Newsletter November 2001

[No.2 2001]

Where were you on 11 September?

Jody Williams and ICBL participate in Nobel Peace Prize centennial

Jody Williams and Steve Goose, on behalf of the ICBL, participated in events celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway at the beginning of December. On the occasion of the centennial, they joined approximately 30 Nobel Peace Prize laureates invited by the Nobel Institute to participate in these events. A Symposium was held 6-8 December, in which laureates and academics addressed the themes around "The Conflicts of the 20th century and the solutions for the 21st century."

Presentations were made by Jody Williams and Steve Goose and fellow laureates Norman Borlaug, Kim Dae-Jung, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, John Hume, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Mairead Maguire, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Jose Ramos-Horta, Joseph Rottblat, Oscar Arias Sanchez, David Trimble, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Lech Walesa, Elie Wiesel and representatives from AFSC, Amnesty International, Medecins Sans Frontieres, ICRC, IFRC, ILO, International Peace Bureau, IPPNW, Pugwash, UNICEF, UNHCR, and other institutions that have received the prize over the years.

Jody Williams, speaking on a panel called Militarism and arms races--Strengthen arms control and disarmament, noted "I keep hearing that the events of September 11 have changed the world . . . I'm not so sure September 11 changed the world. Certainly it changed the psyche of people in the United States. But that is not the same as changing the world." She emphasized that the world reacted in the 'usual fashion' of using violence to the horrific crime against humanity. "I wonder when the line will be crossed, when patriotism becomes xenophobia….We are told we are going to war to protect civilisation and freedom at the same time as draconian laws are being passed [in the US] to take away our freedom."

She said that while she had visited Ground Zero in New York, and she kept thinking of "our colleagues, who brought us pictures of Grozny, in Chechnya. The whole city is Ground Zero. All of Afghanistan, before the bombing began, was already a Ground Zero."

Jody closed by emphasizing that individuals can make a difference in the world. "However, not the individual alone …behind this face there are thousands of people who worked together to change the world on the landmine issue. The only way we'll change the world is to empower civil society, to increase people's ability to create the world that they want to live in… The landmine campaign is about the power of civil society and the individual to work with states in a different way to create laws that affect us all...If we succeed we all do, but if we fail, we all do."

Steve Goose, on the same panel, summarized the landmine ban movement and the successes of the campaign, in the hopes that looking at some elements of it might provide guidelines for other disarmament issues. He identified the following elements: a focus on the humanitarian aspect and international humanitarian law; the vital role of civil society, noting "We showed that civil society could demand action, get it, and have success"; the important role of medium and small-size states in setting the international diplomatic agenda; a partnership between civil society and pro-ban governments, ICRC and UN agencies; and "the importance of pursuing non-traditional diplomacy through openness and inclusivity". He also described the progress made in the ban movement since 1997, the Landmine Monitor initiative, and successes of the Mine Ban Treaty, as well as the work remaining to be done. [ICBL]

While in London at the end of September, CALM Convenor Neil Mander called on Rt Hon Don McKinnon, Commonwealth Secretary-General, and the office of the NZ High Commissioner in London (Rt Hon Paul East) and presented them each with a copy of Landmine Monitor 2001 and its Executive Summary.

Fundraising for Mozambique

Why Mozambique? Because it is a desperately poor African country with large areas of productive land that can't be used because of landmines; it suffers many landmine deaths and casualties each year, many of them children; and the NZ Army has been helping train deminers and administer mine clearance there since 1994.

In partnership with UNICEF, CALM organised a function at Parliament on 2 November to raise funds for UNICEF's anti-landmine activities in Mozambique. Host for the evening was long-time CALM supporter Graham Kelly MP.

Major Derek Baxter, formerly Chief Technical Adviser to Mozambique's Accelerated Deming Program, gave an illustrated talk about his (and the NZ Army's) work, and Neil Mander (CALM Convenor) launched Landmine Monitor 2001.

