Minutes from Landmine Monitor Meeting

Minutes for Landmine Monitors Meeting SUMMARY OF MINUTES Mine Watch (now Landmine Monitor) MeetingOslo, Norway 1 June 1998

Chaired by: Anne Capelle, Handicap International (Belgium)
Minutes taken by: Liz Bernstein, ICBL Coordination Team
Nineteen NGOs and Country Campaign representatives were present at the meeting along with the ICBL Coordination team, one funder and three government representatives. The participant list is at the end of this summary. The full minutes are over 30 pages long and are available on request from Mary Wareham, HRW.

BACKGROUND:
The establishment of an NGO-based global system for monitoring the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) and the landmine crisis in general was discussed by NGOs at four previous meetings: in Oslo (Sept.
1997), Ottawa (Dec.97 and March 98) and in Frankfurt (Feb. 98).
An ad hoc working group formed (consisting of HI Belg. And
France, HRW, MAG, MAC, MCPA, medico, NPA, and PHR) and a consensus emerged at the last meeting among NGOs of the ICBL that this should go ahead. The purpose of the Oslo meeting was to move from discussion of philosophical elements of the system to concrete actions in the form of taking agreements on:
- major elements of the system (reporting network, database, training, research, annual report, meetings);
- structure, organization, funding, and time lines of the system.

GLOBAL REPORTING NETWORK
There was agreement on - Using the questionnaire/table developed by Valerie Warmington, MAG, as the basis for reporting through the network. Revisions to the content of the questionnaire were suggested and incorporated by Valerie following the meeting.
- Concerns raised about the safety of NGOs collecting information in affected countries.
- Taking two, parallel but complimentary approaches: one involvingcommunity input and country campaigns in each country and/or region, the other involving larger NGOs, IOs such as ICRC and UN, universities, and research agencies with the aim of cutting across subject matter.
- Phasing the approach
- not trying to include everything in the first report but picking specific countries/regions.
- Monitoring not only the MBT but the global landmine crisis.
- Placing the questionnaire and accompanying written info on MAC website (www.minesactioncanada.com) and ICBL website (www.icbl.org).
- Raising and discussing the system at future ICBL meetings: eg. Camb. CBL to raise in Bangkok regional meeting in July; eg. SACBL/KCAL, to raise in Ouagadougou regional meeting in July.

DATABASE
There was agreement on:
- Establishing an email communications network
- Utilizing web sites such as MAC and the German site but
creating an off-line database
- MAC housing and maintaining such a database to process reports

MAG is tracking stockpiles, German campaign and Legal/Moral
working group is tracking development, production, transfer and
double-dipping mainly in Europe and will put info on their web
site at www.landmine.de, MAC is tracking campaigning and country positions and putting info on their web site at
www.minesactioncanada.com

TRAINING
There was agreement on:
- Producing a "users guide" to the monitoring system to accompany the questionnaire and to educate and inform NGOs. The Core Group, in particular HRW, agreed to produce and distribute it.
- Inserting a training component in future ICBL mtgs.
- Making training a major part of the Dublin meeting in September.
- To approach training in the broadest possible sense (conducting interviews, investigations, capacity building)
- Not to dictate what kind of training because each part of the world will differ on what works.

RESEARCH
There was agreement on:
- Using Valerie's tables as the main basis/guide for research
- The need to clearly define and refine the system's information
flow
- Developing a mechanism for feedback into developing/ improving the questionnaire over time.

ANNUAL REPORT
There was agreement on:
- Ensuring translation of the annual report and a multilingual
approach to materials produced for the system.
- Ensuring transparency in the analysis and acceptance/rejection of data submitted.
- The Core Group will be the editorial board for the
annual report. HRW offered to produce and distribute the annual
report pending funding availability.

STRUCTURE
There was agreement on:
- Not creating a Secretariat to carry out the work of the system
- "Landmine Monitor" as the name for the monitoring system
- "Landmine Monitor Core Group" as the name for the lead agencies with ultimate responsibility for the system.
- MAC, HRW, HI and KCAL as members of the Core Group. NPA joined later.
- "Landmine Monitor Working Group" as the name for the NGOs which want to take part in the development of the system. Its members include:
the Core Group members, ICBL Coordinating Team, AAR, Camb. CBL, MI,NPA, HI, LSN, and PHR. NSA and Richard for the Africa Campaign agreed to touch back with the Core Group on whether their groups would be involved on the Working Group. MCPA was on the ad hoc group but was not present at the Oslo meeting and the Core Group assumes they will be participating in the renamed Working Group unless they hear otherwise.
- Ensuring the needs of NGOs and campaigns in the South are taken into consideration by the Core Group.
- Asking the ICBL CC to approve the system and its
structure as an ICBL initiative (it was approved the next day at
the CC meeting)
- Putting the issue of whether it is an ICBL report on the agenda of the next meeting of the General Meeting of the ICBL. If accepted then putting the ICBL logo on the annual report.
- Delegating editorial responsibility for the annual report not to the ICBL or CC but to a small group as designated by the Core Group

FUNDING
There was agreement on:
- Separating the monitoring system's draft budget from the ICBL's draft budget.
- Making the Core Group responsible for the budget and solicitation and dissemination of funds

TIMELINE
There was agreement to:
- Making the Core Group responsible for producing and maintaining a timeline for the system. - Holding a series of meetings for Landmine Monitor: Dublin (14-19 Sept. 98), Ottawa
- tentative (first week Dec. 98), ? First quarter 1999.

PARTICIPANT LIST
Assn to Aid Refugees (Japan) - Yukie Osa
BITS (Germany) - Thomas Kusenmeister
Cambodia CBL - Sr. Denise Coughlan
Colombian CBL - Eduardo Marino
Government of Ireland - Darach MAC Fhionnbhairr
Government of Canada - Wendy Winch
Government of Norway - Svein Henriksen
Handicap International (Belgium) - Anne Capelle
Handicap International (France) - Luciano Loiacono and Philippe
Chabasse
Human Rights Watch - Steve Goose and Mary Wareham
ICBL Coordination Team - Liz Bernstein and Susan Walker Kenyan CAL - Mereso Agina
Landmine Survivors Network - Brady Lee and Sue Eitel
Landmines Project, OSA - Ann Peters
Lutheran World Federation - Rebecca Larson
medico international - Thomas Gebauer Mines
Advisory Group - Tim Carstairs and Valarie Warmington Norwegian People's Aid - Per Nergaard, Halle Jorn Hansen, Christian Ruge, Irene Holthe, and Anders Hornslein
Norwegian CBL - Torlief and Petter Quande
Norwegian Red Cross - Band
Pax Christi Ireland - Tony D'Costa
Physicians for Human Rights - Susannah Sirkin Sth
African CBL - Richard Sherman
Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation - Mark Perry