The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) is a coalition of 1,300 NGOs in 80 countries. It was the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for its contribution to the creation of the Mine Ban Treaty. Since the entry into force of the treaty on 1 March 1999, the ICBL has been pursuing three main goals: universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty and the ban norm; timely and comprehensive implementation of the treaty; and effective monitoring of the treaty and the ban norm, including respect by non-state armed groups. The ICBL believes the treaty is the single best tool for achieving the global elimination of the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of antipersonnel mines, as well as for ensuring prompt and complete mine clearance in all affected states and comprehensive support for survivors.
In 2005 and to May 2006, ICBL focused its energy on mine action and victim assistance, along with universalization of the ban norm. The ICBL continued to make sure the highest standards were followed by States Parties implementing the disarmament obligations of the treaty, including stockpile destruction (Article 4), interpretation of the prohibition on assistance (Article 1), interpretation of the definition of an antipersonnel mine (Article 2), mines retained for training (Article 3), and transparency reporting (Article 7). This chapter will present the ICBL’s activities in pursuit of these goals in 2005 and to May 2006.
The ICBL’s activities are carried out by member organizations and its small international staff,[1] working at the local, national, regional, and international levels. Most of the ICBL’s awareness-raising and advocacy work is done by ICBL members in close coordination with ICBL staff. Staff develop global advocacy messages which are delivered in international meetings, regional workshops, and bilateral discussions. ICBL members adapt global ICBL messages to national conditions and communicate them through a variety of events.
The ICBL’s advocacy work is largely informed by the annual Landmine Monitor report, which provides the facts upon which sound policy proposals are made. Landmine Monitor also helps NGOs and governments alike to keep track of progress made, as well as the challenges remaining.
The ICBL has a Management Committee comprised of six individuals[2] who provide direction on policy and management issues, as well as an Advisory Board made up of 21 member organizations[3] that guides the campaign’s work. The ICBL’s five Ambassadors – Margaret Arach Orech, Elizabeth Bernstein, Tun Channareth, Song Kosal and Jody Williams – along with diplomatic advisor and retired Ambassador Satnam Jit Singh, support the campaign’s activities.
The ICBL also conducts its work through four Working Groups (WG) – Mine Action (with a sub-group on Mine Risk Education), Non-State Actors, Treaty Issues and Victim Assistance. These Working Groups help organize the ICBL’s work along thematic lines and serve as a liaison between field staff and policy makers. Working Group co-chairs play a leadership role by articulating the ICBL’s goals through the development and delivery of policy papers and statements. ICBL staff coordinate and facilitate WG activities when WG members are not available to ensure their valuable work continues.
During 2005 and to May 2006, the ICBL underwent a series of staff and other organizational changes that were initiated after the First Review Conference in November-December 2004. The goal of the changes, which resulted in a smaller international staff and streamlined structure, was to increase the participation of the campaign membership in universalizing and implementing the Mine Ban Treaty, by placing greater emphasis on activities and policy work at the national level.
The ICBL was represented at many landmine-related conferences during 2005 and to May 2006, including delegations at the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2005 and May 2006, as well as the Sixth Meeting of the States Parties in Zagreb, Croatia in November-December 2005. These meetings provided important opportunities for the ICBL to communicate its messages to a wide audience through public and media statements, bilateral meetings and side events.
A series of advocacy missions was conducted to reach out to new audiences and to reinforce ICBL messages to governments, parliamentarians, journalists and the general public. These missions and conferences also provided an opportunity for ICBL staff to work with national campaigns on the planning and development of advocacy goals and activities. ICBL staff engaged in Geneva-based advocacy through work with diplomats, leaders in the Intersessional Work Programme, Implementation Support Unit (ISU), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), UN, and other partners.
ICBL member capacity-building became more important given the campaign’s increasing focus on in-country advocacy. In 2005 and early 2006, ICBL focused on assessing and improving advocacy at the national level through individual communications and consultations with national campaigns. Tools used to encourage campaigns to engage in advocacy on key issues at critical times included calls for action and an implementation calendar on the ICBL website.
The ICBL continued to use and develop communication tools to facilitate information exchange within the campaign, including the development of a new ICBL newsletter. Upgrades to the ICBL website have made it easier for campaigns to post news about their activities, thereby keeping the rest of the movement informed about developments in their countries. The ICBL also continued to support and encourage member campaigns to design programs to increase youth involvement in their activities.
During 2005 and early 2006, ICBL members and staff actively participated in the Geneva-based Intersessional Work Programme, a system set up by States Parties to allow for year-round discussions on the Mine Ban Treaty. In addition to the week-long intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2005 and May 2006, the ICBL participated in monthly meetings of the Coordinating Committee (CC), which brings together the Standing Committee co-chairs and co-rapporteurs, Contact Group chairs, and the Sponsorship Group coordinator. During these meetings, ICBL provided input into plans for the intersessional meetings and the annual meetings of States Parties, and updated participants on ICBL activities and priorities for these events.
The ICBL provided oral and written input into the final outcome documents of the meetings of States Parties. In December 2005, ICBL offered its reflections on the Sixth Meeting of States Parties and suggestions for the Seventh Meeting of States Parties in a discussion organized by the Geneva Forum.
