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In this issue, we voice our concern at the current mine use situation and see what is being done to push for progress by Phnom Penh. We look back at efforts made to push the U.S. to ban landmines and see how youths are doing their part to make a difference in mine action. A note from the monitor and updates on ICBL members concludes this issue.
This week, representatives from 100 governments as well as the United Nations, international organizations and the ICBL met in Geneva for annual "intersessional" meetings of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. The week has seen a mixture of good and bad news. "We welcome Nigeria's completion of mine clearance and the work that continues around the world to clear mine-affected land," said Kasia Derlicka, director of the ICBL."But at the same time, we are deeply disturbed that landmines continue to be laid in Burma, Libya, and, apparently, southern Sudan."
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) is extremely concerned about the latest reports from our colleagues at Human Rights Watch that confirm even more antipersonnel landmines have been used in Libya during the recent conflict.
During a recent ICBL mission to the country, Aung San Suu Kyi gave the organisation a video statement calling on all combatants in Burma to "cease the way of mines".
ICBL Ambassador Tun Channareth (called Reth) received an honorary degree from Seattle University on 12 June 2011 for his fourteen years of campaigning against landmines.
Amnesty International (AI) has reported discovering newly laid antipersonnel mines last week in a residential area of the city of Misrata. The mines are Brazilian produced plastic T-AB-1. This is the same type that was used by the government forces in March on the outskirts of the town of Ajdabiya, as reported by Human Rights Watch.
In recent years, Myanmar/Burma is the only country where there has been confirmed, regular use of antipersonnel mines by government forces.During an ICBL mission to the country in February and March of 2011, former General Thura Tin Oo, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces (known under its Burmese acronym of the Tat Ma Daw) from March 1974 to March 1976], said that in his opinion, the Army should no longer use antipersonnel mines.
Geneva, 30 April 2011 -The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) welcomes the formal pledge by the Libyan National Transitional Council, not to use antipersonnel and anti-vehicle mines, and to destroy all mines in its possession.
(Geneva/London, 27 April 2011) On 20 April, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) launched 'Investing in Action', a local campaign support project that will provide organisations with funding for campaign activities throughout 2011.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), www.icbl.org, and the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), www.stopclustermunitions.org, are launching ‘Investing in Action’, a local campaign support project that will provide organisations that are members of the ICBL-CMC with funding for campaign activities.
This in-depth guidance document issued in April 2011 was developed to enhance victim assistance. It illustrates the importance of accessibility, employment and education for survivors and persons with disabilities within the frameworks of the Mine Ban Treaty, the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
States can only eradicate landmines and the suffering they cause by joining and completely respecting the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, said the ICBL at an event in Cambodia to mark the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. "Our common goal of a mine-free world is within reach, but we must all do more to get there," explained Kasia Derlicka, ICBL Director.
The ICBL strongly condemns the reported use of antipersonnel mines by the Libyan Armed Forces in recent fighting with rebels in eastern Libya. On 28 March, over 50 antipersonnel and antivehicle mines were discovered near power pylons outside the town of Ajdabiya by electrical technicians. A Human Rights Watch investigation reported that the mines had recently been laid. The Libyan Armed Forces controlled the area from 17–27 March.
The Mine Ban Treaty's Intersessional Standing Committee Meetings will take place in Geneva from 20 to 24 June 2011 and the Convention on Cluster Munitions' Intersessional Meetings will take place in Geneva from 27 to 30 June 2011. The ICBL-CMC is running a sponsorship programme to support the participation of active campaigners, particularly from affected and low-income countries.