The International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munition Coalition have issued the following press release, which provides detailed information about Cartagena Summit, the Mine Ban Treaty, and their histories. Although targeted at educating government officials, this is an excellent source for anyone seeking background information on these topics or links to other resources.
December 02, 2009, 5:22pm Comments
In a statement delivered at Cartagena Summit on Monday, the U.S. delegation explained its attendance of the conference as part of “an on-going comprehensive review of U.S. landmine policy.” They emphasized the country’s shared commitment to eliminating the humanitarian risks posed by landmines, as exhibited by its past contributions of over $1.5 billion toward humanitarian mine action and removing explosive remnants of war in 47 countries. Read the full text of the statement here.
As apart of this initiative, the State Department announced that the United States will increase funding towards Colombia’s humanitarian mine action assistance. “The United States has been Colombia’s leading financial contributor since 2007, and plans to deliver an additional $2 million in support in 2010.” See the press release for more details.
December 02, 2009, 3:11pm Comments
Rwanda now ranks among the few countries to become completely mine-free! The announcement is to be made at the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World in Colombia.
Hundreds of people have been killed and horrifically injured by landmines in Rwanda.
Landmines were laid between 1990 and 1994 in Rwanda and over the past three years more than over 9,000 have been destroyed by Rwandan soldiers.
December 01, 2009, 3:34pm Comments
Tirza Leibowitz, Survivor Corps’ Director of Rights Advocacy, gives an update on the progress of Cartagena Summit.
It’s a pleasure to have met up with everyone — Kim Hoa, Shireen,
Albert, Zeljko, Ramiz, Jesus, Bekele, Jairo, Riley, (Nate joining this
evening) — and to work together as a team.
Highlights from today’s events:
1. Our side event on Towards Survivorship — From Victim to Citizen —
facilitated by Jairo, was a smashing success: Full house, very
interesting discussion. Jairo did a wonderful job facilitating. Riley,
Shireen, Kim Hoa, and Nerina were all helping behind the scenes.
Participants were left with a desire for more. The subject is
pertinent to victim assistance discussed here at the Conference, and
beyond. Zeljko was one of the panelists, together with two of our own.
2. The ICBL just made the closing remarks in the plenary discussion,
on victim assistance. We were notable authors of this intervention —
which won applause at the end, and more importantly, pressed forth
three clear messages to states parties, about the need to support and
implement the Cartagena Action Plan, continue substantial victim
assistance funding and earmark it so its allocation to victim
assistance programs is assured, and to use the CRPD as the human
rights framework for implementing victim assistance including signing,
ratifying and implementing it.
3. In general, the CRPD has been very prominent in most of the states’
interventions, and in the ICBL one. We can attribute this development
very much to our efforts over the years and in the last few months
leading up to the Summit.
A few more highlights from the last few days:
December 01, 2009, 12:00pm Comments
From 7-9 October, members of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) gathered in Tirana, Albania for the Tirana Workshop on Achieving a Mine-Free South Eastern Europe to conduct advocacy and outreach in support of the Mine Ban Treaty, as well as the Convention on Cluster Munitions. This was the last of a series of regional meetings convened in the lead-up to the Cartagena Summit (Second Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty) which will take place in Colombia, from 29 November - 4 December 2009.
October 29, 2009, 12:39pm Comments
Photo: Mary Wareham
(New York: 23 October 2009)- Governments that have still not joined the international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines should participate in a forthcoming global summit and join the agreement without delay, said the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) today at an event at the United Nations in New York.
October 23, 2009, 12:14pm Comments
I am so happy that we will have the chance to work together for the survivor cause in the Cartagena Summit this year.
I am Kim Hoa from Landmine Survivors Network in Vietnam. I joined the Network about four years ago and currently am working as a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer cum Advocacy Officer. In Vietnam, we have been working to raise the profiles of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) with a strong emphasis on Victim Assistance - the synergy across the three above treaties.
I am very glad that I will see some of you again (Nerina, Ramiz, Bekele and Jesus) and look forward to meeting Tirza, Riley, Albert and Shireen there.
I do believe that together we all will make a great “survivor dream team” in the Second Review Conference. I look forward to working with and seeing all of you in Colombia.
October 09, 2009, 2:12pm Comments
I’m Riley Abbott and I’m a Program Associate at Survivor Corps. I have had a chance to work with some of you directly at the Mine Ban Treaty Meeting of States Parties in June 08, with others while at an advocacy training in Kampala, here in Washington, or even remotely via email. For those whom I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting face-to-face, I’m really excited to do so!
I’m a young man in my upper 20s from the Midwestern United States state of Minnesota where the wind and the snow can be dreadful but the food, art and people can make all your worries be gone. I came to Washington, DC after two years living in El Salvador through the Peace Corps where I worked with the municipal government to build the capacity of civil institutions, improve communications between organizations, and reduce youth inscription to gangs and violence. Professionally, I’m interested in building the relationships between civil society organizations, civilians and their governments and involving citizens in the planning and development of cities and regions. At Survivor Corps we call it social capital building and daily I get to exercise my interests through our programs that aid in the recovery of individuals affected by war, help their groups engage with the broader community and become active in exercising their rights.
I’m really excited for Cartagena, because we will get a chance to engage global leaders and all of us, normal civilians working in human development and peace-building, will get a chance to do it at the highest level!! It’s a great honor.
Whether or not I get a chance to join you in Cartagena, please know that I’ll be here in DC supporting you during the lead up and during the conference. Be in touch and let’s make important changes!
October 09, 2009, 1:47pm Comments
I started working for LSN/LSI in 2000 and I am working as Outreach Coordinator covering Banja Luka region. To date I have participated to many conferences and I will mention some of them here: participation to the 7th Ad Hoc Committee meeting on CRPD in New York in 2006; Intersessionals meeting and RTV training in Geneva in 2006; Regional Conference on CRPD in Belgrade in 2006; development of the National Disability Policy and Entity Disability Strategy in BiH where I coordinated one of the working groups; coordination of Art Colony “Balkana” and member of the Health Insurance Fund for monitoring existing situation of prosthetic devices.
As for my expectations from participating to Cartagena Summit, I am looking forward to see and learn about progresses countries have achieved in dealing with mine issues, what their plans are for time to come, work with my government to identify realistic objectives and support programmes for landmine survivors, lobby our government to provide more support to landmine survivors and of course to learn new advocacy skills.
It goes without saying that I am looking forward to see friends that I know and meet new ones in our organizations ;-)
October 09, 2009, 1:22pm Comments