ICBL staff met frequently with the Implementation Support Unit manager, ICRC, Geneva-based ICBL members, Standing Committee co-chairs and other government representatives about the full and timely implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Intersessional Standing Committee meetings, hosted by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), were held from 13-17 June 2005 and 8-12 May 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The intersessional meetings provide a forum for States Parties to give updates on implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty and to discuss issues of concern. Along with meetings of States Parties, this forum presents one of the most important opportunities for the ICBL to present its views.
Campaign members from more than 20 countries participated in the June 2005 intersessional meetings and over 130 campaigners participated in the May 2006 meetings. To organize their activities and ensure strong communication and coordination, ICBL staff led daily morning briefing sessions for ICBL members.
During these meetings, ICBL participants met with representatives of governments and international organizations to request information and share concerns. ICBL staff and campaign members participated in Contact Group meetings, meetings on treaty universalization in Asia and the Middle East, preparatory meetings for the Seventh Meeting of States Parties, and meetings organized by the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration co-chairs.
ICBL staff and campaigns spent a large amount of time in the plenary sessions to listen to States Parties’ updates on their plans, progress, problems and priorities on key aspects of treaty implementation. Working Group co-chairs and Landmine Monitor thematic coordinators actively participated in the plenary meetings, making several statements and acting as expert respondents on mine action and victim assistance.[4] To inform those unable attend the meetings about the day’s events, ICBL members and staff produced daily summaries of the intersessional meetings.[5]
In addition, Landmine Monitor fact sheets were issued on the interpretation of the prohibition on assistance (Article 1), interpretation of the definition of an antipersonnel mine (Article 2), mines retained for training (Article 3), mine clearance (Article 5), transparency reports (Article 7), mine risk education (MRE), and non-state armed groups in 2005 and on Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, Claymore mines and mine risk education in 2006.[6]
At the 2005 meetings, campaigns organized lunchtime briefings and meetings, including Landmine Monitor researcher workshops and Working Group meetings. On the eve of both the 2005 and 2006 meetings, the ICBL Advisory Board met to review changes and developments in the organization and to discuss upcoming plans. In 2006, this meeting was followed by a reception for leaders in the mine ban community, during which the ICBL Executive Director shared her vision for how participants could reinvigorate their leadership in the coming years to ensure the treaty is fully universalized and implemented. In 2006, ICBL staff organized a training session on advocating for mine survivor’s rights and needs, as well as a series of internal coordination meetings and side events.
The ICBL’s visibility during the intersessional meetings was very strong and reconfirmed the ICBL’s energy and continued commitment. The large number of formal and informal meetings among ICBL members, government officials, and representatives of other intergovernmental and NGOs throughout the week helped to communicate the ICBL’s messages.
The ICBL made a statement on 8 August 2005 at a meeting of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) linking their work on Mines Other than Antipersonnel Mines (MOTAPMs) to Articles 1 and 2 of the Mine Ban Treaty. The ICBL reminded CCW States Parties that are also party to the Mine Ban Treaty that they were already prohibited from using MOTAPMs with fuzes capable of being triggered by the unintentional act of a person and should not support negotiation of a weaker standard in the CCW forum. In the debate that followed, four states (Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway), noted their agreement with the ICBL’s position.
The Sixth Meeting of States Parties (6MSP) to the Mine Ban Treaty was held from 28 November-2 December 2005 in Zagreb, Croatia.
The ICBL contributed to meeting preparations through participation in monthly meetings of the Coordinating Committee, where the agenda was developed and the content discussed. In consultation with the Working Group co-chairs, Advisory Board, and Management Committee, ICBL staff provided written and oral input on the Zagreb Progress Report, which documented States Parties’ progress in implementing the Nairobi Action Plan and identified priorities for the coming year.
Six weeks before the opening of the Sixth Meeting of States Parties, the ICBL launched a call to campaigns to “Act Now for a mine free world,” urging members to hold governments accountable for implementing the treaty, to publicize their campaign’s concerns, and to start planning advcocacy actions for 2006. On 1 November, the ICBL sent letters to Ministers of Foreign Affairs of States Parties, reminding them of the upcoming meeting, and urging them to actively participate. The ICBL hosted a workshop on the implementation of Article 5 obligations in Geneva in September, in part to prepare the ICBL’s advocacy messages on Article 5 for the 6MSP.
The ICBL held meetings the weekend before the opening of the conference to facilitate the exchange of ideas, relay information to campaigns and set the course for the coming week. Training sessions attended by over 50 ICBL campaigners provided a forum for campaigners and staff to share views and exchange ideas about several treaty implementation issues. An orientation session was held to communicate key logistical information about the coming week’s activities, and provided another opportunity to emphasize the key messages for the 6MSP: real progress in survivor assistance, mine clearance within deadlines, and full respect of all the obligations of the Mine Ban Treaty.
The ICBL’s delegation to the Sixth Meeting of States Parties consisted of 220 participants from over 63 countries, including 23 survivors. The delegation was led by Stephen Goose of Human Rights Watch.
ICBL Ambassadors attended the meeting.[7] Jody Williams spoke at the opening ceremony, the official opening of the meeting and the closing press conference. Song Kosal and Tun Channareth contributed to a blog sharing their meeting experiences with those who were unable to attend.