CALM supporters can continue to help Mozambique through hosting a dinner in their home, following the example of Canada's "Night of a thousand dinners" on 30 November. The Canadian Landmine Foundation and United Nations Association of the USA encouraged people around the world to host dinners to raise awareness and funds for banning and clearing landmines and helping survivors.

CALM calls on its supporters to do the same: You can make the event as small or as large as you like, you can invite a few friends to your house for dinner, or organise an event with others in the community. You can use the dinner to raise awareness about landmines in Mozambique (and elsewhere). Remind your friends that they can make a difference by writing to their MP or the newspaper about the scourge of landmines, and by donating money. Any funds raised from the dinners will go to UNICEF for their landmine work in Mozambique, and UNICEF will send a tax receipt to the donors. Because the holiday season is now with us, and many people have a busy social calendar, why not plan your dinner for the new year - what better way to start off 2002 than a relaxed fund-raising event, at home, for such a good cause!

For more information, visit http://www.1000dinners.com. For material about landmine assistance to children in Mozambique, contact Dennis McKinlay at UNICEF: phone (04) 473-0879 or 0800 2 help kids (0800 243 575), or 2helpkids@unicef.org.nz. For information about CALM, contact John Head at: jhead@i4free.co.nz. For recipes from Mozambique, contact Helen Zwartz at: zwartz@actrix.co.nz.

Afghanistan suffers again

Afghanistan is already one of the world's most heavily mined countries, littered with ordnance made by Russians, Iranians, Italians and Pakistanis.

But the US bombing of former Taliban positions has added a new killing machine to the multitude of unexploded devices strewn across Afghanistan's expansive dusty plains, in orchards, rice fields, and villages.

Campaign group Landmine Action says US military figures show 600 cluster bombs have been dropped in Afghanistan. Each cluster bomb contains 202 "BLU 97" bomblets which are designed to shred enemies' flesh and wreck their equipment on the ground.

But somewhere between seven and 30 percent of the devices fail to detonate on impact and either sink into the ground or lie on the surface. They effectively become land mines.

As refugees return to their homes, they are in severe danger from landmines and unexploded cluster bombs. The UN estimates that 10 Afghans are killed or maimed every day by mines. Some cleared minefields are having to be recleared since the latest fighting and bombing. [Reuters]

Report from Managua

CALM's founder, John Head, represented CALM as a member of the NZ Government delegation at the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention in Managua, Nicaragua, in September. Notes from his report:

Because the September 11 terrorist attacks on the USA caused plane cancellations and delays I missed the first day of the Conference and the two preceding days of ICBL meetings. The only government delegations from Pacific nations were from Australia and New Zealand. The NZ delegation consisted of Ambassador Paul Tipping from Mexico and myself as resource person. My travel and hotel expenses were funded by PADET.

Overview: The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) stated that this "was indeed a very successful meeting, a major step forward along the road to clearing the world of this weapon that has caused so much havoc and suffering in the world." Ten new countries had ratified or acceded to the Treaty since the Second Meeting, and they expected another ten before the Fourth Meeting. To me this was a very conservative estimate. Susan Walker, a prominent international ICBL campaigner, told me she would be disappointed if another 23 countries had not joined the Treaty in the next 12 months. We have some work to do here in the Pacific.

The role of the ICBL: From the beginning of the Conference, the important role of the ICBL was accepted. The Landmine Monitor 2001 was distributed to delegates on the first day, and information in it was frequently referred to by delegates. LM2001 certainly gave the ICBL considerable status. At the official opening, Norwegian Ambassador Steffan Kongstad, outgoing conference president, paid tribute to the ICBL and the ICRC for starting this campaign to rid the world of landmines and for "conveying human suffering into a strong political message." ICBL Ambassador Jody Williams gave a hard-hitting keynote speech calling for delegates to take a "hard look at the issues of compliance with this treaty that still face us." She went on to say, "Civil society and governments came together not just to create the Treaty but also to ensure full compliance with it." (Questions had been raised in LM2001 and by some conference delegates about the use of landmines by two African and one Asian country which have signed the Treaty.) On the second day Steve Goose, ICBL delegation leader, spoke for nearly 30 minutes on the concerns and hopes of the ICBL, and other ICBL campaigners spoke on their particular portfolios - it must have been obvious to all that the ICBL has many clearly focused and dedicated campaigners who are determined to see that the Ottawa Convention is universally accepted and fully implemented. For many diplomats at the conference, the abolition of landmines is just one of many concerns.

