Campaign News

AFGHANISTAN: SURVIVORS URGE GOVERNMENT TO JOIN DISABILITY RIGHTS CONVENTION

On the day the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities entered into force (3 May 2008), the Afghan Landmine Survivors’ Organization (ALSO) issued a press release urging the government to join the Convention without delay. ALSO remarked that, while Afghanistan has been active in the implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, it still needs to pay adequate attention to the care and rehabilitation of landmine survivors—also an obligation under the treaty.

SOUTH AFRICA: TABLE FOOTBALL WITH A DIFFERENCE

In February 2008, South African Advertising agency JWT Cape Town implemented a pro bono campaign to create awareness on the landmine and cluster munitions issue and raise funds for the ICBL. The campaign kicked off in Cape Town with the installation in a pub of a “special” football table. To recall the effects of landmines and cluster munitions, the players were missing a leg, or two, which resulted in a more challenging game. The table carried stickers informing people about the ongoing effects of landmines and cluster munitions and the need to act against these weapons. A press release to launch the campaign was sent to all English speaking media in South Africa and appeared in Afrikaans in one of the biggest Afrikaans newspapers, Beeld.

POLAND: ONE WEEK OF ADVOCACY IN WARSAW

In March 2008, the ICBL and Polish Red Cross (PRC) organized a week of activities to advocate for Poland’s ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty. Activities included the opening of the “Miss Landmine” photo exhibition, meetings with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Defence as well as the Chairmen of the two relevant Parliamentary Committees, and media work. The exhibition opening featured speeches by the ICBL Ambassador Margaret Arach Orech, the ICBL Advocacy Director, the Vice-president of the PRC, a representative from the Polish Engineering Corps, the Miss Landmine creator, and the ambassadors from Canada and Angola. The event was attended by some 150 people including representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Defence, the office of the President of Warsaw, the Army, the diplomatic corps, UN agencies, the media, artists, academics, NGOs, and general public.

COLOMBIA: PILOT PROJECT FOR SURVIVOR REHABILITATION

Maranatha farm, in Colombia’s central-western department of Santander, is a pilot experience in the rehabilitation of landmine survivors — the vast majority of whom are from rurabackgrounds. Supported by the Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines (CCCM), the farm provides survivors undergoing rehabilitation therapies with a space to share experiences and an opportunity to engage in productive activities during their stay, which can range from 8 days to a couple of months. Activities include tending corn and yucca crops as well as rearing chickens. The farm is also intended as a mine risk education centre for schoolchildren from the surrounding areas.

INDIA: CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES HOLDS 5TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The fifth annual conference of the Indian Campaign to Ban Landmines took place in Delhi on 23 and 24 April, with the participation of 92 delegates from across the country. Attendees included Indian CBL coordinators as well as a number of military and government officials (including a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), representatives from the diplomatic corps, the ICRC, international NGOs and the media.The conference addressed the issue of cluster munitions, with a view to IndianCBLState coordinators working on it in their respective states.

ITALY: GROOMING A NEW GENERATION OF LANDMINE CAMPAIGNERS

On 4 April 2008, a delegation of Italian students who had attended the Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines (ItCBL)’s peace education workshop “There is no peace with landmines” met Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs Donato Di Santo at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome. The students – ranging from primary school to university level – were accompanied by ItCBL staff, members and trainers, and by their teachers. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs.

The meeting featured a series of presentations as well as the screening of short video spots on landmines and cluster munitions. At the end of the ceremony, Natalia Minczuk the youngest pupil of the student delegation, presented the Undersecretary with a collection of students’ works and a DVD of the short movie “ Mine mai più” – (Landmines never again) which was made by junior high school students and was a finalist at the Rome Film Festival in 2007.

HI CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR MINE AWARENESS AND ASSISTANCE IN MINE ACTION IN SOMALIA, SOMALILAND AND SOUTH SUDAN

To mark the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on 4 April 2008, Handicap International organized - with the help of other NGOs and local organizations - events in Puntland (north-eastern Somalia), Southern Sudan and Hargeisa (Somaliland).

