Do you or a young person you work with accept this mission? If so then keep on reading…
Your mission statement!
The Youth Against War Treaty is a petition that people age 24 and under can sign to show solidarity with youth people around that world who all agree that:
WE WANT NO MORE WAR
WE WANT NO MORE LANDMINES
WE WANT NO MORE MINE VICTIMS
WE PROMISE TO WORK FOR PEACE IN OUR WORLD
Signing the Treaty and encouraging other youth around the world to sign the Treaty is a concrete action you can take to raise awareness of the global landmine situation and take action against landmine use in India and Pakistan!
Call for no more mines or victims in India and Pakistan
India and Pakistan are both affected by landmines and most recently planted landmines along their shared border in December 2001. In February, an ICBL campaigner visited seven villages along the Indian-Pakistan border and counted over 500 NEW landmine victims (injured in the past two years)! If that’s how many people have been injured in just seven villages, then imagine how many people throughout India and Pakistan had had their lives changed forever by these tiny, hidden weapons.
Your mission!
We’re calling on YOU to collect 1000 petition signatures by 15 August 2003, calling on the governments of India and Pakistan to stop using mines and join the Mine Ban Treaty.
The petition form and action flyers in several languages can be downloaded at www.icbl.org/youth/yaw/ or can be requested by emailing yaw@icbl.org
Send your collected petition sheets to:
Mines Action Canada
1 Nicholas Street, #1210
Ottawa, ON K1N 7B7
Canada
Make sure to include your return mailing address because if you collect 1000 or more signatures the ICBL will send you a very cool ICBL logo pin!
Where will these signatures go?
On 9 September 2003 all collected signatures will be handed over to the Government of India in New Delhi, India, and to the Government of Pakistan in Islamabad, Pakistan, at ceremonies hosted by ICBL country campaigns.
Who is collecting signatures?
Young people all over the world are collecting petition signatures. The Pakistan Campaign to Ban Landmines has already collected 20,000 signatures and the Indian Campaign to Ban Landmines hopes to collect over 1 million signatures!
This mission sounds interesting… but how do I start?
Read through the background information about the Youth Against War Treaty and the landmine situation in India and Pakistan at:
www.icbl.org/youth/yaw/india_pakistan.html
www.icbl.org/country/india
www.icbl.org/country/pakistan
Download the petition and flyers to distribute. Next, decide where to collect signatures. Take the information and circulate it in your classes at school, Scout groups, spiritual gatherings, community festivals and other places where youth gather! You don’t have to organize a big fancy event to collect signatures. Just carry the information with you, share it with others, and ask people to sign or stamp their thumbprint. For more ideas and information about how to collect signatures visit www.icbl.org/youth/yaw/sign.html
What you can do on 9 September
Your mission doesn’t have to be over just because you collect 1000 signatures by 15 August! Here are some ideas of actions you can take in solidarity with youth in India and Pakistan during the signature handover on 9 September:
- Visit the High Commission of India or Pakistan in your country and encourage both countries to join the Mine Ban Treaty.
- Write letters to High Commissions of both countries or directly to the governments in India and Pakistan.
- Send letters to the editor of local newspapers explaining your role in this global initiative.
- Contact your government. Let representatives know how you have been involved with this campaign and encourage them to put pressure on India and Pakistan to halt mine use, clear mines, join the Mine Ban Treaty and provide assistance to survivors.
- Are you a campaigner holding a Landmine Monitor Launch on 9 September 2002? If so, invite representatives of the High Commissions of India and Pakistan to your event and symbolically hand over petitions you have collected to them or somehow include the signature handover in your launch activities.
- Would you like to make sure that campaigner and researchers include the Youth Against War Treaty in their Landmine Monitor Launches? Contact your country campaign (contacts are available at: www.icbl.org/info/countries.html) and talk to them about how you can participate in their events.
We hope that you accept this mission. Why?
- Because it is important for young people to take a stand and speak out about issues of concern.
- Because youth are leaders now and will be in the future – youth voices need to be heard!
- Because landmines affect young and old alike in India, Pakistan and around the world.
- Because unlike nuclear weapons landmines are affecting people in India and Pakistan NOW, they’re not a future threat!
- Why not?
For more information visit www.icbl.org/youth/yaw or contact yaw@icbl.org. We are here to support your missions. Unlike the “Mission Impossibles” of Hollywood this is definitely a MISSION POSSIBLE!