The NZ Statement: Ambassador Tipping emphasised that NZ will continue to lend its strongest support towards the total elimination of landmines. He acknowledged our country's financial contribution to demining activities worldwide, and the work of our Army deminers in many countries. Under the Ottawa Convention, States Parties are able to retain live mines for training. Our Army has kept none, but has developed (with a Stokes Valley company) a suitable simulator device which is used to train soldiers in the necessities of mine awareness. Ambassador Tipping referred to the production of this model, which we hoped other countries would seek further information about, as NZ Army research failed to find a suitable simulator available anywhere else in the world. The NZ statement referred to the success of the March 2001 UN Asia-Pacific Regional Disarmament Conference in Wellington, and the joint efforts with CALM to encourage more ratifications of the Treaty from pacific countries.
Non State Actors (NSAs): The Philippines and Colombia in their opening statements emphasised the importance of calling on armed groups acting against or beyond the control of states to abide by international law and to ban the use of landmines. Neil Mander and I had asked our government to make a similar statement. The Ottawa Convention is silent on the activities of NSAs, but at this conference there was an amendment to the final communiqué which said that, "We also recognise that progress to free the world from anti personnel mines would be promoted by Non State Actors to cease and renounce their use in line with the international norm established by this Convention." It was agreed to without discussion. The ICBL saw this as "one of the most concrete items that emerged from the week." The ICBL's Non State Actors Working Group (NSAWG) has been working with NSAs for some years, and has had some success in getting three NSAs to renounce the use of landmines.
Raising victims' voices: On the last morning, ICBL brought eight people who had been injured by landmines so that everyone at the conference could hear their story and endorse the message that landmines must be banned and cleared from all lands. This was a very sobering time.

A concern: Anti-tank mines are permitted under the Ottawa Convention along with anti-handling devices (AHDs) which cause the mine to explode when an attempt is made "to tamper with or intentionally disturb the mine." (I recall some heated debates on AHDs at the 1997 Oslo Conference when the precise wording of the Ottawa Convention was finalised.) The problem is that some AHDs are so sensitive that they make the anti-tank mine act like an anti-personnel mine (APM), and explode by the presence, proximity or contact with a person. The debate continues, even though the ICRC and the ICBL have done considerable research into which AHDs act as APMs. Norway led a number of countries calling for the banning of those AHDs, a move supported by ICRC and ICBL. However Britain, Japan and Germany called for more research on the issue and so no decision was made. In the diplomatic arena the real reason for decisions is sometimes masked by fine words. I learned afterwards that no decision was reached because certain countries were not prepared to follow Canada's example and destroy those AHDs that research showed acted as APMs.

Another concern: We here are very aware that NZ was one of the first group of countries to call for an international ban on the use of APMs. We were the 14th country to sign the Ottawa Convention. Our Army engineers have carried out demining challenges for the UN in many parts of the world with integrity and distinction. Since 1996 our government, its diplomats and officials have spoken out in support of full implementation of the Ottawa Treaty. I must admit that I am a one-eyed New Zealander, and that we are a small country, but I am concerned at how little impact NZ seems to have made in the world of the Ottawa Convention. Only once at Managua was NZ mentioned by another delegation. When donor lists for new projects were announced, NZ was never mentioned. Our policy of replacing the use of live mines for training, replacing them with simulated mines, does not seem to have made any impact. Although we have well-informed and capable diplomats in the Disarmament Office in Geneva, NZ has yet to be invited to take responsibility for positions such as co-chair of Standing Committees. Rather than expound theories as to why these situations have occurred, I make the following recommendations:

• That the NZ government make a greater financial commitment to demining and the work of the Ottawa Convention.
  