Representatives from the ICBL Working Groups delivered several statements on behalf of the ICBL during the plenary sessions.[8] These statements were drafted by the co-chairs and circulated to the working groups for comments before being presented.
ICBL delegates were actively involved in lobbying, taking advantage of the large congregation of government delegates by scheduling official meetings, and searching for opportunities for informal ones, to discuss pertinent national issues related to the Mine Ban Treaty. These meetings focused on various implementation issues, including the need for increased assistance to survivors, the reporting required under Article 7, domestic legislation and mines retained under Article 3, among others.
A booklet for campaigners highlighting key campaign messages was created as a tool to outline the main policy issues for ICBL and how they applied to specific states. ICBL delegates held meetings with representatives from more than half the States not Parties in attendance at the meeting, including two of the four remaining signatories at the time.The ICBL organized daily briefings to provide a forum for campaign members to discuss the previous day’s developments and to draw attention to the important issues of the day.
Member organizations held briefings, film screenings, report launches and performances, described in the thematic sections below. Landmine Monitor Report 2005 was presented to 6MSP participants at a briefing and during the plenary session. Four landmine-related films were screened during the 6MSP and the conference site was adorned with several photo exhibition including “Halfway: Ten years since the War in Bosnia” by John Rodsted. On the final day of the conference, Roots of Peace hosted a “Mines to Vines global toast to peace.” All these activities provided a forum beyond the official meeting hall to bring attention to the important issues of the campaign and the Mine Ban Treaty.
The 6MSP provided the ICBL with an excellent opportunity to engage the media. A media advisory was circulated in October. Press releases were sent to local and international media. Media outlets around the world were contacted the week before the opening of the meeting. The media team achieved impressive results, despite the difficulties of garnering media attention the year after the First Review Conference, and in Croatia, which is not a media hub. Of the 20 wire services identified in the region, 70 percent published a story on the Sixth Meeting of States Parties, and 45 percent of the wire services published multiple stories. Media was generated in five UN languages. A special focus was placed on working with campaigns in the Middle East to generate media attention. The media team generated significant press coverage in the Middle East, including a story on Al Arabia and others in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon.
The ICBL held a workshop from 21-22 September 2005 in Geneva to develop a strategy and policy proposals related to implementation of, and compliance with, Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty. Topics discussed by participants, which included members of the Treaty and the Mine Action Working Groups included: what it means to complete Article 5 obligations; how to manage Article 5 deadline extensions; and how to deal with possible compliance cases. The goal was to elaborate ICBL’s views internally in order to present them most effectively to governments.
The workshop was successful in creating a dialogue among a range of ICBL actors that do not often have an opportunity to discuss this important topic. There were 22 participants, including mine action operators, campaigners, researchers, and policy experts, both on mine action and ban issues. The discussion helped identify points of emerging consensus and suggestions for ICBL’s role in addressing these matters. ICBL staff and other policy experts were given valuable information by operators and campaigners. In turn, those working in-country but less practiced in policy development were able to see how their views could be translated into concrete and constructive policy points.
To follow-up on the progress made in Geneva, workshop participants decided to create an Article 5 Task Force, which would combine mine action and treaty experts. A follow-up meeting among this smaller group was held in Geneva in November 2005 and again at the 6MSP and the intersessional meetings in May 2006. The group successfully prepared a statement for the 6MSP outlining ICBL’s positions on the key Article 5 issues. It also prepared papers on what it means to fulfill Article 5 obligations and ICBL recommendations for the Article 5 extension request process that were distributed at the intersessional meetings in 2006.
During the June 2005 intersessional meetings, DanChurchAid, a co-chair of the Mine Action Working Group (MAWG), was asked to be an expert respondent to States Parties as they reported on progress and plans in implementing Article 5. This same role was played on an informal basis by the Landmine Monitor mine action thematic editor at the May 2006 intersessional meetings. During the 2005 meetings, Norwegian People’s Aid made an intervention on cost-effectiveness in mine action. Handicap International, co-chair of the Mine Risk Education Sub Working Group, reported on progress in the field of MRE at both the 2005 and 2006 intersessional meetings, speaking on behalf of ICBL and UNICEF at the May 2006 meetings. Landmine Monitor distributed factsheets on mine clearance and MRE at the June 2005 meetings and a factsheet on MRE during the May 2006 meetings.
The co-chairs of the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies circulated a discussion paper before the May 2006 intersessional meetings calling for clarification on fulfillment of Article 5 obligations and proposing a process for eventual deadline extension requests. The ICBL made a statement in response to the paper putting forward the ICBL’s views on Article 5 completion and endorsing the paper’s recommendation for a group of experts to evaluate and make recommendations on extension requests. The ICBL made available detailed papers on these questions that were developed in consultation with the Article 5 Task Force.[9]
During the Sixth Meeting of States Parties, DanChurchAid presented the Working Group’s views on what it means to be in full compliance with Article 5. This statement was based on the views that emerged from the Article 5 workshop in September 2005 and was developed after thorough consultation with members of the Article 5 Task Force. Norwegian People’s Aid made a statement on mine action cost-effectiveness during the Resource Mobilization Contact Group meeting during the 6MSP. Handicap International delivered a statement on Landmine Monitor mine risk education findings.
