FEATURE"Landmines and cluster bombs in Afghanistan," November 7, 2005.

Yesterday, Sunday, November 6, was the last day of Landmine Awareness Week. Maybe you missed it, too.

No one talks much about landmines any more.

The campaign to ban landmines was one of the most successful grassroots, non-governmental, civil society movements in history. High-profile NGOs like the Red Cross leant their voices to the call.

Princess Diana campaigned for the ban on landmines.

In October of 1996, Lloyd Axworthy spearheaded a conference in Ottawa which brought together 50 like-minded governments along with 24 observer states and dozens of non-governmental organizations, UN agencies and other international organizations in cooperation with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

The Ottawa Conference laid the groundwork for the Treaty which became binding international law on March 1st, 1999

Axworthy was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize because of his leadership on the landmine issue.

In November 2000 he received the First Annual Canadian Peace Award, and currently, Axworthy is Honourary Chairman of the Canadian Landmine Foundation.

The Canadian Landmine Foundation is a managing partner in the global Adopt-a-Minefield campaign. The internal operating costs of the Foundation are deliberately kept low and are funded by non-government benefactors. Enhanced outreach initiatives are funded by monthly donors. Campaign donations are not used for operating purposes; 100% of campaign donations are used to fund mine action projects.

Just a month after Axworthy received the Canadian Peace Award, CBC Radio threw a Concert for a Landmine Free World. Everyone, it seems, has done their bit and now the international treaty defines what banning landmines is all about.
Or does it?

Trade in landmines has gone from 43 countries in 1995 to 0 today. Producers have dropped from 54 to 12, only 2 of which produced last year. 62 million landmines in stockpile have been destroyed.

According to Megan Burke, programme manager for Adopt-A-Minefield in the US, "Fewer mines are being laid than are being taken out of the ground, and the number of new victims is on the decline.... [She says,] 'With fewer victims, it is now possible to address the more indirect ways that landmines kill and terrorise - through food insecurity, unemployment, and so on. Once mines are removed from agricultural land, countries that now must rely on handouts can grow their own food and support their own populations'" (Nelson When peace Nov 2 05).

"Irena Kuszta of the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) told OneWorld UK. quote “People tend not to notice the way these weapons keep communities in poverty, keep them from digging their land, growing food, sending their children to school.

“If landmines surround broken power lines or water wells, a village might be without power or clean water" endquote (OneWorld).

But last December, Julia Taft of the UN Development Program warned the Nairobi Summit on a Mine Free World that "Heavily land-mined countries like Afghanistan and Angola will *never fully develop* without the removal of these lethal weapons."

Despite being the world's second largest recipient of Official Devlopment Assistance, Afghanistan is still one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.

Men, women and children live in fear of the footpaths and fields around them. Refugees and displaced people are afraid to return to their homes.

Some 8,000 deminers from 15 organizations work to detect, remove, and destroy land mines in Afghanistan alone. In the last decade, some 500 deminers have been killed or injured there by land mines. But that's not the half of it.

Shohab Hakimi, chairman of the Afghan Campaign to Ban Land Mines and the director of the Mine Detection and Dog Center, says that in 2004, the rate at which Afghans were killed or disabled in mine explosions declined to about 100 per month, and those were just the registered cases. (RFE/RL)

A recent study of reported landmine casualties by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Afghanistan showed that 91.9% were civilians. More than 50 percent were children. (Cited in AAM Country report)

"Due to a lack of transportation and poor roads, it is believed that almost 50 percent of mine victims die before reaching a medical facility. Most of these cases go unreported" (AAM Country report).

According to the World Health Organization, 65 percent of Afghans have no access to health facilities. (AAM Country report)

[Afghanistan is not the only place where landmines are still a problem.]

According to the Landmine Monitor Report 2004 by Human Rights Watch, (New York, November 2004) a total of 83 countries and territories are affected by the presence of mines. The UN has established programmes in more than 30 of these, starting with Afghanistan in 1989 and Cambodia in 1992. Mines impact the lives of significant numbers of people in about 40 countries. (ICBL)

Meghan Burke says Colombia is now second only to Afghanistan in the number of mine incidents per year.

