Sample Letter to States Parties: Members of the Commonwealth

(Thursday 14 February 2002 London) Send a letter like this sample to your government if it is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty and member of the Commonwealth: Urge them to get Top Marks!

(Date)
(Name)
(Address)

Dear (Name),

We are writing to inquire about how the crucial issue of antipersonnel landmines will be addressed at the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), to be held 2-5 March 2002 in Coolum, Queensland, Australia.

X is a States Party to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, and as a States Party, continues to work towards full universalization, implementation and compliance to this important treaty. We believe that the Heads of Government Meeting provides a valuable opportunity for promotion of the Mine Ban Treaty.

Of the 54 Commonwealth member states, 14 have not ratified or acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is very clear that ratification or accession and full implementation of the treaty are clearly in keeping with the Commonwealth Principles. The Edinburgh declaration from the 1997 Heads of Government Meeting stated that “an effective solution to the global problem of anti-personnel mines would only be possible through effective international co-operation in all relevant fora including… regional organizations and groupings.”

We therefore encourage you to do everything possible to promote the treaty in particular, and its universalization of behavior that stigmatizes the use of antipersonnel landmines in general, at this meeting. We urge you to include the antipersonnel landmine issue in your speeches, including a condemnation of recent mine use in India and Pakistan, and we encourage you to work with other Commonwealth member states to ensure that this important issue is included in the final meeting declaration.

We also ask you to include the antipersonnel landmine issue in your bilateral meetings with other Commonwealth member states. In particular, we urge you to raise the issue in any upcoming meetings with India and/or Pakistan regarding their recent mine-laying along their shared border and urge their accession to the Mine Ban Treaty. We also urge you to encourage other non-signatories to accede to the treaty, and to urge signatory states to ratify the treaty.

Thank you in advance for ensuring that the antipersonnel landmine issue is incorporated into the agenda of this upcoming meeting and for your continued support and action as we work together in the spirit and letter of the Mine Ban Treaty to create a mine-free world.

Sincerely,
(Name)
(Address)