The Croatian Mine Victims Association and Norwegian People’s Aid organized a performance of “Bembo and Friends Against Mines,” a mine risk education show for young students, as well as a Mine Risk Education reception featuring a concert by Croatian and Bosnian survivors. Landmine Action UK hosted the launch of a book on “Landmines and Islam” and organized a presentation on Western Sahara.
In conjunction with the release of the Landmine Monitor Report 2005 global mine action findings, a panel discussion was organized in Zagreb on the challenges ahead for mine action in Southeast Europe. Panelists were asked to speak on how to speed up the process of releasing land to the civilian population, how to mobilize the necessary resources to meet regional mine action needs, and what more could generally be done by mine affected countries to comply with Article 5.
As part of the Landmine Monitor Global Research Meeting held 2-4 April in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, ICBL and the Cambodia Campaign to Ban Landmines organized a panel on mine action, using Cambodia as a case study to examine the larger question of what it means for a state to fulfill its obligations under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty. Participants discussed the concept of area reduction as it applied to Cambodia’s particular situation and how it could be done in a manner consistent with treaty obligations.
During a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 2005, an ICBL staff member met the deputy director of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Center to discuss implementation of Article 5 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The ICBL representative emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina should be planning now to meet its obligation to pursue mine clearance until all known or suspected areas are cleared, including how it plans to mobilize sufficient human and financial resources to finish the task, even if the target end date is not within the five-year period of the mine action strategy paper.
The ICBL visited Thailand in March 2006 to discuss the mine action situation with the Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines and government officials. Concern was expressed to Thai officials about slow progress in clearing the large amount of mined areas in Thailand and the 50 percent cut to the mine action budget made by the Ministry of Defense in 2005. Area reduction strategies were also discussed. ICBL staff then traveled to Cambodia to participate in the Landmine Monitor Global Research Meeting, where area reduction in the Cambodian context was discussed with the director of the Cambodia Mine Action Authority. Cambodia is working on its own area reduction strategy that will take into account the clearance of land by villagers working outside officially-sanctioned operations.
ICBL members support the implementation of Article 5 through demining and mine risk education field projects, in addition to advocacy and awareness-raising activities, including the following:
During the June 2005 and May 2006 intersessional meetings, Landmine Monitor’s victim assistance research coordinator served as an expert respondent to States Parties as they reported on progress and plans in implementing Article 6.3 of the Mine Ban Treaty. Handicap International, as one of the co-chairs of the Working Group on Victim Assistance (WGVA), made a statement at the 2005 meetings outlining the challenges still faced by landmine survivors and pointing out that mainstreamed development projects were important, but not always sufficient, in meeting their special needs. At the 2006 meetings, two survivors trained by Landmine Survivors Network’s (LSN) Raising the Voices program made a statement noting discrepancies between what the the 24 countries with the greatest victim assistance needs were reporting on in their questionnaires and the reality of the situation on the ground.
During the Sixth Meeting of States Parties, the Uganda Campaign to Ban Landmines, as one of the co-chairs of the WGVA, spoke in support of the questionnaire for the 24 countries with the greatest victim assistance needs, urging those states to develop concrete and realistic goals and encouraging all states to secure more funds for victim assistance.
Among the many side events related to victim assistance at the 6MSP, Handicap International presented a study on “Good practices for economic integration of mine victims and people with disabilities;” Geneva Call, in cooperation with the Swiss Campaign to Ban Landmines, organized Armin Koehli’s cycling trip “From Geneva to Zagreb: 1000 km+ for the fight against landmines” to raise awareness about the struggle against landmines and the needs of mine victims; and the ICBL organized a Handicraft Village, providing an opportunity for survivors to display and sell crafts.
At the 6MSP, campaign members participated in a workshop on advocacy for victim assistance, as part of a day-long training on treaty implementation. This workshop was expanded upon during the May 2006 intersessional meetings, when ICBL held a full-day workshop for campaigns on victim assistance. The 2006 workshop looked at how to design effective advocacy plans covering the main issues of concern in victim assistance, including data collection, emergency and long-term medical care, physical rehabilitation, psychosocial support, socioeconomic reintegration and legislation.
ICBL staff visited Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 2005 and were briefed on Landmine Survivors Network’s peer support program. Staff also spoke with the deputy director of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Center about their coordinating role in developing responses to the questionnaire for the 24 countries with the greatest victim assistance needs, and in trying to improve cross entity health care and social services for survivors.
As part of the Landmine Monitor Global Research Meeting in Phnom Penh in April 2006, the ICBL and the Cambodia Campaign to Ban Landmines organized a panel on victim assistance designed to allow representatives from Cambodian government agencies, NGOs, and donor states to talk about how to effectively meet the needs of landmine survivors in Cambodia.
In addition to providing critical services and support to landmine survivors, member organizations also organized advocacy and awareness-raising activities, including the following:
The ICBL was vocal on mine ban policy during the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2005 and May 2006 in Geneva. During the June 2005 meeting of the Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention (GSOC), the Treaty Working Group chair made a statement on Articles 1, 2, and 3, to voice ICBL’s expectations of States Parties and to highlight when individual State Parties’ practices diverged from this expectation. Human Rights Watch made a presentation on tilt rods, trip wires, and other sensitive fuzes.
