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This is the fourth annual report of the Landmine Monitor, the unparalleled initiative by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) to monitor and report on implementation of and compliance with the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, and more generally to assess the international community’s response to the humanitarian crisis caused by landmines. Landmine Monitor marks the first time that non-governmental organizations are coming together in a coordinated, systematic and sustained way to monitor a humanitarian law or disarmament treaty, and to regularly document progress and problems.
The Landmine Monitor system consists of three main components: a global reporting network, a central database, and an annual report. Landmine Monitor Report 2002: Toward a Mine-Free World is the fourth such annual report. The first report was released in May 1999 at the First Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Maputo, Mozambique, the second report was released in September 2000 at the Second Meeting of States Parties in Geneva, Switzerland and the third report was released in September 2001 at the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Managua, Nicaragua. A diverse network of 115 Landmine Monitor researchers from 90 countries gathered information to prepare this report, which is primarily based on in-country research, collected by in-country researchers. Landmine Monitor has utilized the ICBL campaigning coalition, but has also drawn in other elements of civil society to help monitor and report, including journalists, academics and research institutions.
Landmine Monitor is not a technical verification system or a formal inspection regime. It is an attempt by civil society to hold governments accountable to the obligations they have taken on with respect to antipersonnel mines; this is done through extensive collection, analysis and distribution of publicly available information. Though in some cases it does entail investigative missions, Landmine Monitor is not designed to send researchers into harm’s way and does not include hot war-zone reporting.
Landmine Monitor is designed to complement the States Parties reporting required under Article 7 of the Mine Ban Treaty. It reflects the shared view that transparency, trust and mutual collaboration are crucial elements to the successful eradication of antipersonnel mines. Landmine Monitor was also established in recognition of the need for independent reporting and evaluation.
Landmine Monitor and its annual reports aim to promote and assist discussion on mine-related issues, and to seek clarifications, in order to help reach the goal of a mine-free world. Landmine Monitor works in good faith to provide factual information about issues it is monitoring, in order to benefit the international community as a whole.
Landmine Monitor Report 2002 contains information on every country of the world with respect to landmine ban policy, use, production, transfer, stockpiling, mine clearance, mine risk education, landmine casualties, and survivor assistance. It does not only report on States Parties and their treaty obligations, but looks at signatory states and non-signatories as well. All countries are included in this report in the belief it will provide an important means to measure global effectiveness on mine action and banning the weapon. Appendices with information from key players in mine action, such as UN agencies and the ICRC, are also included.
As was the case in previous years, Landmine Monitor acknowledges that this ambitious report has its shortcomings and should be viewed as a work in progress. The Landmine Monitor is a system that is continuously updated, corrected and improved. Comments, clarifications, and corrections from governments and others are sought, in the spirit of dialogue and in the common search for accurate and reliable information on a difficult subject.
In June 1998, the ICBL formally agreed to create Landmine Monitor as an ICBL initiative. A Core Group was established to develop and coordinate the Landmine Monitor system, which consists of five organizations: Human Rights Watch, Handicap International Belgium, Kenya Coalition Against Landmines, Mines Action Canada, and Norwegian People’s Aid. Human Rights Watch serves as the lead agency. The Core Group assumes overall responsibility for, and decision-making on, the Landmine Monitor system.
Research grants for Landmine Monitor Report 2002 were awarded in November 2001, following a meeting of the Core Group in Brussels in October 2001. The global research network met in six regional meetings between October 2001 and January 2002 to discuss preliminary findings, exchange information, assess what research and data gathering had already taken place, identify gaps, and ensure common research methods and reporting mechanisms for the Monitor. In February and March 2002, draft research reports were submitted to the Landmine Monitor research coordinators for review and comment. From 17-19 April 2002 the research network met a second time in Paris, France to present final reports and discuss major findings with the research coordinators, as well as engage in a peer review process and evaluation of the initiative to date. Throughout April, May, June and July 2002 Landmine Monitor’s team of regional and thematic coordinators verified sources and edited country reports, with a team at Human Rights Watch taking responsibility for final fact-checking, editing and assembly of the entire report. This report was printed during August and presented to the Fourth Meeting of States Parties to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva, Switzerland in September 2002.
Landmine Monitor Report 2002 is available online at www.icbl.org/lm
The content of the report and previous annual reports are available in the database at www.lm-online.org
