Landmine Monitor Report 2005 Goes to Print

Production of the seventh annual Landmine Monitor report is underway and the Annual Report and Executive Summary have gone to print. Landmine Monitor Report 2005 will be released globally on Wednesday, 23 November 2005 and will be presented to the Sixth Meeting of States Parties of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty in Zagreb, Croatia from 28 November to 2 December 2005.

Research grants for Landmine Monitor Report 2005 were awarded in March 2005, following a meeting of the Editorial Board in Ottawa, Canada in February 2005.

Thematic Research Coordinators and Research Specialists met in Brussels, Belgium in April 2005 to 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 April and May 2005, draft research reports were submitted to Thematic Research Coordinators for review and comment.

In June 2005, Research Specialists and a group of researchers met in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss final reports and major findings with Thematic Research Coordinators.

From June to September, Landmine Monitor's team of Thematic Research Coordinators confirmed sources and edited country reports. Key reports were submitted to key partners and researchers for comment.

A team at Mines Action Canada was responsible for final fact-checking, editing, and assembly of the entire report.

Thematic global launches of Landmine Monitor Report 2005 will take place on in Medellin, Colombia (Survivor Assistance); Algiers, Algeria (Ban Policy); and Zagreb, Croatia (Mine Action), with a briefing scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland. Country launches are being organized in late November and early December in Abkhazia, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burundi, Canada, Colombia, France, Guatemala, Lebanon, New Zealand, Senegal, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey and Zimbabwe.