Geneva Outcome: Landmine Monitor meetings held 21-23 September 2002

At the end of the Fourth Meeting of States Parties (4MSP) in Geneva last month, the Landmine Monitor Core Group and Research Coordinators met to engage in a training, evaluate the last Landmine Monitor report (2002) and plan for the next one (2003).

On 22 September 2002, the Core Group and Research Coordinators undertook a daylong evaluation of all aspects of Landmine Monitor Report 2002 and the initiative more generally (the research network, thematic and regional output, editing process, and database among other items). This followed evaluations conducted at the last global meeting in Paris, as well as feedback provided during the 4MSP. The day before, on 21 September, the Landmine Monitor Research Coordinators participated in a daylong training on facilitation skills to sharpen their interaction with the researchers.

On 23 September, with input provided by Research Coordinators, the Core Group took decisions on over ninety research proposals and applications submitted for participation in the fifth Landmine Monitor report, Landmine Monitor Report 2003. Approximately U.S. $241,000 in fiscal grants was budgeted for research in either small or large grants for a country or a cluster of countries. A letter informing the grant applicants of the decisions taken will be sent out shortly by Landmine Monitor's Global Coordinator, Mary Wareham. 2003 researchers are expected to use the Research Guide from last year to guide their research.

To produce Landmine Monitor Report 2003, the Core Group approved a set of six regional meetings between November 2002 and January 2003 (see attached Production Schedule). A global meeting of researchers is planned for Rome in early April 2003, hosted by the Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines, in cooperation with Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Landmine Monitor Report 2003 is tentatively scheduled for release on Tuesday 9 September 2003, just before the Fifth Meeting of States Parties to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty in Bangkok, Thailand from 15-19 September 2003.

The research coordination structure of Landmine Monitor remains largely unchanged from the previous report. A number of research coordinators are moving their work out of the office in this next report cycle, including Charlie, Annalisa, Marielle and Sheree. Tiago Douwens Prats was named coordinator/editor of the Lusophone country reports for Angola & Mozambique. HRW is seeking a research coordinator for the Former Soviet Union and in the meantime Mark is responsible for this task. KCAL is now responsible for the Sudan research coordination, while HIB has assumed responsibility for Burundi, Djibouti, DR Congo and Rwanda due to the Francophone nature of these countries.

The Core Group approved a request by Landmine Action UK to use the Landmine Monitor reports to produce a report on Explosive Remnants of War. It also agreed that for the 2004 report for the Review Conference, it would be good to include information compiled for the five years from entry into force of the Mine Treaty in 1999 to the Review Conference in 2004.

The Core Group also reviewed the current financial situation of Landmine Monitor. Nearly all the funds needed to produce the 2002 report were raised (the budget for the 2002 report was the same as for 2001: U.S.$1.675 million). The Core Group continues to look for ways to keep the costs as low as possible.

The Core Group continues to take decisions on applications submitted after the initial September 2002 deadline. The 2003 Research Application Form is accessible through the Landmine Monitor section of the ICBL web site at www.icbl.org/lm or by email from lm@icbl.org

Also, see the 2003 Production Schedule

This update was circulated on 16 October 2002.