• That continuity of NZ's representation at the various meetings of the States Parties be maintained, with the Disarmament Ambassador being required to represent NZ at each annual meeting. The CALM Convenor should also attend these important meetings.
  
• That NZ CALM resume a more aggressive stance with officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to remind them that the battle to clear the world of landmines is far from being won, and that our country could make an even greater effort than at present to support the work of the Ottawa Convention.

Much more could be reported about the Managua Conference, but enough is enough. I appreciated the nomination from CALM that I represent them on the NZ Government Delegation, and I thank the Ministers of Disarmament and Foreign Affairs and the officials of ISAC for their confidence and support.

John Head

New youth resources

The ICBL has launched two new youth resources, the Youth Campaign Kit and the expanded Youth Website. These two advocacy tools are designed to assist young campaigners to take action against landmines in their communities.
The updated Youth Website, now online at http://www.icbl.org/youth, includes background information about the landmines issue, news, and information about how to take action. The Youth Campaign Kit is a series of six booklets, similar in format to the ICBL Campaign Kit. It contains background information on the landmines issue, how to find and use landmines-related resources, how to take action, publicize events, deliver landmines presentations and promote the Youth Against War Treaty. Copies will be available in English and Spanish from the ICBL Washington, DC office after 3 December.

For more information about the Youth Campaign Kit and Youth Website and to order campaign kits please contact Jackie Hansen at jackie@icbl.org or +1 202 547 2667.

Landmine Monitor researchers' conference in Seoul

In late October CALM Convenor Neil Mander attended the Asia-Pacific regional meeting of Landmine Monitor researchers in Seoul, Korea, at the start of work on the 2002 edition of the report. After reviewing the 2001 report the researchers considered the requirements for the 2002 report in the light of matters needing further investigation.

In an open letter to ROK President Kim Dae Jung, the researchers thanked South Korea for the hospitality they had received, congratulated him for his initiatives in promoting peace and co-operation on the Korean peninsula, including removal of landmines, and called on the two Korean governments to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.

Their visit included a one-day bus trip to the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea; a traditional Korean meal with a group of civilian landmine victims in a village some 10km from the DMZ, who spoke of the difficulties they had experienced in getting recognition, assistance or compensation; a reception for an International Authors' Conference on Reconciliation and Peace; and were welcomed to an English-language church service by the president of the Korean Campaign to Ban Landmines.

Worrying US landmine policy shift

"We have learned that the Pentagon is pushing the US to move away from existing, flawed policy on landmines to an even worse policy which would see it reject the Mine Ban Treaty outright and reserve mines for use not only in Korea, but elsewhere," Mary Wareham of Human Rights Watch has told CALM.

In its news release, Human Rights Watch said from Washington that Pentagon officials this month recommended that the US abandon its standing commitment to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty by 2006 if alternatives to antipersonnel mines are identified and fielded.

The Pentagon's review is one component of a multi-agency landmine policy review. Officials in the Department of State and the National Security Council will now join the review prior to a decision by
President Bush, which may occur by the end of 2001.

Such a policy shift would also do away with a decision made in 1998 to discontinue the use of antipersonnel mines not packaged with antivehicle mines in delivery canisters, except in Korea, by 2003. A reversal of the 2003 deadline would free up 86 percent of the current 11.2 million mine stockpile for use in the future. [Human Rights Watch]

* There are now 142 signatories/ratifications/accessions to the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty, of which 122 are ratifications or accessions. The latest are Chile on 10 September, Nigeria which acceded on 27 September, and Algeria on 9 October.

* The resolution in support of the Ottawa Convention was passed by the UN General Assembly on 29 November 2001 by 138 votes to none against, and 19 abstentions.

* Last month the NATO and the Ukraine signed an agreement covering the safe destruction of 400,000 anti-personnel landmines.

* Jody Williams, ICBL ambassador and joint Nobel Peace Prize laureate with ICBL, married Human Rights Watch landmine campaigner Steve Goose in May.

