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U.S.
Campaign to Ban Landmines Email Newsletter In this edition. . .
Action Alert for Landmine Victim Assistance On September 13, 2002 the Senate unanimously passed the "International Disabilities and Victims of Landmines, Civil Strife and Warfare Assistance Act of 2002" (S. 1777). Please contact your House Member and urge him/her to work for the swift passage in the House of the Senate version of the bill before the end of the session. This bill, if passed, will help thousands of landmine survivors worldwide with the medical and rehabilitative care they need to live productive lives. In order to attract new supporters in Congress, it is to our advantage NOT to mention the Mine Ban Treaty or the current U.S. landmine policy review when contacting legislators about this bill. See sample letter below. Thank you! To find out who your Representative is in the House and how to contact him or her, visit www.house.gov or www.vote-smart.org Sample Letter of Support in Favor of Landmine Victim Assistance Bill Date Dear Representative (name): The "International Disabilities and Victims of Landmines, Civil Strife and Warfare Assistance Act of 2002" (S. 1777) passed unanimously in the Senate on September 13, 2002. I am writing to urge you to work towards swift passage of the Senate version of this bill in the House before the end of the session. Today, innocent civilians are threatened by up to 80 million landmines buried in over 80 countries. It is estimated that 15,000-20,000 people, many of whom are women and children, are annually maimed or killed by landmines. While the Federal Government invests over $120 million in landmine-related activities annually, primarily for demining, less than ten percent of these funds are directed toward addressing the human suffering among those injured by mines. HR 3169 expands authority at the USAID and the Department of Health and Human Services to provide assistance to individuals with disabilities, including victims of landmines and other victims of civil strife and warfare. Such assistance includes medical and rehabilitation services, research, prevention, public awareness campaigns, and peer support. Let's work together to help mine victims and others with disabilities to alleviate their pain and to improve their prospects. Thank you. Sincerely, (Name and Address) Raising the Voices: Hearing from and About Landmine Survivors If you need added inspiration to contact your House member about the pending victim assistance bill, read the recent speech (excerpted below) of Margaret Arach Orech, a landmine survivor from Uganda, who addressed the governmental and non-governmental representatives participating in last week's Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva. Margaret spoke about landmine survivors who are working to improve the lives of people with disabilities in some of the world's poorest countries. They need our help. Introduction Raising the Voices is a leadership training program for landmine survivors. It works to build the capacity of survivors to become leaders within their disability communities. Also, it is an opportunity for us to share our knowledge and expertise on Victim Assistance with you the States Parties charged with ensuring that your MBT obligations towards us are fulfilled. What do we do in Raising the Voices? In addition to attending the meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty process, we receive training in Human Rights, especially for people with disabilities. We learn about the Mine Ban Treaty. We increase our advocacy skills and of course we are here to collaborate with you. Teaching Human Rights for People with Disabilities Raising the Voices participants do projects in their home countries that build on what they learned in Geneva in between their training sessions. Many of the projects are related to teaching other survivors about their Human Rights. Let me briefly tell you about these projects. Jean-Claude from Senegal In Senegal, it is customary that many children with disabilities do not go to school, because societal attitudes encourage parents to hide their disabled children. Especially in small villages, superstition says that a disabled child brings shame and bad luck to the family. Jean-Claude works to integrate children into the school system. He speaks with parents to convince them that a child with disabilities can be a productive member of the family but only with an education. He works closely with Handicap International that provides scholarships so that children with disabilities can go to school. Tedla and Mohamed from Eritrea Tedla and Mohamed gave a workshop oh Disability Rights to 60 landmine survivors and other people with disabilities. They translated the UDHR and the UN Standard Rules into Tigrignyan since there were no official translations. Tedla and Mohamed want to create a strong voice from the disability community that will speak out for the rights of people with disabilities. Aimable Rukundo from Rwanda Rwanda is currently drafting a new Constitution. After his Raising the Voices training, Aimable realized the importance of having laws and policies that protect the rights of people with disabilities. Aimable called a meeting with the Federation of Organizations for People with Disabilities to discuss how they would contribute to the new Constitution. A committee of the Federation drafted suggestions for the Constitution that would protect the rights of people with disabilities. While Aimable waits for the response of the Constitutional Commission, he is building the necessary relationships within the Commission to ensure the inclusion of survivors and people with disabilities. Abdellatif and Babiker from Sudan Babiker and Abdellatif want to use the voices of persons with disability to advocate for peace in Sudan. If both sides of the internal conflict stopped using mines and signed the Mine Ban Treaty, that would be an important step towards peace. Abdellatif and Babiker have used workshops on human rights for people with disabilities to raise awareness about the mine situation. They want to train people with disabilities to advocate for the ratifying of the Mine Ban Treaty and for peace in Sudan. Afterall, peace and security is a person's right. Tedla advocates for Accessiblity In Eritrea, most buildings are inaccessible and there is no national level policy addressing physical access. So, with the UN Standard Rules in hand, Tedla went to the Ministry in charge of public buildings as well as the Municipality of Asmara, which is in charge of roads and parking. Both agencies welcomed the information. Tedla provided and were convinced that it was important to do something about the situation. Tedla wrote a letter outlining specific measures that should be taken and the Ministry circulated it through the Association of architects and engineers. This resulted in the immediate modification of several projects currently underway, including a bank, a shopping mall, housing for ex-combatants, and a new hospital. Gebreselassie from Ethiopia Many people in Addis Ababa, including landmine survivors and persons with disabilities, set up small, mobile shops by the roadside to make ends meet. But permits to do this are not easily obtained and effectively unavailable to persons with disability. Gebreselassie is working towards equal opportunity for employment by advocating for special permits for persons with disabilities to set up roadside shops. He formed a coalition of disability groups around the issue of getting the permits. The new coalition then approached the City Administration, which