| Unprecedented Global Mine Ban Treaty Review Conference this Week in Nairobi... In this edition. . .
Unprecedented Global Mine Ban Treaty Review Conference this Week in Nairobi, Kenya The tremendous progress in banning antipersonnel mines must not mask the reality that governments are not doing nearly enough to help landmine survivors and to get mines out of the ground quickly, campaigners said on the eve of the “Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World.” An estimated 1,300 representatives from NGOs and governments are meeting this week in Nairobi, Kenya for this historic conference that reviews the progress of the Mine Ban Treaty, which went into force five years ago. “Failure to fully address the needs and rights of the ever-growing number of landmine survivors could undercut the remarkable achievements of decreased landmine use, production, trade and stockpiling of the weapon,” said Ms. Jody Williams, co-laureate with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize. The Summit is the first review conference of the Mine Ban Treaty, or Ottawa Convention. The marked drop in the use of antipersonnel mines worldwide since the Mine Ban Treaty came into effect five years ago was welcomed as one of its great achievements. More than 25 individuals from the United States have traveled to Nairobi, Kenya for the conference representing the Landmine Survivors Network, Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations Association’s Adopt a Minefield Campaign, Landmines Blow!, Roots of Peace, the International Eye Foundation, St. Francis School Students Against Landmines, Survey Action Center, and the University of Wisconsin. They are advocating around issues pertaining to landmine victim assistance, demining, risk assessment, and the Mine Ban Treaty. Scott Stedjan from the Friends Committee on National Legislation is in Nairobi representing the US Campaign to Ban Landmines. Two US-based individuals are also participating in the Landmine Youth Summit taking place this week at the Summit. To read the full International Campaign to Ban Landmines press release at the start of the conference, visit http://www.icbl.org/news/leaders_urged USCBL Urges Foreign Governments to Continue to Put Pressure on US Government –Read New Campaign Policy Memo Representatives from the US Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL) are meeting this week with government officials from foreign governments allied with the US government regarding US landmine policy. Urging these governments to continue to engage the US on the treaty and, outside of US involvement in the treaty, other issues such as antipersonnel landmine use, production, and stockpiling, USCBL representatives are presenting a new policy memo with concrete recommendations. We encourage you to read the memo to better understand the current messages and objectives of the campaign. The USCBL is also holding a briefing this week in Nairobi for government officials and representatives from NGOs and the media on US landmine policy and what messages we are encouraging the global community to join us in raising with the US government. The featured speaker at the briefing is Steve Goose, Director of the Arms Control Division at Human Rights Watch and head of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines delegation at the Nairobi conference. We also invited a member of the US government to speak at the briefing, either from the State Department or from the US Ambassador’s office in Kenya, but the offer was declined. New Global Landmine Report Released The International Campaign to Ban Landmines has released its 2004 version of the annual “Landmine Monitor Report,” which describes the global landmine situation, country by country and issue by issue. To read the press release from the new report and the report itself, visit http://www.banminesusa.org/news/893_report.htm To read the US chapter in the 2004 Landmine Monitor Report, visit www.icbl.org US Setting Bad Example by Shunning Mine Ban: Rights Groups November 30, 2004 (AFP) The United States' absence from the 1997 Ottawa Convention banning landmines encourages other countries to ignore the treaty that has the backing of 144 countries, an international human rights watchdog warned in Nairobi on Tuesday. "The US policy on landmines does give cover to other nations that are still outside the treaty," Human Rights Watch (HRW) Arms Division Programme Director Steve Goose told journalists on the sidelines of the first review conference of the 1997 Ottawa Convention..."The US has influence around the world, both politically and economically, and so it gives others an excuse not to join the treaty," said Goose, who also chairs the International Coalition to Ban Landmines (ICBL) delegation to Nairobi... Citing a new US policy on landmines that was released in February 2004, the United States Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL), a coalition of non-governmental organizations, said: "The US government no longer has the objective to join the Mine Ban Treaty by 2006 or at any point..." "Washington's position sets a dangerous example to mine-using countries such as Russia, India, and Pakistan, which have laid hundreds of thousands of mines in recent years, with devastating consequences to civilians," the coalition said. Actor Danny Glover Criticizes U.S. on Landmine Treaty November 30, 2004 (AP) Danny Glover criticized the "arrogance and dismissiveness" of the U.S. government, expressing regret that his own country has yet to sign a 144-nation treaty to eliminate the use of land mines. Speaking on his return from Ethiopia, where he represented the U.N. children's agency on a three-day visit to heavily mined areas near the border with Eritrea, the 57-year-old actor said he felt "a sense of embarrassment that my own country has not signed the Ottawa Treaty. It smells of a certain kind of arrogance and dismissiveness," Glover, star of the "Lethal Weapon" films, told reporters Monday at the United Nations' Geneva offices. Land mines litter the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which recently fought a 2 1/2 year war in which thousands of people were killed. Glover also criticized the United States for failing to send a delegate to the upcoming Nairobi Summit on land mines, which marks the 10th anniversary of the Ottawa Treaty. "We talk about security, peace and building multilateral relationships, but I think this sends a bad message," he said. "The U.S. is one of the major manufacturers of land mines," Glover added. "It doesn't say a great deal about the world's sole superpower and the role of leadership it should play." The U.S. State Department said Friday it is not sending a delegation to Nairobi because of the cost of participation and disagreement with crucial elements of the pact. USCBL Note: We are pleased to report that Ethiopia has just become the 144th nation to ratify the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. Agony of Lives Led And Lost in Fear of Stepping On Landmines in Sudan November 23, 2004 (East African Standard) Simon Loboi was walking from his home to Umrok Torit town in Southern Sudan when he stepped on a landmine. He was going to join other enthusiastic villagers to celebrate the victory of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) over government forces. The town had been under government control for as long as he could remember. "In a flash of a second, my foot had been torn into pieces. The pain was too much to bear. I cried like a child, even after neighbours rushed to my side on hearing the blast and administered First Aid, before taking me to a local health centre. Nothing could save my dear foot - it was gone forever," Loboi, 28, said last week in Lokichogio... Loboi is one of the landmine victims from Southern Sudan waiting for the limbs at Red Cross-run Lopding Hospital, located about 40km from the Kenya/Sudan border... It is estimated that there are 10,000 landmine victims in Sudan, with 1,090 victims registered at the National Mine Action Office (NMAO)... International Committee of the Red Cross head of sub-delegation in Lokichogio, Mr Rob Drouen, said the poor infrastructure in southern Sudan hampers efforts to treat all victims. He regretted that the health facilities and equipment in the region are inadequate... And what does Dr. Jorma Salmela, a Finish surgeon who has been attending to the victims at the ICRC facility, think of anti-personnel landmines? "It's a weapon invented by a devil. It's terrible, nasty and offensive. It must be totally banned by all right-thinking leaders," he said... For more information about the US Campaign to Ban Landmines or to donate on-line, please see our website at www.banminesusa.org U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines To stop receiving these updates and action alerts, please write to landmines@fcnl.org from the email address that receives the newsletter and ask us to take you off the list. |
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