Author(s):
Site Admin <webmaster2@icbl.org> .
Monday 27 June 2011
Following the launch of the United States policy review on landmines at the end of 2009 and the ICBL’s fi rst Global Action on the US in 2010, the ICBL held in March and April 2011 a second global action focused on the US. As part of the action, campaigners requested meetings with US embassies around the world and wrote letters to world leaders to urge the US to ban landmines and join the Mine Ban Treaty.
Campaigners meeting with US embassy representatives, ICBL Georgian Committee
On 1 March 2011, to mark the 12th anniversary of the entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty, the ICBL launched “Global Action on the US: One Year On - Tell the USA to ban landmines NOW!” ICBL campaigners from 60 countries requested meetings with US embassy officials to follow up on the ICBL’s previous Global Action in 2010. From March to May, 35 meetings were held between campaigners, including survivors, and US officials, during which campaigners asked for updates on the US landmine policy review and urged the US to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty. Of the 35 meetings, four were held directly with US ambassadors (in Belgium, Cambodia, Serbia and Sierra Leone). All US representatives promised to transmit ICBL messages and materials back to the US Department of State in Washington D.C. In turn, campaigners sent reports back to the ICBL office with their perspective of the meetings.
According to campaigner’s reports, most US representatives were aware of the US landmine policy review, but could not comment on the status of the review, or when it would be completed. On the whole, US officials were receptive to ICBL’s points, and many promised
Campaigners meeting with US embassy representatives, Korean Campaign to Ban Landmines
to inform campaigners of new information pertaining to the landmine policy review. For the US officials, the most common concern cited about the US accession to the Mine Ban Treaty was the limiting of options for the US military to be able to fulfill its commitments to its allies, and in particular to South Korea. US officials also underlined that the country already is a major mine action donor and adheres to main provisions of the Mine Ban Treaty, which campaigners argue is even more reason for US accession.
In addition to meetings, campaigners sent letters to government leaders encouraging them to engage with and urge the Obama Administration to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty. Letters were sent to national political figures, including Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Prime Ministers and Presidents.
RfP NAIYN event participants. Photo: Religions for Peace
Campaign events in the US included in Washington, D.C. co-hosted by Georgetown University and the US Campaign to Ban Landmines, featuring a discussion about the US and the international ban on landmines, with Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams, Ken Rutherford, and Stephen Goose as panelists. Additionally, the Proud Students Against Landmines and Cluster Bombs (PSALM) from West Virginia released 50 balloons to mark the anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty as well as the organization’s own founding. The symbolic balloons carried messages of hope that the US and all remaining countries will “GET ON BOARD” and ban landmines and cluster bombs. Finally, the Religions for Peace North American Interfaith Youth Network (RfP NAIYN) held a retreat with youth groups who enthusiastically drafted a letter to President Obama, asking him to complete the US Landmine Policy review with the ultimate result of acceding to the Mine Ban Treaty.
