Author(s):
Site Admin <webmaster2@icbl.org> .
Friday 24 June 2011
Intersessional Standing Committee on General Status and Operation
24 June 2011, Geneva, Switzerland
Please click on the PDF icon above to download the full statement
Good Afternoon,
I am very excited that you are coming to Phnom Penh in November. Welcome.
Before you come to our beautiful city, we want you to Push for progress back in your home countries. We want you to make 2011/2012 the BEST YEARS ever for Mine Action.
So:
- Clear more Mines. Get those mine action plans progressing along
- Meet with survivors, listen to them and uphold their rights
- Give more money to Mine Action
- Destroy stockpiles safely
- Condemn strongly any new use of mines
And see if you can bring Laos, Singapore, Vietnam, USA, Tuvalu and others to Phnom Penh as new States Parties.
Back in 1995 when I was a small girl we had a big meeting in Phnom Penh of people who wanted to ban mines and stop more people being injured.
We heard from the field, from lawyers and human rights experts, from clearers and survivors. We talked about the ethics of using these weapons, their social impact and what we could do to stop them. Members of different faiths - Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Jewish religion (Judaism) -spoke and prayed together and resolved to work to ban mines. One of the leading Buddhist monks told us to ban the landmines of the heart, as well as those in the ground. The King of Cambodia- Norodom Sihanouk received us at the Palace and signed the call for a mine ban from the survivors.
It was a wonderful time together, and out of it grew our Campaigns in Kenya, South Africa, Nepal, India, Thailand, Mozambique, Afghanistan, Philippines and other places.
Now in 2011 we campaigners are going back to Cambodia, to the heart of the movement, with old memories and new enthusiasm. We want all States to come with energy to Phnom Penh.
Together we will make sure our Treaty makes progress and does what it promises.
So: Everybody keep pushing for progress! Make the Phnom Penh progress report a cause for celebration and a commitment to a mine free world.
Come on everybody Push for Progress and see you soon!