promised to take up the issue with individual sector heads. The Administration also asked the newly formed coalition to provide information on the accessibility, profitability, and impact on traffic of different locations. They are currently working on this feasibility study. Margaret Arach from Uganda Since my accident, I see over and over again the positive effects of talking to other survivors. Sharing experiences lifts my spirits, relieves my anxiety, and gives me useful information. Mostly, I have been assured that I am reacting to an abnormal situation in a normal way. With this background, I feel compelled to reach out to survivors who are more isolated. I have founded two Associations for mine victims, one in Gulu District and the other in Lira District. Mine Clearance in the Korean DMZ News Release on USCBL Letterhead September 20, 2002 Anti-Landmine Advocates Welcome Mine Clearance in Korean DMZ, Urge US and South Korea to Ban the Weapon (September 20, 2002, Geneva) International Mine Ban campaigners and representatives from the US Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL) welcomed this week's announcement that North Korea and South Korea have resumed the process of landmine clearance in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two states. The campaigners assert that the mine clearance effort, which will allow for resumption of rail and highway travel in the western and eastern sectors of the DMZ, removes an important barrier to the US and the Republic of South Korea joining the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. Most of the one million landmines within the DMZ were laid by US forces during the Korean War. The US Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as former President Clinton, cited these minefields as a prime impediment to US participation in the Mine Ban Treaty because of their supposed value as a deterrent to a North Korean invasion. Last year, however, eight retired senior commanders in the US armed forces, including Lt. General Hollingsworth, a former commander of troops in Korea, urged President Bush to join the Mine Ban for military reasons (see the full text of the letter at www.banminesusa.org). "Several of us are former commanders of elements of I-Corps (the joint US and South Korean force), and believe that antipersonnel mines are not in any way critical or decisive in maintaining the peninsula's security," the retired admirals and generals told the president. "In fact, [mine] systems would slow a US and South Korean counter-invasion by inhibiting the operational tempo of friendly armour and dismounted infantry units." "The continuing initiative to remove antipersonnel landmines in portions of the DMZ demonstrates the lack of utility of these weapons for the defense of American and South Korean troops," stated Gina Coplon-Newfield, Coordinator of the US Campaign to Ban Landmines. "This is an important milestone that underscores the need for the United States and North and South Korea to ban this indiscriminate and outmoded relic of the Cold War." Continued John Kim, a Korean American researcher with the Landmine Monitor, an annual publication of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, stated: "I am overjoyed to hear of this historic development in the DMZ, one of the most densely mined areas in the world. I hope that this zone of death and dismemberment will become a zone of peace and human security, putting an end to further mine casualties in the area." Since the signing of the 1953 Armistice Agreement that established a cease-fire, numerous civilians in areas around the DMZ have been injured and killed by the mines that have shifted from their original location by weather, erosion, and other factors. Ms. Yukie Osa, a member of the Association for Aid and Relief, Japan, stated: "In the wake of the recent historic summit between the Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi and Kim Il Jung, the North Korean leader, this announcement of DMZ demining is an indication of further progress towards peace in the region. I hope this step will lead to further accessions to the Mine Ban Treaty." The Bush Administration's formal review of US landmine policy, expected to reaffirm or amend former President Clinton's directive for US accession to the treaty by 2006, has been in process for more than a year. Currently, the White House has not released its formal policy towards the Mine Ban Treaty. To date, 146 nations have joined the Mine Ban Treaty, and 129 have ratified the agreement, which prohibits the use, production, trade, and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines and which includes provisions on mine removal and victim assistance. Coplon-Newfield, Kim, and Osa are in Geneva with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines for the Fourth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty. More than 100 governments are participating in this week's meeting, though not the United States, North Korea, or South Korea. ### Governments and NGOs from Around the Globe Meet to Discuss Mine Ban Treaty Last week in Geneva, Switzerland, 131 governments and dozens of NGO representatives and landmine survivors from around the globe participated in the 4th Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty. The week's meetings focused on stockpile destruction, victim assistance, demining, compliance with the treaty, and other key issues. During the week, Gambia and Cameroon ratified the treaty and Comoros acceded to it, bringing the total number of countries that have joined the treaty up to 145 signatories/accessions and 129 ratifications. USCBL Coordinator Gina Coplon-Newfield participated in the week's activities and met with government representatives from Germany, France, Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan, and others to urge these governments to put more pressure on the US government to improve its landmine policies. Other USCBL members from Human Rights Watch, the Landmine Survivors Network, and the World Rehabilitative Fund also participated in the week's events. To learn more about the 4th Meeting of States Parties, including the opening statement by Nobel Laureate Jody Williams, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines statement by Steve Goose, and more, visit http://www.icbl.org/4msp. Celebrity-Packed LA Event Honors Activists and Raises Funds for Demining On September 18, the United Nations Association's Adopt-A-Minefield Campaign hosted its Second Annual Los Angeles Benefit Gala. Adopt-A-Minefield Goodwill Ambassadors Heather Mills McCartney and Paul McCartney hosted the event and asked participants to support demining efforts to "clear minefields, save lives, and return land to productive use." The event's Master of Ceremonies was "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno. Paul McCartney, Steven Stills, and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys performed to an enthusiastic crowd. At the event, the Adopt-a-Minefield Campaign honored former International Campaign to Ban Landmines Coordinator and 1997 Nobel Laureate Jody Williams as well as Landmine Survivors Network founders Jerry White and Ken Rutherford, Americans who both lost legs to landmines while traveling abroad. The event succeeded in raising several hundred thousand dollars for mine clearance efforts. For more information about the Adopt-a-Minefield Campaign, visit www.landmines.org. For more information about the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines or to donate on-line, please visit www.banminesusa.org
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