The Treaty WG chair made a statement Article 7 noting that five initial reports were still outstanding, many 2004 reports were late, and asking States Parties to improve the quality of their reports. The WG also spoke on compliance issues, expressing disappointment that States Parties have done almost nothing to operationalize Article 8 and to prepare themselves to deal with any serious future compliance issues, nor to establish an effective informal mechanism to deal with compliance and implementation issues short of invoking Article 8. Landmine Monitor distributed fact sheets on Articles 1, 2, 3, and 7.
During the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction meeting in June 2005, the Treaty WG chair raised issues of concern such as not knowing the stockpile status of states that were late in submitting their initial reports; environmental concerns about destroying mines with depleted uranium (held by Greece and Turkey); reporting on and destroying mines found after completion of a destruction program; and shedding light on the destruction of multipurpose firing devices and fuzes.
At the May 2006 intersessional meetings, the Treaty WG again made statements on Articles 1, 2, and 3, and Human Rights Watch made a presentation on why States Parties do not need to keep live mines under Article 3. After a special push by Landmine Monitor in early 2006 to elicit States Parties’ views on Articles 1, 2, and 3, many responded with public statements at the May 2006 intersessional meetings, including 17 states that spoke on Article 3. In almost all cases, their views were in line with what ICBL believes is the commonly accepted interpretation of these articles.
The Treaty WG chair spoke on stockpile destruction, transparency reports and national implementation measures (Article 9), noting the importance of including penal sanctions in these measures. The UN Department of Disarmament Affairs (DDA) made a request to States Parties to submit names of experts for possible fact-finding missions, as it is required to collect and maintain under Article 8. Landmine Monitor distributed statements on Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, as well as on Claymore and OZM mines.
During the Sixth Meeting of States Parties, the Treaty WG chair delivered a statement during the General Exchange of Views, putting forward the ICBL’s views on a wide range of issues and presenting a summary of Landmine Monitor Report 2005 findings. The chair made a statement urging states to develop a common understanding on Articles 1 and 2, reminding the audience that a small number of States Parties disagreed with the generally accepted understanding of these articles. During a statement on Article 4, the chair noted that the treaty required States Parties to complete destruction “as soon as possible” and spoke of the challenges in meeting future deadlines due to the large numbers and technical problems with destroying some of the stocks. Finally, the chair made a statement on Article 7 expressing support for Argentina and Chile’s proposal to modify Form D to include more information on mines kept for training under Article 3 and calling for timely and complete reporting on all forms.
On 21 November 2005, following a similar event held in May 2005, Algeria destroyed 3,030 antipersonnel mines in a public stockpile destruction ceremony in Hassi Bahbah. This event marked the end of its official destruction program, four months before its treaty-mandated deadline. The event was attended by the president of Algeria and many other high level Algerian officials and members of the international community. Representing ICBL were members of the Management Committee, Advisory Board and ICBL staff. During the destruction ceremony, the Algerian president stated that Algeria would put all of its efforts into full implementation of the treaty and called on other States Parties to do the same.
In response to the explosion of a mortar shell at a scrap iron shop in Chittagong, Bangladesh on 17 July 2005, the Treaty Implementation and Victim Assistance Working Group of Bangladesh called on the government to develop comprehensive national legislation on landmines and unexploded ordnance.
The Belarus Campaign to Ban Landmines organized the “Third Ottawa Convention Implementation Workshop” in Minsk on 23-24 May 2006, which focused on stockpile destruction and other Mine Ban Treaty obligations in Belarus and neighboring countries (such as Lithuania and Ukraine). ICBL staff attended a stockpile destruction event outside of Minsk, Belarus on 22 May 2006, which marked the first public destruction of its TNT mines within a program funded by the NATO Management and Supply Maintenance Agency (NAMSA).
The ICBL delivered statements on universalization and participated in meetings of the Universalization Contact Group at both the June 2005 and May 2006 intersessional meetings. ICBL staff, campaigns, and Diplomatic Advisor Ambassador Satnam Jit Singh took advantage of the presence of many States not parties to conduct side meetings on the status of their adhesion to the ban norm.
The ICBL delivered a statement on universalization and participated in meetings of the Universalization Contact Group during the 6MSP. The ICBL also took advantage of the presence of many States not parties to conduct side meetings on the status of their adhesion to the ban norm.
The importance of addressing the use of landmines by armed non-state armed groups was highlighted by the “Mine Action in the midst of internal conflict” workshop organized by Geneva Call in partnership with the ICBL Non-State Actors Working Group. The issue was revisited later in the week with Geneva Call’s launch of a publication on landmines and non-state armed groups.
ICBL staff and the campaign’s diplomatic advisor visited several States not parties to the treaty in 2005 and early 2006. Mission goals included encouraging early accession to or ratification of the treaty plus work on mine action and victim assistance and other interim measures that could be taken before joining the treaty.