In these mine-affected regions the main objective of this special day was to reach out to the local populations,inform them of the dangers and difficulties posed by landmines and explosive remnants of war, and teach them how to behave in such a dangerous environment. Public events and activities organized with this aim included speeches by representatives of local authorities or NGOs, presentations of poems and dramas and public marches. The events, closely followed by the population, were also attended by government officials, humanitarian organizations and the media.

INDIA: INDISPENSABILITY OF ANTIPERSONNEL MINES – MYTH OR REALITY?

On 26 March 2008, the Control Arms Foundation of India organized a one-day conference entitled “The indispensability of anti-personnel mines for India’s defence: myth or reality?”. The conference provided a unique opportunity for an extremely useful debate between those who want India to join the Mine Ban Treaty - including the ICBL, the International Committee of the Red Cross and others - and those who think that India needs to continue to use anti-personnel mines for its defence. The event was attended by a large number of prominent participants, including Indian government representatives, civil society, academics, military analysts, lawyers, and international organizations. In his address, ICBL Diplomatic Advisor Ambassador Satnam Singh highlighted that if 80% of the world’s nations have been able to renounce antipersonnel mines as defence weapons, so could India. He also stated that what is needed is not another weapon system to replace landmines, but rather a change in the military mindset and doctrine.

FRANCE: HI PROMOTES UNIVERSALIZATION

To mark the anniversary of entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty on 1 March, Handicap International France sent letters to the Paris-based diplomatic representations of all States not Parties. HI delegates were received by the embassies of Iran, Laos and the United States.

IRAQ: CALLS FOR FULL INCLUSION OF SURVIVORS

On 4 April, the Iraqi Demining organization organized a ceremony to mark the UN International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. The event, held under the auspices of the Prime Minister, was attended by parliamentarians, representatives from the government – including the Minister for the Environment, in charge for the mine issue - as well as diplomatic missions, the UN and civil society organizations, including landmine survivors. During the ceremony , landmine survivors advocated for full inclusion into society. Their appeal was echoed by the Minister for theEnvironment who promised to facilitate the integration of people with disabilities, including landmine survivors, into public life.

AZERBAIJAN: FIRST PUBLIC TV TALK SHOW ON LANDMINES

The Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines (AzCBL) organized a one-hour talk show on the situation of landmines in the country and in the world. The programme - aired on Azerbaijani public TV on 3 March – featured representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Azerbaijan National Mine Action Authority (ANAMA), as well as the AzCBL Director Hafiz Safikhanov, landmine survivors, mine action operators, veterans from World War II and university students. The debate touched upon all aspects of mine action in Azerbaijan. The AzCBL focused its interventions on the anniversary of entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty (1 March) and on the situation of landmine survivors in the country.

CANADIAN LANDMINE ACTION WEEK (CLAW)

The ninth annual CLAW was held between 24 February and 1 March, 2008. The theme of CLAW 2008 was Safer paths for everyone - let’s give the gift of a landmine free world! Mines Action Canada (MAC) encouraged the public to get involved by: organizing an awareness raising event, raising funds to support mine action, writing a letter to a local MP or the Prime Minister, and generating media attention. MAC Young Professionals recently returned from international internships organized a series of events and activities in their home communities. CLAW 2008 events included:

Play Without Fear: a high school basketball tournament in which eight teams from Ottawa-area high schools competed.

Screening of Landmines: A Love Story and silent auction, organized with Canadian Red Cross.

Dance Without Fear club nights and fundraisers.

Over 32 presentations and speaking engagements in 19 cities.

SPAIN: AMERICAS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

On 4 April, Catalan NGO Moviment per la Pauorganized a roundtable on mine action in the Americas. The event was hosted by the Casa Amèrica Catalunya Foundation in Barcelona and saw the participation of representatives from the Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines and NGO Geneva Call. Presentations focused on the experiences of mine action in El Salvador and Guatemala and the current situation in Colombia, where the Colombian Campaign has recorded at least 83 landmine victims in the first quarter of 2008.

WEST VIRGINIA (USA):PROUD STUDENTS AGAINST LANDMINES

Led by their art and social justice instructor, Nora Sheets, students at the St.FrancisSchool in Morgantown, WV have taken on an ambitious series of projects designed to raise public awareness, offer humanitarian assistance to victims, and move the USA toward joining the Mine Ban Treaty.

