Author(s):
Site Admin <webmaster2@icbl.org> .
Tuesday 24 July 2012
(Geneva, 1 March 2012): On the 13th anniversary of the global landmine ban becoming law, the world is coming together again to urge governments to put a full stop, within our lifetime, to the devastating harm mines still cause.
Today, a video featuring United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Colombian megastar Juanes and landmine survivors from the U.K, Somalia, Afghanistan, Cambodia and many other countries will be screened at events in more than 50 countries and shared with millions online, urging people to Lend Your Leg for a mine free world.
Kasia Derlicka, Director of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) said: “Every day, landmines still threaten thousands of people around the world. As we begin our 20th year of campaigning we are proud of the progress already made to reduce the devastating impact of landmines, but we are also very aware this fight is not yet over.”
Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, X-Men star Ben Foster, former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez, Slovenian professional boxer Dejan Zavec, and ICBL Youth Ambassador Song Kosal also feature in the Lend Your Leg film.
“Today we are honoured to stand alongside these brave survivors from all over the world to remind governments and the international community that more must, and can, be done to end the suffering landmines cause for good. The massive global support this inspirational campaign has already got shows that together we really can achieve a mine free world in our lifetime,” Derlicka said.
Lend Your Leg is strikingly simple. On 4 April, the UN Day for Mine Action and Mine Awareness, people all over the world will be asked to roll up their trouser legs showing solidarity with survivors of landmines and other explosive remnants of war, calling on the international community to eradicate these weapons for good.
Colombian NGO Fundación Arcángeles and its President Juan Pablo Salazar are the architects of this global campaign. One of the world’s most mine-affected countries, last year thousands of Colombians, including President Juan Manuel Santos, took part in the first Lend Your Leg action. The widespread media coverage and pressure it created saw a draft law to increase protection for victims of conflict, including rehabilitation for landmine survivors, jump in legislative priority list from number 38 to 4. It was enacted by Congress a few weeks later.
Now Lend Your Leg is going global. The United Nations network, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement and the ICBL’s global network will be working in capital cities and rural communities, across social media networks and through the press, urging everyone to get on board.
Between today’s launch and the 4 April – the global day of action – ICBL campaigners from Tokyo to Kinshasa, Phnom Penh to Ottawa, Istanbul to Taiwan will be organising concerts, sporting events, flash mobs and giving hundreds of media interviews, all urging as many people as possible take part in Lend Your Leg, forcing governments to recognise their vital role in helping the ICBL reach its goal.
Firoz Alizada, ICBL Campaign Manager and Afghan landmine survivor said: “I am one of the luckiest. I survived a horrible landmine accident and managed to enjoy a happy life despite losing both legs, but hundreds of people die on the spot after they step on landmine or hit an explosive remnant of war. I am hoping that Lend Your Leg as a symbolic action draws the international community’s attention to step up efforts to bring the number of new landmine victims to zero and enhance much-needed resources to address needs of my fellow survivors.”
Since the ICBL was founded 20 years ago, 80 per cent of the world’s countries have banned landmines, millions of mines have been removed from the ground and destroyed and billions of dollars have been invested in stopping the damage mines do.
But despite this, last year’s Landmine Monitor recorded 4,191 new casualties of landmines in 2010. That’s nearly 12 people every day. Tens of thousands of survivors, often in vulnerable and poor communities, are still coping with the terrible aftereffects of the injuries landmines cause.
And although the vast majority of countries have banned mines, some outside the Treaty still produce them, and last year saw the most use of landmines by government forces since 2004.
Juan Pablo Salazar said: “It shocks me that landmines still claim lives every day and yet the majority of people aren’t aware of the damage they cause. They kill, they maim people for life and they act as deadly barriers to people struggling to survive the aftermath of war. Through Lend Your Leg we want to wake the world up and see that by taking part in this simple action and by saying NO MORE to this injustice we truly can put an end to these weapons for good. I’m honored to work with the ICBL on this initiative, and to export this Colombian success case all over the world.”
ENDS
Media contact
Kate Wiggans, Media & Communications Manager (Geneva, GMT +1)
Email: kate@icblcmc.org
Swiss cell: +41 786 851146
Notes to editors
VIDEO: Embed the Lend Your Leg video featuring Ban Ki Moon. To request an MPEG copy of the video please email kate@icblcmc.org
IMAGES: High resolution images of the ICBL’s work all over the world. Please credit images as shown.
GLOBAL COMMUNITY: ICBL Facebook. ICBL Twitter.
LEND YOUR LEG: to join the global campaign, or to find out more information.
LANDMINE FACTS: For more facts and stats on the global landmine problem, and to view a detailed breakdown of the situation in each country, please visit the Landmine Monitor.
About the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) is a unique global network in some 100 countries, working for a world free of antipersonnel landmines. Founded in 1992, the ICBL celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. In 1997, the ICBL received the Nobel Peace Prize together with its founding coordinator Jody Williams for its efforts to bring about the Mine Ban Treaty.
About the Mine Ban Treaty
Adopted in 1997, the Mine Ban Treaty entered into force on 1 March 1999. The treaty comprehensively bans all antipersonnel mines, requires destruction of stockpiled mines within four years, requires destruction of mines already in the ground within 10 years, and urges extensive programs to assist the victims of landmines.