ICBL staff traveled to Bahrain to meet with government officials and civil society members in April 2005; in May 2005 to Libya to participate in the
Tripoli Seminar on Removing Landmines; in May 2005 to Azerbaijan to meet with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; and in May 2005 to Georgia to meet with representatives of the newly elected government and parliamentarians. On each of these missions, ICBL staff were able to discuss the possibility of accession to the Mine Ban Treaty with government officials, national campaigns, and representatives of national and international bodies engaged in mine action.[11]
During the second half of 2005, the ICBL Diplomatic Advisor visited four Asian countries with widely divergent positions on the question of joining the treaty: Indonesia, with ratification still pending; Mongolia, with the legal problem of declaring the size of its stockpile; China, with endorsement for a “Mine Free World,” but justifying at the same time the use of landmines to defend its borders; and Singapore, favoring universalization of the treaty, but still continuing to produce antipersonnel mines.
On 5 and 6 October 2005, ICBL gathered with representatives from the South Caucasus and Central Asia for the “Confidence-Building and Regional Cooperation through Mine Action” workshop held in Tbilisi, Georgia. The event presented an opportunity for countries in the region to learn from each other’s responses to the problems caused by landmines and to open and strengthen channels of communication for regional solutions. The ICBL outlined the needs and challenges of countries in the region in its opening remarks. ICBL member Landmine Survivors Network made a presentation on how their assistance program for survivors in the Balkans could serve as a model for the South Caucasus.
In December 2005, ICBL members participated in the International Conference for Development and Landmine Clearance in the North West Coast in Cairo, Egypt. They met with high level Egyptian government officials and undertook a field visit to the mine-affected northwest governorate of Matrouh. Their activities helped reinforce the conference’s call for the Egyptian government to reconsider its long held position against joining the Mine Ban Treaty. Egypt appears to be moving away from its position that the countries responsible for laying landmines and leaving unexploded ordnance on its territory during World War II must either remove them or compensate the Egyptian government for their removal.
On 15 and 16 March 2006, the Diplomatic Advisor visited Brunei to discuss its delay of treaty ratification. The Diplomatic Advisor held meetings with staff from the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense to brief diplomats about various aspects of the treaty and the global landmine problem. Brunei officials assured ICBL that the ratification process would not take much longer, and Brunei ratified the treaty on 26 April.
National campaigns took actions to support treaty universalization including:
Landmine Monitor Report 2005 was released on 22 November 2005 in three thematic global launches in Algeria, Colombia and Croatia. Mine ban policy findings were released at an event in Algiers, Algeria, the day after Algeria finished its stockpile destruction program. Mine action findings were launched in Zagreb, Croatia, at a press conference, roundtable discussion and photo exhibition opening. Victim assistance major findings were released at a press conference and media tour in Medellín, Colombia.
Global release events received significant local, regional and international media coverage and helped to raise the profile of the landmine issue in each of the host countries. Additional coverage was generated in several countries by local launches and related activities organized by national campaigns. The report was presented to Sixth Meeting of States Parties participants in a briefing, and its findings were highlighted during several ICBL statements during the plenary sessions.
Landmine Monitor undertook a series of field missions to key countries to ensure accurate and comprehensive reporting on the challenges facing mine-affected countries and those countries with imminent treaty deadlines. This ensured that Landmine Monitor continued to provide governments, practitioners, journalists, academics and media with the most thorough and highest quality of reporting possible. Over 60 Landmine Monitor researchers gathered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 2-4 April for the 2006 Landmine Monitor Global Research Meeting.
ICBL staff conducted an advocacy mission to Turkey from 12-18 March 2005 to meet with key stakeholders involved in treaty implementation. During the mission, ICBL met with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, parliamentarians, the diplomatic community, representatives from mine-affected Madin City, university students and professors, mine survivors and their families, and the Initiative for a Mine-Free Turkey. The mission generated national televion and radio coverage.
From 8-9 May 2005, ICBL participated in the
First National Symposium on the implementation of the Ottawa Convention in Algeria, organized by the Ministry of Employment and National Solidarity, under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Algeria and in collaboration with Canada and UNDP. ICBL participants contributed to the organization of the meeting and were designated as co-chairs and co-rapporteurs of two sessions. The ICBL made a presentation about cooperation between Algerian and international NGOs in monitoring and encouraging compliance with the treaty by Algeria.
On 13 May 2005, ICBL briefed the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC)’s Ad Hoc Working Group on Small Arms, Light Weapons (SALW) and Mine Action at NATO Headquarters. On 16 June 2005, the chair of the European Parliament’s Development Committee, ICBL Ambassador Jody Williams, Austrian Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch, and representatives from NGOs, international agencies and institutions and states, gathered at the European Parliament in Brussels for a day-long hearing on landmines. Participants took turns addressing the outstanding challenges on the road towards a mine-free world: the need for accelerated clearance, increased resources to be channeled to victim assistance and rehabilitation, and renewed efforts to promote universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty and the involvement of non-state armed groups in the mine ban.
The Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines organized a symposium on the influence of the Ottawa Process on other civil society movements on 25 June 2005 in Aichi, during the Japan Global Exposition 2005 (EXPO). ICBL Ambassador Tun Channareth and campaign members from Cambodia, Korea, Nepal and Sri Lanka participated in the event.
In October 2005, the Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines organized an international conference on engaging non-state armed groups in the mine ban, with the participation of Geneva Call and international experts.
Also in October, the Bangladesh Campaign to Ban Landmines, led by Nonviolence International Bangladesh and the Chattagram Charushilpi Foundation, held an art exhibition themed around “For Peace, Let the World be Mine Free.”
