CALM
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting
of the New Zealand Campaign Against Landmines will be held in the
Wellington City Council Committee Room Number 2 at 5.30pm, Monday
10 July 2000. Enter by the Wakefield St entrance, go to the Reception
Centre, turn right and the further instructions will be on the white
board.
The Agenda will include:
Welcome and Apologies,
Presentation of Annual Reports,
Election of Officers and Committee for 2000-2001,
Other Business.
Nominations are called for the positions of Convenor, Secretary,
Treasurer and Committee members.
Just by way of reminder, the present Officers are:
Convenor Neil Mander
Treasurer Brian Hayes
Spokesperson John Head
The post of Secretary is vacant at present.
There will be new challenges
this year for the Campaign in its task of universalising the landmine
ban treaty. To do that, an enthusiastic and active Committee is vital
to lead and coordinate that work.
Laos
- The Forgotten Country
John Head received this
letter from a Nigel Orr, a Technical Adviser with UXO LAO.
Dear John,
I have been a recipient
of the CALM newsletters now for about four years and as an ex NZ Army
Engineer have followed the progress of your organisation’s campaign
with some interest. I found the article in your most recent newsletter
(April 2000) on cluster bombs in Kosovo, most interesting as I expect
did many of your readers.
As we know Kosovo has had
a lot of media attention focused on it as a result of the bombing,
and the activities leading up to and immediately after it. Kosovo
is still attracting a lot of interest now and the international efforts
to restore the country are significant. This article led me to wonder
how many of your readers would know about another country that also
suffered severe cluster bombing, arguably equally as intense as that
which occurred in Kosovo and certainly more sustained. Yet this country
continues with its struggles to rid itself of the contamination caused
by this bombing and attracts virtually no attention at all. This country
is Laos.
During the Vietnam War
Laos was a sideshow to the main event or the venue for what was then
described as the "secret war". During the period 1964 to
1973 Laos had over two million tons of bombs dropped on it or one
bombing mission every eight minutes for the entire period. The targets
were the Ho Chi Minh trail which passed through the south eastern
part of the country, or the northern provinces adjacent Vietnam where
many land battles took place. Many of the bombs used were experimental
in nature and a large proportion were cluster bombs. Conservative
estimates are that up to 30% of the bombs dropped on Laos failed to
explode. The countryside of Laos is littered with bombs of all sizes
and types, from the tennis ball sized bomblets, or bombies as they
are called, right up to 3,000 pounders. By far the most common UXO
though is the innocent looking bombie. There is also the residue of
the many land battles that were fought.
The Lao people, many of
who are subsistence farmers, have had no choice but to adapt to living
with UXO, and have now for 30 years. It has taken its toll. A comprehensive
socio-economic survey conducted in 1996 revealed that over 11,000
people had been killed or injured by UXO since the war stopped in
1975. Many or these were women and children. UXO accidents continue
today.
Unlike Kosovo the bombing
of Laos was not high profile and because of this, and the closed nature
of the country, there were no efforts made to clean up the mess afterwards.
There was certainly no international support forthcoming until many
years later.
In 1994 the first efforts
to clean up the UXO were started in one of the most contaminated provinces
to the north of the country. This indirectly led to the establishment
of a National Organisation to manage the clearance of the UXO throughout
the country, and the establishment of a Trust Fund, managed by the
UNDP, as a conduit for international funding. This organisation is
the Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Programme, or UXO LAO as it is
commonly called.
Since its inception in
1996 UXO LAO has grown from a staff of three to a staff of 1100 clearance
and support personnel working in 9 of the 18 provinces of the country.
In a very short time UXO LAO has made significant achievements. Up
until April 2000 the Programme had cleared 1402 hectares of land freeing
it up to be used for agriculture and development projects, and destroyed
217,712 items of unexploded ordnance. This is just the start; realistically
the task will take many years to complete.
The NZ Government has supported
UXO LAO since June 1997 with two military officers seconded as Technical
Advisors to the National HQ. More recently the NZ Government has funded
the construction of a warehouse for the Programme. These contributions
are greatly appreciated however donor funding is always sought and
welcomed.
