| U.S.
Campaign to Ban Landmines In this edition. . .
USCBL Spotlight: Divesting in Landmine Producers Activists seeking a ban on antipersonnel landmines have employed many tactics over the years including engaging companies that produce landmines. During the 1990s, campaigners in the U.S. were successful in compelling many arms manufacturers to stop producing landmines. Recently, activists in Europe have joined the efforts of U.S. organizations and sought to force banks and other organizations with financial assets in landmine producers to sell their stakes. Under the specter of new landmine production in the United States, campaigners in Norway and Belgium have begun divestment campaigns to stop companies from developing and producing components for new landmines. Two landmines currently in development, Spider and the Intelligent Munitions System (IMS), have the ability to detonate by human contact and thus may indiscriminately harm civilians, threatening countless innocent lives. Use, possession of, or assistance in producing antipersonnel landmines is a violation of the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty for its 149 signatories. It is widely thought that holding assets in a company that produces or develops indiscriminate antipersonnel landmines is in fact assisting in the production of antipersonnel landmines, and thus in violation of the Mine Ban Treaty. The Norwegian Government Pension Fund, with many billions in assets, has funds invested with organizations that support landmine producers. When asked to assess the legality of the Pension Fund’s investments in lieu of Norway’s obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty, the Council on Ethics of the Pension Fund in 2005 ruled that investment in producers of indiscriminate antipersonnel landmines would indeed be a violation of the treaty. To read the full spotlight, go to: http://www.uscbl.org/spotlight/92_demining.htm From Seeds of Terror to Seeds of Hope By: Lisa Söderlindh Interpress Service April 7, 2006 UNITED NATIONS: The fight to rid the world of landmines is being won, said U.N. experts on Landmine Awareness Day this week, but greater commitment is needed to rebuild the lives of victims, who still mostly lack access to rehabilitative care. More than 80 countries contain buried landmines and other explosive remnants of war, which together kill or maim between 15,000 and 20,000 people annually, according to the Landmine Monitor Report (LMR) 2005. At least 20 percent of the victims are children, and 80 percent are civilians. Launched by the U.N. to raise public awareness about landmines and efforts for their eradication, the first International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on Apr. 4 brought reason for hope. Thanks to international efforts, the number of mine-affected countries has fallen in recent years, as well as the number of those killed or injured, which hit 26,000 in 1999. The problem of landmines and other remnants of war or unexploded ordnance can be solved in years rather than decades, says Paula Claycombe, senior programme officer at the United Nations children's agency UNICEF. But for thousands of landmine survivors, "Progress is not evident, they don't feel that their daily lives have been significantly altered yet," Cameron Macauley, who has 25 years of experience helping landmine victims, told IPS. To read the entire article, go to: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32810 To read the Secretary General's message on April 4, International Mine Awareness Day, go to: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sgsm10403.doc.htm To read the U.S. State Department's Media Note on Mine Awareness Day, go to: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/64077.htm Remarks by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan at Adopt-A-Minefield's Night of a Thousand Dinners New York SEC.-GEN. ANNAN: Before I say anything, let me say how impressed I've been with the chefs, who spoke to us this evening, for two reasons: first, for what they prepared for us to eat; and the brevity of their speeches. If I could keep them here, to train the diplomats and ambassadors to be as brief in the General Assembly and the Security Council, then all of us would become much more efficient. It is a pleasure to be here tonight. I am grateful for your recognition of the United Nations' work to eliminate landmines, and delighted that you chose to honor us at the culminating event of this year's Night of a Thousand Dinners. Landmines are cruel instruments of war. Decades after conflicts have receded, these invisible killers lie silently in the ground, waiting to murder and maim. Through them, 20th century battles claim 21st century victims, with new casualties added every hour. A single landmine - or even the fear of its presence - can hold an entire community hostage. It can prevent farmers from growing crops, refugees from returning home, even children from playing. It blocks the delivery of humanitarian relief and impedes the deployment of peacekeepers. In post-conflict societies landmines remain one of the greatest impediments to rebuilding and renewal. Yet this scourge of the past century has the potential to become an early success story of the present one. The swift entry into force of the 1997 convention banning anti-personnel landmines underscored the broad moral condemnation of these weapons. The treaty, which has 150 State Parties, is already producing tangible results. Governments, donors, nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations are collaborating on an unprecedented scale to address this problem, in more than 30 countries. Both the production and the laying of mines are in decline. Global trade in mines has virtually halted. Stockpiles have been destroyed. Clearance operations have accelerated. Mine-risk education has spread. In fact I will tell you my own encounter with a mine. I had gone to visit the UN's peacekeeping operations in the south of Lebanon. The Force Commander was a Swedish general, Lars Eric Wahlgren. He took me to the field to show me some of the mines. We had looked at some in his office. And he pointed one out to me as we approached a stop. I stopped and he said, "Don't go any further." And he proceeded to explain to me how that was one of the most dangerous mines because it was activated by movement and the weight of the person near it. So I said, "What do you do when you come upon one of these things?" He said, "Well, you have to make up your mind, because if you move briskly, it jumps up and you're dead. So you have to decide which leg to lose - left or right. And then you place your leg on it. And you'll be okay. You may lose a leg; then we'll take care of you." And when I asked him, I said, "You soldiers know what you're doing. How about the civilians? How about the women? How about the children?" That is a problem we face with these abominable weapons. The message is loud and must be heard: landmines have no place in any civilized society. The goal of a world without landmines appears achievable in years - not decades as we used to think. But to realize this ideal, every one of us - donors, the general public and mine-affected countries - must focus our energies, and our imaginations, on the cause of mine clearance. Having been so effective in laying mines, we must now become even better at clearing them. Each mine cleared may mean a life saved. Each mine cleared brings us one step closer to building the conditions for lasting and productive peace. Initiatives such as the Night of a Thousand Dinners are crucial in raising funds for this cause. These dinners also reinforce the breadth and depth of global involvement, by ordinary citizens and grassroots organizations, in the campaign against landmines. The money raised today will go towards mine clearance in some of the most heavily mined places in the world. They include Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia and Mozambique. Having seen first-hand the terrible toll inflicted by landmines on these societies, I can tell you that there could be no better use of resources than for demining and survivor assistance in these countries. But I'm sure you already know this, and that's why you're here today. So let me simply thank you for your support, and wish. To read Adopt-A-Minefield's press release about its Night of a Thousand Dinners, go to: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060405/nyw150.html?.v=48&printer=1 Colombia Says Led World
in 2005 Landmine Victims BOGOTA, Colombia - More people were killed or hurt by land mines in Colombia last year than in any other country as rebels planted explosive devices to protect crops used to make cocaine, the government said on Tuesday. While the United Nations says countries like Afghanistan and Cambodia recorded fewer than 900 land mine deaths and injuries apiece last year, 1,077 Colombians were killed or maimed by stepping on mines, the vice president's office said. "The number of victims in Colombia is climbing because illegal armed groups continue to plant mines in order to protect their illicit crops," Luz Piedad Herrera, director of the vice presidency's Mines Observatory, told Reuters. To read entire article, go to: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N043572.htm For more information on the US Campaign to Ban Landmines, go to www.banminesusa.org U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines To make a donation to the US Campaign to Ban Landmines go to: www.banminesusa.org/support/body.html and click on Donate. |
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