Between September and November 2005, the Brazilian Campaign to Ban Landmines organized Night of a Thousand Dinners, workshops in primary schools and a children’s drawing contest.
From 27 February to 5 March 2006, Mines Action Canada organized the seventh annual Canadian Landmines Awareness Week, a week of national awareness and fundraising activities. Over 75 events organized by volunteers across the country took place in 18 cities, including school landmine awareness days, Dance and Dine Without Fear events, benefit concerts, and educational presentations.
Calls to Action: The ICBL issues Calls to Action to inform campaigns of important developments and to encourage them to take action on specific issues.[12] Four Calls to Action were circulated in 2005 and early 2006, including for the 1 March anniversary of the treaty’s entry into force, to remind governments of the annual Article 7 transparency report deadline; and a special call “For A Mine Free World ACT NOW!” in preparation for the 6MSP.
Calls to action were followed by individual communications between ICBL staff and campaigns. In 2005, the ICBL placed more emphasis on individual communication with campaign members to complement mass emails circulated to campaigns. This was the first step of a sustained effort to increase the number of national campaigns that undertake more focused and strategic actions at the national level.
1 March Activities: On 1 March 2006, the seventh anniversary of the entry into force of the treaty was highlighted through advocacy and public outreach activities including press releases and media briefings, meetings with governments at the political or operational level, seminars and workshops and artistic demonstrations.[13]
The ICBL issued a press release condemning the use and production of landmines by countries in 2004-2005, expressing concern about the States Parties that are not on track to meeting their 2009 deadline for clearance, and urging governments to provide the necessary resources for all the aspects of victim assistance. A letter was sent to all States Parties describing the ICBL’s goals for the coming year, noting the importance of the ICBL’s partnership with governments and international organizations, and expressing the hope that 2006 would bring significant advances in the areas of victim assistance, mine clearance, and universalization.
On 1 March 2006, the ICBL met with representatives from the Canadian government and diplomatic representatives in Ottawa, Canada at a Roundtable Forum for International Leaders in Mine Action. The forum aimed to present ICBL’s view of the different types of leadership needed to ensure that progress made towards a mine free world does not stagnate. Ambassadors and diplomats from 21 countries and the European Commission attended the meeting, representing donor and mine-affected countries that have provided financial, political and regional leadership in the mine ban movement, including Finland and the United States, which still remain outside the treaty.
The ICBL continued and intensified its efforts to build and enhance the capacity and skills of ICBL campaigns to prepare them to take on more responsibilities in organizing activities at national and regional levels.
Most advocacy missions were prepared and conducted in close partnership with ICBL members. These missions provided an opportunity for ICBL staff to meet with national campaigns and discuss their planned activities. In countries without national campaigns, ICBL staff worked to identify active NGOs and encourage their involvement with the campaign.
From 10-13 April 2005, ICBL participated in a training workshop for journalists from the Gulf States on the Mine Ban Treaty, organized by ICBL member organization Protection and the Bahrain Human Rights Society.[14] A total of 33 participants attended and discussed the treaty and international humanitarian and human rights law, how to organize a media campaign on landmines, and the role of civil society, including Landmine Monitor, in the landmine ban. Participants also engaged in training on how to look for information on landmines on the internet and produced a mock newspaper containing different elements such as a story, an investigation piece, an analysis, an editorial and a cartoon, which all focused on landmines.
Raising the Voices East Africa 2005 was conducted from 28 August to 3 September 2005 in Kampala, Uganda. Ten landmine survivors from Eritrea, Rwanda, Sudan and Uganda participated in this five-day training workshop, the first of its kind to be held in the region.[15]
From 27-29 July 2005, the Sudan Campaign to Ban Landmines participated in the first of a series of workshops on mine ban education organized by Geneva Call and the Kenya Coalition Against Landmines, in collaboration with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), a signatory of Geneva Call’s Deed of Commitment. The workshop provided information on the mine ban and current mine action efforts to address Sudan’s landmine problem.
In addition to traditional means of communication such as emails and mailings, the ICBL website plays an important role in the organization’s visibility and communication with national campaigns, partners and the general public. The ICBL has developed several electronic tools to inform, mobilize and advocate for a mine-free world.
In 2005, ICBL staff developed a new newsletter, the “ICBL News,” to inform the public about ICBL member’s activities. The first ICBL News was released at the intersessional meetings in June 2005.[16] The second was released during the 6MSP.
The ICBL website contains regular news stories relating to country campaigns and their activities, workshops, and publications.[17] Due to a site upgrade in 2004, the website is now more user friendly, allowing campaigners to post and edit content directly online without much technical assistance. As a result, campaigns posted more content on the website in 2005 and 2006.
In early 2005, the ICBL launched an implementation calendar listing important upcoming treaty dates.[18] The calendar includes not only treaty deadlines for individual states (initial Article 7 reports and stockpile destruction), but also anniversaries, meetings and conferences, and publication dates. Campaigns were encouraged to use the calendar to plan their activities and to remind States Parties of their pending obligations.
The ICBL has worked hard to create the conditions necessary to empower young people through workshops, interactive seminars, the development of targeted resources and providing staff support. Partly as a result of past efforts, the ICBL is observing more campaigns engaging young people, more meaningfully than ever before. A sample of these types of programs is described below.
