International Campaign to Ban Landmines, 2007 Annual Report

As usual, the ICBL took part in the major international conferences on landmines, including a

large and active delegation at the intersessional Standing Committee (ISC) meetings, which

took place from 23-27 April 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland. The 8th Meeting of States Parties

(8MSP) from 18 to 22 November 2007 at the Dead Sea in Jordan, provided a useful hook for

the ICBL to organize and participate in advocacy activities in the Gulf region in the lead up to

the meeting, as well as to organize many side events, and undertake regional and international

press work during the MSP itself.

Work on universalization remained a priority for the ICBL, as evidenced by a solid number of

missions to targeted countries by the ICBL Advocacy Director, Diplomatic Advisor, and other

staff members and campaigners. A series of advocacy missions were conducted in 2007 to

reach out to new audiences and to reinforce ICBL's messages to governments,

parliamentarians, journalists and the general public. These missions, workshops and

conferences, mainly focused on Central Asia and Middle East, provided an opportunity for

ICBL staff to work with national campaigns on their planning and development of advocacy

goals. The Treaty gained new members with the ratification of Indonesia and accession by

Kuwait, Iraq and Palau.

The ICBL was also an active participant in the ‘Oslo Process’ to develop a cluster munitions

treaty, using its experience from the Mine Ban Treaty to provide key support and

accompaniment to the Cluster Munitions Coalition during the four major international

conferences (Oslo, Lima, Vienna and Wellington) that took place during 2007 and the first

quarter of 2008.

Capacity building for ICBL members continued to be emphasized as the best way to influence

policies in mine-affected states and States not Party to the treaty. As such, in 2007 the ICBL

continued focusing on enhancing the skills of national campaigns and assessing their needs

through individual communications and consultations, as well as group training.

The ICBL’s Treaty Implementation Director was actively engaged in advocacy with States

Parties, through her work with Geneva-based diplomats, the Coordinating Committee,

Implementation Support Unit (ISU), ICRC and other partners based in Geneva, plus directly

with State Party governments in international and regional meetings, implementation

workshops and missions.

In 2007, the ICBL continued to use and develop communication tools to facilitate information

exchanges within the campaign, including the improvement of its newsletter, a factsheet, an

updated ‘Messages Booklet to Campaigners’, and finally, the production of a 10th Anniversary

special brochure and photo exhibition.

During the reporting period, the Landmine Monitor team worked on the 2007 report, with the

ICBL staff providing input in accordance with their areas of expertise. The ICBL also

continued to support, when possible, member campaigns to design programs to increase youth

involvement in the activities of the ICBL.

Strategically, 2007 was a year for the ICBL to assess its resources, in preparation for the

Second Review Conference in 2009. At the beginning of 2008, supplementary staff resources

began to be hired in anticipation of increased demands in the lead up to the conference. The

website is also being redesigned to make it more useful and accessible to ICBL members,

other campaigners and stakeholders

The financial statement will be availlable sthortly