CALM AGM

This was held in Wellington on 3 November 2001. CALM's work was reviewed in his annual report by Convenor Neil Mander, and the financial situation reported by treasurer Brian Hayes. Points for future action were:
Cluster bombs - John Head has had letters published protesting the use of cluster bombs in Afghanistan, and mentioned that there have been more hits on his website item on cluster bombs than on any other item. John is one of the group of campaigners pressuring the ICBL to consider cluster bombs, and as CALM has been calling for this for years, we intend to continue our involvement.
Non State Actors - Neil is now Moderator of the ICBL's NSA working group's email Yahoogroup.
Visit of activist - Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, co-founder of the International Action Network and the Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines, is visiting NZ in December. He has worked with NSA groups.
United Nations - Tonga and Singapore were among Treaty non-signatories who voted in favour of the Mine Ban Treaty resolution at the UN First Committee. It was agreed to send CALM delegations to visit their High Commissions, as well as the PNG commission and US embassy.
CCW Review Conference - It is expected that a working group will be set up to draw up proposals for a new Protocol 5 on unexploded remnants of war. Neil will liaise with the Australia Campaign (Australia will chair the conference).
CHOGM - Neil to ask for the PM to include a call for universalisation of the Mine Ban Treaty by Pacific nations in her opening statement.
NZ ODA - Neil to check that with the reorganisation of Overseas Aid the funding of our demining programmes does not miss out.

CALM 2001 Annual Report

Excerpts are given here: the full report can be obtained from the Convenor [see back page]

Regrettably, there are still countries holding out from ratification of the Mine Ban treaty. These include Russia, China, India, much of the Middle East, and the USA.

Closer to home in the Pacific, Kiribati and Nauru have ratified the Treaty, joining Fiji, Niue, Samoa and the Solomon Islands. We are still awaiting ratification from Cook Islands, Marshall Islands and Vanuatu. Those who have yet to take the first step of Treaty signing include Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Tuvalu.

CALM has continued its campaign work, maintaining liaison with government departments, MPs, other NGOs and campaign groups overseas, especially the ICBL and its NSA working group, and the groups involved in the cluster bomb campaign (Mennonite Central Committee, Washington DC, and UK-based Landmine Action).

CALM members assisted with information gathering for Landmine Monitor 2001, for New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and a dozen Pacific Island nations. Neil Mander attended the researchers' meetings in Bangkok and Washington.

Information was disseminated through the newsletter and internet website, provided by the generosity of Protel and of Geoff Head.

Ottawa revisited

From an article in the Ottawa Citizen by Rebecca Ho-Foster, Youth Mine Action Ambassador Program, on the fourth anniversary of the Ottawa Treaty signing (3 December 1997):

The Ottawa Convention is defined as "comprehensive," which means that signatories are under obligation not only to stop production, sale, stockpile and transfer of this weapon, but also to reveal the human face of the suffering caused by landmines.

A ban alone is not enough. The obligation and commitment to rebuild and rehabilitate communities goes beyond eliminating the weapon itself.

According to Landmine Monitor 2001, there has been a decrease in mine victims in the past year. However, 20,000 new landmine victims in 2001 is unacceptable, and hundreds of thousands are already injured by landmines.

It is encouraging to see that worldwide, there has been increased funding for mine action. Canada's financial commitment since 1989 has exceeded $100 million. Today, more landmine survivors than ever are being assisted by a variety of programs, from job training to peer counselling.

Canada has stood at the forefront of the landmine issue from the beginning. The strength behind Canada's work comes from ordinary citizens. Canadians have supported landmine survivors and mine clearance through events ranging from dinners in their homes to purchasing crafts made by Cambodian landmine survivors.

While global statistics show encouraging trends, and Canadians continue to remain involved, there is so much left to be done. We can remind our leaders of our concern about landmine victims as decisions are made to renew funding this next year.

Canadians need to continue to care about this issue.

[Editor: So do New Zealanders!]

Edited by David Zwartz, despatch by Helen and David Zwartz