Adopt A Minefield is launching a programme for Colombia on the 15th of this month. Although circumstances do not allow clearance yet, public education can help prevent accidents and existing landmine survivors can be helped.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines could rightly claim success if it wanted to. But much remains to be done, both at the grassroots level and at the level of international law.

Cluster bombs and other unexploded munitions, known as explosive remnants of war (ERW) are rarely mentioned in news reports about landmines even though they continue to kill long after the fighting has stopped.

Unlike landmines, there is currently no provision in international law that directly addresses the problem of cluster munitions and the devastating effect they have on communities.

In particular, the 1997 landmine treaty does not address them.

Recognizing this, Mines Action Canada, Human Rights Watch, the Mennonite Central Committee, and NGOs from Russia, Egypt, the Netherlands, Ireland, Nepal, the UK and Austria met in the Hague two years ago next Sunday to form the Cluster Munitions Coalition. That coalition calls for a ban on production and use of cluster bombs, for increased resources to affected communities, and for "Users of cluster munitions and other munitions that become Explosive Remnants of War [to] accept special responsibility for clearance, warnings, risk education, provision of information and victim assistance" (CMC http://www.minesactioncanada.org/clusters/index.cfm?fuseaction=CMC).

The UN estimates that the United States left approximately 25,000 unexploded cluster bomblet units at 103 sites in Afghanistan. Physicians for Human Rights has said that cluster bomblets caused high rates of civilian casualties in Kosovo in 1999. (Nov 2 05)

Furthermore, not all States Parties to the treaty agree that antivehicle mines with anti-handling devices--that is, with sensitive fuses that explode from innocent contact are included in the definition of antipersonnel mines.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines argues that negotiators of the treaty meant to prohibit these devices too. But in the absence of specific treaty language, antivehicle mines with anti-handling devices continue to be controversial and to require clarification.

The most recent country to ratify the Landmines Treaty was Vanuatu on September 16, 2005.

States not party to the Treaty include Myanmar where the army and half the 30 rebel groups in the country still actively deploy landmines, China with the largest stockpile of landmines in the world, Cuba where we might have hoped for better, and Egypt too, and Finland, India, Israel, North *and* South Korea, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Singapore, and of course, the United States.

"The United States will decide in December 2005 whether it will begin the production of a new antipersonnel mine called Spider" (HRW Aug 3 05).

So the struggle goes on. No victory, however golden, is ever complete or final.

For human beings all change begins with awareness. Megan Burke points out that the Boxing Day tsunami and the earthquake in Kashmir reminded us that landmines remain a burning issue because they hamper relief efforts.

Landmine Awareness Week was launched at the Frontline Club in London last Monday with a screening of Disarm, which features harrowing footage smuggled out of Myanmar, scenes from Colombia and Iraq, never-before-seen helmet camera footage shot by Afghan and Bosnian deminers, and unprecedented access into warehouses stockpiling millions of Soviet-made mines.

On Tuesday, the Death Valley challenge began. A team of cyclists led by Stuart Hughes, a BBC journalist who lost his leg in a landmine explosion in Iraq two years ago, will ride across one of the most extreme environments on the planet, a fundraiser to help clear “the real death valleys - those areas across the world blighted by landmines.”

Other activities included collections at the week’s gigs by the band Athlete and a bonfire campaign to stop children getting injured by fireworks. Did you miss it?

It's not too late. You can still plan something for Ottawa Treaty Day December 3, 2005

http://www.canadianlandmine.org/OttawaTreatyDay.cfm

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FEATURE"Every little bit: landmines in Afghanistan," October 17, 2005.