The ICBL collaborates with Mines Action Canada (MAC) on its Youth Leadership, Education and Action Program (Youth LEAP). In 2005, ICBL members and regional offices hosted 11 Canadian young professionals as part of the Young Professionals International Mine Action Program. The Young Professionals helped mobilize young people, develop advocacy and education materials, support Landmine Monitor research, and support preparations for the 6MSP. MAC aims to address the needs of both established and less established ICBL partners for increased capacity via youth engagement and to ensure the transference of knowledge between and across generations of mine ban campaigners.
MAC organized “In our Lifetime: The International Youth Symposium on Landmines” during the Sixth Meeting of States Parties. The event brought together 28 young campaigners from 19 countries to receive training in lobbying, advocacy, fundraising, media, event organization and education in issues related to mine action, plus a Working with Youth for a Mine-Free World Workshop for NGO partners attending the 6MSP. In conjunction with ICBL members in India, Lebanon and Sri Lanka, MAC organized regional NGO Youth LEAP workshops in South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa on how to engage youth. MAC supported several campaigns with small grants to help subsidize the costs of youth engagement in campaign work and to support outreach activities or nationally-focused youth trainings.
On 31 March 2006, the Polish Campaign to Ban Landmines took part in an “NGO Information Evening” organized at the College of Europe in Natolin, Warsaw. The event aimed to introduce students to the NGO sector. The Polish Campaign to Ban Landmines presented the ICBL’s goals, history and work and distributed information material and cards calling on Poland to ratify the treaty.
In April 2005, the Sustainable Peace and Development Organization (SPADO), in collaboration with the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Peshawar, Pakistan, arranged a poster competition. Orientation sessions were conducted to provide students with information about landmines and develop themes for the poster competition.
On 8 July 2005, ICBL spoke at the Global Young Leaders Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, on the theme “Landmines: a Hidden Human Rights Violation, Taking Action for Change.” Through active and participative educational methods, participants learned how to bring upon change in a complex environment. The conference was attended by 400 students between 16 and 18 years old from 40 countries. Ali Srour, a young survivor from Lebanon and graduate of the Raising the Voices program, started the conference with a testimony of the obstacles he has overcome in his life.
Youth campaigners from Australia and Belarus participated in the Third World Youth Congress held 31 July to 8 August 2005 in Scotland. During the Congress they shared their experiences and success stories in promoting the mine ban.
[1] The ICBL staff is made up of an Executive Director, Advocacy Director, Treaty Implementation Director, and Administrative Assistant.
[2] The Management Committee is made up of Habbouba Aoun, Landmines Resource Centre; Liz Bernstein, former Coordinator of the ICBL; Stephen Goose, Human Rights Watch; Paul Hannon, Mines Action Canada; Ayman Sorour, Protection; and ex officio member Jody Williams, former Coordinator of the ICBL. Simona Beltrami represented the Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines on the Management Committee until April 2006 when she stepped down to join the ICBL staff team.
[3] The Advisory Board is comprised of ICBL Ambassadors, ICBL staff, and the Afghan Campaign to Ban Landmines, Brazilian Campaign to Ban Landmines, Cambodia Campaign to Ban Landmines, Colombia Campaign to Ban Landmines, DanChurchAid, Handicap International, Human Rights Watch, ICBL Georgian Committee, Institute for Practical Research and Training, IPPNW Kyrgyzstan, Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines, Kenya Coalition Against Landmines, Landmines Resource Centre (Lebanon), Landmine Survivors Network, Mines Action Canada, Nepal Campaign to Ban Landmines, Norwegian People’s Aid, Nonviolence International, Protection (Egypt), Quaker United Nations Office (Switzerland) and the Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines.
[4] ICBL statements at the June 2005 intersessional meetings are available at www.icbl.org/news/intersessionals05; statements from the May 2006 meetings are available at http://www.icbl.org/news/intersessional_06.
[5] Daily summaries are posted at www.icbl.org/news/intersessional_06.
[6] Landmine Monitor factsheets are online at www.icbl.org/lm/factsheets.
[7] Elizabeth Bernstein and Margaret Arach Orech were named ambassadors after the 6MSP.
[8] ICBL statements at the 6MSP are online at www.icbl.org/treaty/meetings/6msp/folder.
[9] These documents are available at
www.icbl.org/content/download/22250/413794/file/Article5Fulfillment-May2006.doc and
www.icbl.org/content/download/22252/413802/file/Article5ExtensionProcess-May2006.doc[10] ICBL statements and a meeting report are available at www.icbl.org/news/managua_workshop.
[11] See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, pp. 995-998.
[12] ICBL Action Alerts and Calls to Action are found at www.icbl.org/action/alerts.
[13] For more information on national campaign activities visit www.icbl.org/news/1march06.
[14] See www.icbl.org/news/bahrain.
[15] See www.icbl.org/news/raising_the_voices_east_africa.
[16] ICBL news is online at www.icbl.org/news/cover_page_icbl_news_june_2005 and
www.icbl.org/news/news_november_2005.
[17] News articles are found at www.icbl.org/news.
[18] The calendar is found at www.icbl.org/campaign/calendar.