The Lao people go about
their lives in a quiet uncomplaining fashion as they have for centuries.
They have adapted to the difficulties of living with UXO. It is disconcerting
to see the disproportionate international effort given to Kosovo when
compared to when Laos was in a similar situation in 1975, it received
no support whatsoever. Laos still needs support today. It would be
good for your readers to know more about the history of this charming
but unfortunate country.
Yours faithfully,
Nigel Orr
Technical Advisor
UXO LAO
13 May 00
Nigel Orr says that if
anyone would like any more information, the National HQ in Vientiane
can be contacted by email at uxolao@pan-laos.net.la. or at:
Lao National UXO Programme,
C/O PO Box 345, Vientiane, LAO PDR
Landmine
Detection and Location Research
CALM Member Lawrence Carter
while on sabbatical leave is continuing his research into landmine
detection and locating techniques. He reports:
I've had a busy couple
of weeks: I attended the meeting in Ljubljana on NQR detection technology,
and then went on to Croatia, where I visited the metal detector test
site near Zadar, to which the JRC is contributing. I also took the
chance to visit a couple of real minefields, one in which only manual
demining is possible, and another in which machines are used. I had
a chance to try the Bofors 'Mine Guzzler': a monster, but apparently
very effective.
Kuala Lumpur Roundtable
3-7 June 2000
John Head, Spokesperson
for CALM, attended the Kuala Lumpur Roundtable Meeting and took a
major part in the panel on landmines. He reports as follows:
The Asia-Pacific Roundtable
is an annual conference held in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. It is organised
by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia
on behalf of the ASEAN-ISIS, and was sponsored by Canada's International
Development Agency and the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung. This year's
theme for the 14th Roundtable was "Confidence Building and Conflict
Resolution" and this year over 280 politicians, diplomats, academics
and representatives of NGOs attended.
A Panel on Landmines with
the title, "The Landmine Ban Treaty and Humanitarian Mine Action
in South East Asia, was one of twelve panel discussions open to participants.
The Panel was chaired by Simon Tay MP from Singapore and after his
opening remarks, John Head from the New Zealand Campaign Against Landmines
spoke on the history and importance of the MBT and the impact of the
Ottawa Process.
Sam Rainsy, former Minister
of Finance and leader of the Parliamentary Opposition in Cambodia
spoke of the humanitarian and economic impact of landmines on the
people of Cambodia and the development of demining programmes in Cambodia.
Patricia Pak Poy spoke
on the situation in SE Asia and the importance of achieving a mine
free region. She showed some excellent OHP transparencies of mines
and their impact.
Col BH Chip Bowness, Canadian
Forces Attache Seoul told how mines can be replaced, he gave further
information on the Mine Issue in Asia and how Regional Mine Action
Programming helps create Regional stability.
Copies of each speech can
be obtained from John V Head at john.head@xtra.co.nz. The speeches
were circulated to all participants.
There were was over 20
minutes for questions and comments and during this period there were
some very valuable comments from people like Dr Gopinath, a retired
Malaysian Air Force doctor who had been working with landmine victims,
and David Harries a retired Canadian Engineer who had been clearing
mines in Bosnia.
World-Wide
Progress to Ratification
The initial figure of 122 signatories has grown to 137. Seychelles
is the 95th State to Ratify and Rwanda is the 96th.
Encouraging reports have
been received from the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, Tuvalu
and Vanuatu where initial steps have been made on the path to ratification,
or for the one-step accession process for those States who have not
yet signed the Treaty.
LANDMINE MONITOR 2000
Researchers' Meeting in
The Netherlands
John Head attended the
meeting of Landmine Monitor Researchers recently in The Hague, Netherlands
from 15 to 17 May, on behalf of CALM. He comments as follows on the
meeting.
100 researchers from 83 countries representing the International Campaign
to Ban Landmines Landmine Monitor research network gathered in The
Netherlands for three days to participate in their final meeting to
prepare the second annual Landmine Monitor report: Landmine Monitor
Report 2000. This report is being prepared for release to the Second
Meeting of States Parties to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty this September.
