Printed from: www.icbl.org/Treaty/MBT/Annual-Meetings/Nairobisummit/Old/Media/angles
Here are brief outlines of more than a dozen possible angles for stories on the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World.
The vision and hard work are paying off: mine use has decreased, production is down, trade is almost non-existent, new casualties go down each year.
The treaty is a unique accomplishment: membership now includes ¾ of the world, it is one of the few current successes stories in International Humanitarian Law and multilateral diplomacy.
More: Mine Ban Treaty 101, list of treaty member states.
Despite tremendous progress, some governments and rebel groups still use mines e.g. Russia and Myanmar/Burma. In Burma, atrocity demining is practised – civilians are forced to walk in front of troops in mined areas.
A handful of holdout countries remain outside the treaty, including: China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Pakistan and the USA.
More: treaty non-member states.
Even citizens in mine-free countries suffer casualties outside their border: each year there are new cases and the Landmine Monitor Report 2004 will detail these when released on 18 November.
Mines may be synonymous with places like Afghanistan, Angola and Cambodia but there are others where the presence of minefields may come as a surprise e.g. Denmark , Greece, Swaziland, Zambia (or others in your region). More: Landmine Monitor
What happens in Nairobi affects mine-affected countries – decisions on funding and the approach to be taken to dealing with landmines -- will have an impact for years to come. This will then have a knock-on affect on the economy and reconstruction.
Survivors and disabled people continue to play an important role in the life of the Mine Ban Treaty, as they did in pushing for the treaty’s establishment, and this is a unique feature of the treaty. Some 20 survivors, from different regions, will take part in the Nairobi Summit. They are available for interviews and each has their own story to tell and a first-hand perspective on treaty successes and challenges.
Queen Noor of Jordan convenes a Survivor Summit on Sunday 28 November. More: ICBL working group
Hopes: most of sub-Saharan Africa has joined the treaty, mine use has stopped in Angola (most contaminated country), in some countries mine casualties are down.
Concerns: ongoing landmine use (including Burundi, DRC, Somalia, Uganda in the previous years) and greater commitment needed to clear mines by the treaty 10-year deadline and provide comprehensive assistance to survivors. Africa was at the forefront of the movement to ban landmines and is now hosting the Nairobi Summit.
Continued leadership on the African continent is crucial. More: Landmine Monitor
The story of the landmine movement is a story of some inspiring women. These women are amongst many involved with the ICBL who'll be at the Nairobi Summit and available for interviews: J ody Williams, first coordinator of the ICBL and co-recipient with the campaign of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997; Margaret Arach Orech, Ugandan survivor, advocate for the rights of survivors there and internationally; Song Kosal, a survivor from Cambodia who first attended anti-landmine meetings as a kid, later starting the Youth Against War movement; Purna Shova, a Nepalese activist struggling to convince her government and rebel groups to give up the weapon; Narine Berikashvili a young woman campaigning almost single-handedly in Georgia; Habbouba Oun, a campaigner and mine risk awareness educator in the Lebanon.
Jody Williams will meet two other female laureates in Nairobi: Wangari Maathai and Shirin Ebadi, respective 2004 and 2003 laureates from Kenya and Iran.
Despite much press about mine detection bees and rats and GM plants that detect mines, most clearance still relies on a combination of manual and mechanical demining, plus mine detection dogs. Often this includes the painstaking process of a deminer in protective gear prodding for mines on his/her hands and knees.
Mine action is a big challenge for the coming years, and needs to be accelerated if states are to meet their deadline of clearance by the 10-year treaty deadline. Clearance is often a catalyst for development, reconstruction and repatriation of refugees.
Mine clearance experts will be at the Summit and available for interviews. More: ICBL working group.
Landmines contaminate mountains and lakes as well as roads, farms and residential areas. They impede conservation efforts, blocking access for tourism, hiking and skiing. In addition to human victims, landmines take their toll on livestock and other animals e.g. elephants in Thailand. Founder of Kenya’s Green Belt movement and recipient of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for Peace, Wangiri Maathai, will be at the Summit.
Landmine use by armed opposition groups is a major obstacle to a global ban and some campaigners are trying to convince them to give up the weapon. There have been some successes: now former combatants clear mines in Cambodia and Sudan.
The release of a recent study about the peace-building potential of banning landmines and a workshop about getting armed opposition groups to embrace the ban will take place around the time of the Nairobi Summit. More: ICBL working group
Youth from around the world will get together in Nairobi and show world leaders how they would like things done. These young campaigners will participate in the Nairobi Summit plus In Our Lifetime: The 2004 International Youth Symposium on Landmines. They also take part in PeaceJam, an event with Kenyan youth.
Road Race for a Mine-Free World will be held on the eve of the Summit. Marathon record-holder Paul Tergat, Ethiopian legend Haile Gebreselassie, campaigners, landmine survivors and diplomats like Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch (President-Designate of the Nairobi Summit) will sweat it out for the cause before turning their attention to the conference proceedings. More
A larger than life sculpture, photo exhibition, multi-media exhibition and documentary films are amongst the exhibitions and screenings that will catch the eye of conference goers and the Kenyan public during the Nairobi Summit. Interviews with the artists and film-makers can be arranged.
Good and bad news on the landmine issue in countries of interest e.g. Afghanistan, Burma/Myanmar, Iraq, Sudan. Experts about these and other countries will be in Nairobi and available for interviews. More: Landmine Monitor