Author(s):
Tamar Gabelnick <tamar@icbl.org> Am?e Chayer <amelie@icbl.org> .
Zagreb, Croatia,
Tuesday 29 November 2005
During the week-end before the beginning of the 6th MSP, the ICBL organized several events in order to set the course for the upcoming meeting, exchange ideas and orient campaigners. Below is a report of each of the three events.
Workshop on Treaty Implementation
A group of campaigners after attending the training session on national legislation.
On 26 November 2005, over 50 ICBL campaigners and Landmine Monitor researchers from all over the world gathered in Zagreb before the opening of the 6MSP to share views and exchange ideas on advocacy about several treaty implementation issues. The one-day workshop provided an opportunity to hear about successful advocacy activities undertaken by some campaigns and to brainstorm on ways to use these examples and transform them into activities useful for others.
Mary Wareham of Human Rights Watch engages campaigners on the issue of where the antipersonnel landmine issue stands in relation to the broader disarmament debate.
The main emphasis of the day was on survivor assistance and mine clearance, which had two long sessions each during the day. Four other areas were also addressed in shorter sessions: stockpile destruction, transparency reporting, the adoption of national implementation measures and the place of the landmine issue in the broader disarmament debate. Resources and key messages for advocacy were presented and followed by an exchange of views by participants. ICBL campaigners enthusiastically participated throughout the day; many of them expressed their interest in having similar opportunities in the future to share opinions and good practices.
Orientation Meeting
On 27 November, the ICBL held its traditional orientation meeting on Sunday morning before the MSP began. As always, the meeting was held to communicate key logistical information about the coming week's activities, including the schedule and an overview of the rich variety of side events. Another important goal of the meeting was to remind ICBL delegates about the key messages for the 6MSP: real progress in survivor assistance, mine clearance within deadlines, and full respect of all the obligations of the Mine Ban Treaty. Further to the Action Call issued in October, ICBL campaigners were invited to approach delegations on ICBL messages.
Advisory Board Meeting
On 27 November, the ICBL Advisory Board (AB) held its second-ever meeting. Since this was the first year that the AB took over from the ICBL Coordinating Committee, it held two meetings this year. The meeting focused on how to improve communication and coordination within the AB and between the AB, Management Committee, and staff in order to ensure that ICBL benefits as much as possible from the expertise and range of interest of the AB members.