon as possible and by the 5MSP. Both countries joined the Treaty on 25 September.
The Damascus Workshop on Landmine Awareness, hosted by the Arab Network of Researchers on Landmines and ERW, was held 19-20 February in Damascus, Syria.
Young people from around the world collected over 100,000 petition signatures through the Youth Against War Treaty initiative, urging India and Pakistan to stop mine use and join the Mine Ban Treaty. Signatures will be handed over to both governments in March 2004.
The ICBL organized Empowering Young People, a workshop for adult campaigners held April in Rome that explored how to meaningfully engage young people in campaign activities.
Five young people from Cambodia, Canada, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal and Uruguay participated in the ICBL's International Youth Capacity Building in Mine Action Seminar, held during the 5MSP in Bangkok. The youth attended the official 5MSP meetings, engaged in advocacy and outreach activities with the support of adult mentors, gave a presentation on youth and victim assistance at the opening of an art exhibition and participated in seminars to help further develop advocacy skills.
The Youth Action Forum website at www.icbl.org/youth was regularly updated with current news and information and action alerts were distributed to the youth email distribution list.
The ICBL worked to strengthen its regional and thematic resource focal point network. Campaign focal points received campaign materials and handled information and resource requests from interested persons in their region or working on their area of expertise.
Resources were developed and disseminated to support and facilitate the work of country campaigns. The ICBL issued quarterly Landmine Updates, published a Report on Activities at the 5MSP and a Report on Activities at the ICBL General Meeting and distributed Action Alerts. Progress was underway on two CD ROMs to assist members in their activism.
A thorough re-design of the ICBL home page began in 2003 and the revamped site will be launched in 2004. Improvements were made to pages on the ICBL web site to make them increasingly accessible and user-friendly.
News articles were added regularly to the homepage ( www.icbl.org), the database of resources in the Index on Landmines ( www.icbl.org/index) expanded and the Image Library ( www.icbl.org/imagelibrary) grew to include more high-resolution images. A 5MSP web page was created at www.icbl.org/5msp in addition to country-specific advocacy pages for the Baltic States, Gulf States, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Poland and Sri Lanka. Toward a Landmine-free World: Landmine Monitor 2003 was made available online at www.icbl.org/lm/2003.
The ICBL supported campaigns as they developed country pages on the ICBL server (i.e. www.nepal.icbl.org) and helped to expand language-specific content on ICBL web pages (i.e. www.icbl.org/es/). Training workshops were organized on the margins of regional and international campaign meetings and other forums to train campaigns on how to use online tools and software programs.
Tate & Tryon completed the 2003 ICBL Independent Audit. The full report is available upon request and is online at http://www.icbl.org/content/download/11719/258308/file/2003%20ICBL%20Audit.pdf.
The following excerpt is taken from their report:
Recorded Cash Receipts
Cash Disbursements
Financial Statement from Independent Auditor - 2003