This year the students hosted an information table at a lobby day in Charleston, WV and sent representatives to Environmental Green Festivals in Washington, DC and Chicago. Previously, students had collected medical supplies for landmine victims in Nicaragua, provided a prosthetic device for a young Bosnian landmine victim and raised funds to train mine detecting dogs in tsunami affected regions.

PSALM has also decided to expand their mission beyond landmine advocacy to cluster bomb advocacy as well.

GREECE: BRINGING TO LIGHT THE PLIGHT OF LANDMINE SURVIVORS

Helping landmine survivors is not philanthropy but an obligation of the Greek state under the Mine Ban Treaty: this was the key message of a programme aired on 30 January on private TV channel “Mega”. The programme was the third to address the issue since November 2006, thanks to the work of ICBL campaigner Louisa O’Brien and a small group of survivors and volunteers. It featured a debate between three survivors from Greece’s minefields and the Deputy Health Minister Mr Konstandopoulos, in the framework of Article 6.3 of the Mine Ban Treaty. Follow-up meetings at the Ministry of Health so far have yielded no concrete results.

The danger of falling victim to minefields while trying to cross the border into Greece was highlighted in a series of actions-performances set up in Chios and Tessaloniki with the support of the UNHCR on the journey undertaken by asylum seekers. One of them featured landmine survivor Guma Ndikumana from Burundi who was injured in the minefields along the Evros river.

The “Migrants’ Golgotha” was also the theme of a programme broadcast on 25 April on Alter TV channel. The programme featured landmine survivors asking the state for support. Deputy Health Minister Mr Konstandopoulos promised he would have “news for them soon”.

NEPAL: NCBL PRESSES FOR ACTION

On 16 February 2008, the Nepal Campaign to Ban Landmines (NCBL) organized a meeting among Members of Parliament and managed to form the “Campaign of Parliamentarians Against Landmines and other Explosives in Nepal”. This Campaign consists of 11 members and seeks to promote the Mine Ban Treaty in Nepal.

Another success obtained by the NCBL was the organization, on 25 February, of an Inter-Ministerial Interaction Program on "Existing Situation and Future Plan of Mine Action". The meeting was attended by representatives of different ministries, who reached the conclusion that positive steps had been taken on mine action and that further action must be taken to move Nepal closer to the Mine Ban Treaty.

Moreover, during a meeting between the NCBL and representatives of the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, the three security forces presented papers highlighting the positive progresses attained by each of them in demining and mine risk education.

IRAQ: WORKSHOP ON MINE RISK EDUCATION AND VICTIM ASSISTANCE

On 22-24 April, a workshop on Mine Risk Education and Victim Assistance took place in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, with the collaboration of UNICEF, the Ministry of the Environment and the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency. The workshop was attended by a number of local and international organizations including the Iraqi Handicapped Society, Iraqi Paralympics, MAG, NPA, Intersos and others. Participants presented their respective activities and focused on how to implement the Mine Ban Treaty in Iraq.

SWISS CBL LAUNCHES REPORT ON GENDER AND MINE ACTION

The Swiss Campaign to Ban Landmines launched a report on “Gender and Landmines. From Concept to Practice”. The report analyzes the significance of gender in the impact of mine action, showing that when a gender perspective is applied in mine action, all actors generally benefit from it. The report is the result of a comprehensive study started by the Swiss CBL in January 2007 with the aim to gather context-specific and detailed information about the ways in which gender is important in the fight against landmines and explosive remnants of war.The report is available on the Swiss CBL’s Gender and Mine Action portal

LANDMINE MONITOR 2008: WORK IN PROGRESS

Landmine Monitor Report 2008, our 10th annual report, will be released on 21 November 2008 at the United Nations in Geneva, and at events around the world. Editing began in May. For more information contact: lm@icbl.org

GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST CLUSTER MUNITIONS

On 19 April 2008, ICBL members in at least 38 countries participated in the Global Day of Action to Ban Cluster Munitions, organized by the Cluster Munitions Coalition. Activities included petitions, public demonstrations, workshops, press conferences, media work and seminars. Activities took place in: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Democratic Republic of Congo, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Senegal, Somalia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda, USA and Zambia.