How did it all start?

• The ICBL was launched in October 1992 by a group of six non-governmental organizations: Handicap International, Human Rights Watch, medico international, Mines Advisory Group, Physicians for Human Rights and Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation.
• These founding organizations witnessed the horrendous affect of mines on the communities they were working with in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America and saw how mines hampered and even prevented their development efforts in these countries.
• They realised that a comprehensive solution was needed to address the crisis caused by landmines and that this was a complete ban.
• They also knew that coordination was required, and thus the ICBL was born!
• As Jody Williams describes it, "[the NGO community] did not wait for anyone to appoint them leaders on the issue – they saw that a critical problem had to be addressed and they took it up”.
• The founding organisations brought to the international campaign a practical experience of the impact of landmines. They also brought the perspective of the different sectors they represented: human rights, children’s rights, development issues, refugee issues and medical and humanitarian relief. They also brought to the campaign their contacts with civil society groups in diverse parts of the world.
• The ICBL went on to organise conferences and campaigning events in different regions so the word spread and many new initiatives were born.
• The ICBL’s membership grew rapidly and today there are campaigns in over 90 countries.
• The organisation’s structure and strategy has evolved with the changing circumstances.

Making plans

• In 2001, the General Meeting, a biennial meeting of representatives of all national campaigns and organizations, approved the ICBL 2004 Action Plan, challenging ourselves to increased activity to accomplish as many of our goals as possible by 2004. 2004 was a critical year as the first Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty was held in Nairobi, Kenya and this has shaped the next five years of work related to the Treaty and a mine-free world.
• Thus, in 2003 the ICBL undertook extensive and comprehensive consultations regarding the future of the campaign. In September of 2003, the General Meeting of the ICBL reaffirmed its original goals, and agreed to continue to engage in the same types of activities as in the past, but in a gradually more decentralized fashion post-2004, with national campaigns, organizations and focal points playing an enhanced role where appropriate.
• As part of this process in 2003, the ICBL's Coordinating Committee was entrusted to develop a transition plan, including a streamlined staff structure.

More history of the campaign here.