The Netherlands meeting showed how the Landmine Monitor network of
in-country researchers is truly international in its composition and
therefore unique as the world's only global civil-society based monitoring
regime of a major multilateral treaty. 115 researchers from 85 countries
are providing research for this second report, a rapid expansion from
the network of 80 researchers from 50 countries that prepared the
Landmine Monitor Report 1999.
During The Netherlands
meeting, researchers submitted and discussed their final research
reports in small regional meetings. Discussions focused on key thematic
areas of research including ban policy, production, trade, use, stockpiling,
mine action, mine awareness and mine victim assistance. Brainstorming
on the release, distribution and advocacy of Landmine Monitor Report
2000 resulted in the Release and Distribution Plan.
New Zealand was represented
at the Conference by John V Head, CALM Spokesperson who presented
the reports on New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Singapore which
Neil Mander and he had written. Other New Zealanders present were
Mary Wareham, a former CALM Secretary and Convenor, who has done a
tremendous job master minding the whole project and Angela Woodward,
now living in London who presented a paper on the Role of the United
Nations in implementing the Treaty.
In June and July 2000,
research reports will undergo thorough fact-checking and editing as
they are combined for publication in Landmine Monitor Report 2000.
As with the first annual report, Landmine Monitor Report 2000 will
contain information on every country in the world with respect to
mine use, production, trade, stockpiling, humanitarian demining and
mine survivor assistance. The report goes to print in August 2000
and the report's Executive Summary will then be translated into at
least five languages including Arabic, French, Portuguese, Russian
and Spanish. Most researchers plan to work with their national campaigns
and NGOs to release and distribute their country report research in
their own language at the same time as the main annual report is released.
There is so much more that
can be reported but if you want further information about the Conference
or LM2000, please go to the website www.icbl.org/lm or contact John
Head.
The funding of this Conference
and the work of the LANDMINE MONITOR has come from Australia and seven
other countries. In many ways this was a very appropriate follow up
to the major Hague Peace Conferences in 1899 and 1999
Peace
and Security in the New Millennium
How can New Zealand contribute?
John Head, representing
CALM, was one of the speakers at the conference in Wellington on Monday
12 June. He provided this report.
The Abolition 2000 and
the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War held
an all day Conference on this subject at Parliament's General Legislative
Assembly on Monday June 12th. The day was hosted by the Hon Phil Goff
who opened proceedings.
The four themes for the
Conference were, A Foreign Policy for Peace, Laws to Enforce Peace,
A Defence Strategy for Peace and A Culture for Peace. CALM's Spokesperson
John Head was asked to present a paper on the Mine Ban Treaty in the
second session. The first two speakers in this session spoke of the
dominant and at times destructive influence of the United States in
the International Criminal Court and other international Treaties.
Before John gave his prepared paper he explained that the Mine Ban
Treaty was one international treaty where the influence of the United
States was rejected. His address covered the very significant role
of Civil Society in the development of the Treaty; the reasons why
the Ottawa Convention initially had to be established outside the
United Nations, the role of the International Campaign to Ban landmines
in influencing Non State Actors, freedom fighters etc to give up landmines,
as well as some of the legal issues involved in the Treaty. He explained
that although not all countries had signed the MBT, it has now become
a new international norm against the use of landmines.
During question time there
was a very direct question on the involvement of the United States
in international treaties. John explained that on the landmine issue
the United States had done more than any country financing landmine
clearing, support for landmine victims and in research and development
of better ways of quickly locating and destroying landmines. However,
when the precise wording of the Mine Ban Treaty was being finalised
in Oslo in September 1997, the United States Delegation came to the
Conference with nine proposed amendments which our Campaign feared
would "gut" the Treaty. After a lengthy debate none were
accepted and the United States Delegation withdrew, very diplomatically,
from the Conference.
CALM members wanting a
full copy of John Head's address or a full report on the whole Conference
should contact him. (See contact details in the box at the end of
this Newsletter.)
