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A letter signed by 68 U.S. senators, asking the administration to join the Mine Ban Treaty, was delivered to President Obama on 18 May 2010. The fact that there are 68 signatories is especially important given that accession to the treaty must be ratified by a two-thirds majority in the Senate. "Congress adds its voice to that of the American people in calling on our government to join our NATO allies—and all of the nations that have joined this treaty—and eliminate the use of landmines once and for all,” said Zach Hudson, Coordinator of the United States Campaign to Ban Landmines.
This week a letter asking the administration to join the Mine Ban Treaty will be delivered to President Obama by 68 Senators — signifying a key two-thirds Senate majority. “The fact that there are 68 signatories on the Senate letter is especially important given that accession to the treaty must be ratified by a two-thirds majority in the Senate,” said Zach Hudson, the coordinator of the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL). "The strong support these letters received demonstrates that Congress stands with our NATO allies, and with Americans around the country, in calling for the U.S. to join the Mine Ban Treaty.”
Campaigners worldwide are stepping up pressure on governments to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions in the final 100 days before it becomes binding international law, the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) said as it launched a countdown to 1 August 2010, when the treaty enters into force.
Funding for mine clearance and victim assistance programs is essential, but is not enough to truly eradicate antipersonnel mines, said the Nobel Peace Laureate International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), on the occasion of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action (4 April).
In March and April, ICBL campaigners held meetings in U.S. embassies throughout the world to urge the U.S. Administration to join the Mine Ban Treaty without delay. In the U.S., leaders of 65 organizations delivered a letter to President Obama calling on the U.S. to join the treaty. You will find here a complete report on this global action.
In March, Human Rights Watch and other members of the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL) are organizing on Twitter and Facebook to tell the U.S. to get on board the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. If you have an account on Facebook or Twitter, you can participate in this initiative.
Geneva, 1 March 2010 -- Eleven years after the Mine Ban Treaty became binding international law, activists worldwide are stepping up their call on the United States to join. The U.S. announced last November that it had initiated a review of its landmine policy. "During the policy review process, it is crucial that decision-makers listen to the voices of landmine survivors and mine-affected communities," said Sylvie Brigot, Executive Director of the ICBL.
(London, 16 February 2010) - Burkina Faso and Moldova ratified the international Convention banning cluster munitions today, bringing the total number of ratifications to 30 and triggering entry into force on 1 August 2010, when the Convention will become binding international law.
Cartagena, 2 December 2009 -- In a statement Tuesday, the head of the U.S. delegation to the Second Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty informed participants that the Obama administration has begun a comprehensive landmine policy review. In the statement, the U.S. representative said, "The Administration's decision to attend this Review Conference is the result of an on-going comprehensive review of U.S. landmine policy initiated at the direction of President Obama." Although members of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines welcomed the reversal in the U.S. position and their participation at the Review Conference, campaigners remain guardedly optimistic about the motives behind such an abrupt change.
Opinion Editorial by Jody Williams -- Published in the Los Angeles Times on 1 December 2009. Last Tuesday, just before the Thanksgiving holiday, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly revealed that President Obama would follow in President George W. Bush's footsteps and not sign the international Mine Ban Treaty. Many of us had hoped he would embrace President Clinton's pledge that the U.S. would join. By refusing to join the Mine Ban Treaty, Obama shows disregard for international humanitarian law.
Twenty-eight countries have ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions between December 2008 and now. Two other ratifications are required for the convention to enter into force and become binding international law! Will your country be the next one to ratify?
Cartagena, 25 November 2009 -- The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) strongly condemned President Obama’s abrupt decision to continue the Bush administration’s policy of refusing to join the international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines. The announcement was made yesterday in an offhand remark by a U.S. State Department spokesperson who stated that an interagency review on the U.S. landmine policy had been concluded and a decision was made to maintain the status quo of the Bush years. The ICBL, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate, is calling on President Obama to publicly clarify his position on this issue without delay.
From 12-23 October 2009, ICBL campaigners gathered in New York to conduct advocacy and outreach in favor of the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, alongside colleagues from the Cluster Munition Coalition. In addition to lobbying meetings, a briefing on preparations for the Cartagena Summit was held and the ICBL addressed the First Committee.
New York, 23 October 2009 -- Governments that have still not joined the international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines should participate in a forthcoming global summit and join the agreement without delay, said the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) today at an event at the United Nations in New York. “Almost all of the governments that have not yet joined the Mine Ban Treaty have pledged their support for the elimination of antipersonnel landmines,” said Sylvie Brigot, Executive Director of the ICBL. “They should participate in the upcoming treaty summit and announce their intent to join the agreement.”
The first map documenting the hazard posed by antipersonnel landmine contamination in Myanmar/Burma was issued by the UN in July 2009, based on data provided by Landmine Monitor. It represents a first small step by illustrating the extent of the country’s landmine problem in order to be able to address it more effectively.
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