International Campaign to Ban Landmines, 2005 Annual Report

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The reporting period was a time of transition for the ICBL, which was undertaking the final stages of a year-long internal restructuring process. The goal of the changes, which resulted in a smaller international staff and streamlined structure, was to increase the participation of its membership in universalizing and implementing the Mine Ban Treaty by placing greater emphasis on activities and policy work at the national level. The ICBL remained very active through all these changes, continuing to engage in advocacy and capacity-building activities at the international and national levels.

The ICBL was represented at many landmine-related conferences during the reporting period, including a large and active delegation at the Intersessional Standing Committee Meetings in June and the 6MSP in Zagreb. The 6MSP was an important time for the ICBL to organize, and participate in, advocacy activities, side events, media opportunities and planning for the coming year.

A series of advocacy missions were also conducted to reach out to new audiences and to reinforce ICBL's messages to governments, parliamentarians, journalists and the general public. These missions and conferences also provided an opportunity for ICBL staff to work with national campaigns on their planning and development of advocacy goals. The ICBL’s Treaty Implementation Director actively engaged in Geneva based advocacy through her work with various diplomats, the Coordinating Committee, the ISU, ICRC and other partners.

The ICBL Working Groups continued to serve as a liaison between those in the campaign who work in the field and those involved in policy at the international level. The Working Group co-chairs made several statements at the Intersessional Standing Committee Meetings and worked with staff on a number of policy documents at the international level.

Capacity building for ICBL members took on an even greater importance in this period as ICBL staff began to count on them for greater in-country advocacy. In this reporting period, the ICBL focused on enhancing the national campaigns' skills and assessing their needs through individual communications and consultations, as opposed to group trainings. Various advocacy tools were also used to encourage campaigners to engage in advocacy on key issues at critical times, such as calls for action, including the 6MSP and 1 March call to actions, and an implementation calendar.

The ICBL continued to use and develop communication tools to facilitate information exchanges within the campaign, including the development of a new ICBL newsletter. Upgrades to the ICBL web site have made it much easier for campaigners to post news about their activities, thereby keeping the rest of the movement informed about developments in their countries.

During the reporting period, the Landmine Monitor staff worked on the 2005 report, and the ICBL contributed an ICBL chapter for the report. The ICBL also continued to support and encourage member campaigns to design programs to increase youth involvement in the activities of the ICBL.