Address
by John Head to Peace and Security in the New Millennium
(Slightly abridged)
First I must thank the
organising Committee of the Abolition 2000/IPPNW Committee for including
in this panel a section on the Mine Ban Treaty. Because for those
of us who have been involved in the Campaign from the beginning we
see the legal process of establishing this new international law as
a very significant new initiative. This was affirmed by United Nations
Secretary General Kofi Annan when he spoke in Wellington on the 23rd
of February this year. He said. "I see a United Nations that
recognises that the NGO revolution -- the new people power -- is the
best thing that has happened to our organisation in a long time."
He then went on to say, "You have made your power felt in lobbying
successfully for the Ottawa Convention banning landmines ---."
New Zealand was one of
the first of the 122 nations to sign the Mine Ban Treaty in December
1997 and it was ratified by the necessary 40 countries in October
1998. Although a number of countries have yet to sign the Treaty,
the Mine Ban Treaty has established a new international norm against
the use of anti-personnel mines. Reluctant countries such as Russia,
China and the United States have all taken positive steps to bring
to an end the current global landmine crisis.
Of course not all people
in this world are bound by Treaties. Non State Actors, more commonly
called freedom fighters, anarchists and revolutionaries are not bound
by Treaties. One advantage of a strong NGO involvement is that the
ICBL has established a working group to work with these people. Neil
Mander, the current Convenor of CALM, has just returned from a workshop
with NSAs in Geneva.
In my few remaining minutes
may I comment on certain legal issues in the Treaty:
EXCEPTIONS. No country
has the right to sign the Treaty and impose their own exceptions.
The only exceptions permitt4ed are the retention of a limited number
of mines needed for training in mine detection and mine clearance.
It is significant that our Army refuses to use live mines for this
purpose.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE. Each State Party has the
right to seek and receive assistance to enable it to fulfil the conditions
of the Treaty.
TRANSPARENCY MEASURES. Each State Party shall render an Annual Report.
In addition State Parties have funded the Landmine Monitor which is
compiled by NGO Researchers on landmine use, etc, in every country
in the world. The first report covered 1100pages and we in New Zealand
were responsible for writing reports on Singapore, the Pacific Islands
as well as New Zealand.
REVIEW CONFERENCE is to be held five years after entry into force
of the Convention and subsequent Review Conferences shall be convened
by the Secretary General of the UN.
Annual Meetings of States Parties will be held to consider the application
or implementation of the Convention.
The main requirements for States Parties ratifying the Treaty is that
they will never under any circumstances use anti-personnel mines;
that all stocks of anti-personnel mines are to be destroyed in four
years; they will clear all landmines from their territory within ten
years and they will cooperate to give assistance to the victims of
landmines.
The United Nations Mine
Action Service has been established to provide the resources, expertise
and compassion for those countries that need financial and technical
support to implement the requirements of the Treaty. There is also
a lot of bi-lateral support being provided for countries in need and
a number of agencies in the UN are involved in Mine Action.
This Treaty is based on
humanitarian concern and now not only has the support of 144 countries
but is serving as a moral international norm for the whole world.
It is a tremendous step forward in international cooperation, but
returning to the terms of this Seminar, perhaps the Treaty is not
a Treaty to Enforce Peace but rather a Treaty to ENCOURAGE peace.
Pacific
Progress
At the end of March, UNICEF
arranged for ICBL people, including ICBL Ambassador Tun Channareth
to meet Pacific Parliamentary delegates at two conferences in Fiji.
Tun was able to meet and speak to delegates both in group sessions
and also individually. An immediate outcome was expressions of support
for the Mine Ban Treaty and its work.
We look forward to moves
being made by Pacific States to complete ratification of the Treaty
by existing signatories and for accession by those who have yet to
start the process.
Dresses
for Humanity
Michael Fowler Centre 26 June - 3 September
The Worlds of Wellington
Trust will be bringing to Wellington the internationally renowned
exhibition "Dresses for Humanity" from the People's Princess
Charitable Foundation of the USA. This collection presents 18 of the
dresses worn by the late Princess Diana which were auctioned for charity
at Christies just prior to her death. The exhibition will only travel
the world once and will only come to Wellington for a brief two-month
period.
Proceeds of this Exhibition
will go to charities which Princess Diana supported.
CALM has chosen this time
and event to introduce a new brochure providing information on landmines,
their effects, and steps being taken to overcome them.