In times of great catastrophes, it's hard to keep your balance. This weekend, I was writing about the ongoing impact of landmines and unexploded remnants of the many wars in Afghanistan when I came across a fresh headline declaring that the WHO believes that the South Asian earthquake disaster is worse than the Boxing Day tsunami.

Already, I had been struggling with the manifold disasters within Afghanistan itself--confirmation of electoral fraud at some 300 polling stations during the violent parliamentary elections in September when 19 polling stations had been attacked and a dozen people killed; the rocket attack on two British Harrier jets at an airfield in southern Afghanistan, just one of several recent examples of rising violence by Taliban insurgents in Kandahar and its adjacent regions; the arrest of British and American nationals suspected of smuggling arms into Afghanistan.

It was a busy week for a country where 65% of the people already have no access to health care, where the fate of people held at undisclosed locations continues to trouble the Red Cross, and where literally millions are either refugees or homeless and internally displaced waiting for winter. More than once, I had stopped and changed my mind about what to focus on.

Hussain A Gezairy is WHO’s regional director in Pakistan. He spoke to journalists on Thursday at the emergency health centre set up in the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.

“The fact only helicopters can reach so many mountain areas and that the affected areas are so remote, makes it extremely difficult to even gauge the full-scale of the damage and determine what needs to be done first,” Gezairy explained.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland detailed the severe traffic problems on roads leading to quake-hit areas. “It’s a total disaster,” he said. “What is urgently needed cannot get there because roads are clogged, while [unnecessary] items pile up all across Muzaffarabad. The whole of Muzaffarabad and the roads leading to it are choked and this signals disaster in itself.”

“The number of helicopters operational at present needs to be tripled,” Egeland said. “If we don’t work together and organise our efforts we may have a still greater calamity on our hands,” he warned.

More helicopters would be needed as winter conditions led to the closure of roads, Egeland said. Only 30 percent of about 900 outlying villages are currently accessible by road.

Pakistan authorities on Friday sent squads of police to help manage traffic on roads.

President Musharraf has agreed to expedite international relief procedures. Visa restrictions for relief workers have been waived for up to three months and custom checks on aid consignments withdrawn to hasten delivery.

Egeland also called for relief efforts to be prioritised, so communities that had not yet been reached could receive immediate relief. “This is obviously no easy thing,” he said, noting that more than a million people still needed shelter.

On Saturday, Keith Ursel, head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) operation in Muzaffarabad, estimated that only about half of those in dire need of food aid had been reached. “But that’s a really rough estimate,” he said.

WHO reported on Saturday that survivors continued to struggle because of the lack of adequate shelter and safe water. Cold weather and insufficient emergency care in remote areas added to the suffering. “The number of injured survivors in need of trauma care and surgery seems to be very high,” the report said.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Pakistan, Jan J Vandemoortele, also appealed for greater efficiency. “One disaster has taken place. We must prevent another by coordinating our work,” he said.


Sooner or later it all catches up with you. You remember that there are floods and mudslides in Guatemala too and more floods in El Salvador and Costa Rica, famines in Niger, Mali, Ethiopia and Malawi.

In spite of the flood of information and need and the more or less inevitable feeling that you are swamped and can't do anything at all, every little bit really does help.

The Canadian Landmine Foundation is a managing partner in the global Adopt-a-Minefield campaign. Over the years since Lloyd Axworthy first introduced the organization in 1999, one of their projects the Night of a Thousand Dinners has contributed over $4 million to mine action through events held in over 50 countries. Brendan Kennedy tells this story about his own experience with the event as follows quote.

I'm a 20-year-old university student with little or no marketable skills, living at home with my parents and brothers in suburban Toronto. My bank account frequently shows less numbers before the decimal than after, and I'm already saddled with a 5-figure debt. Still, I was able to significantly improve the lives of three children on the other side of the world.

I had heard about the "Night of a Thousand Dinners" through my older brother and his girlfriend. It seemed like a lot of fun and also a relatively easy way to raise some money for a worthy cause. So, my girlfriend, Colette, and I decided to give it a try.

Admittedly, we were very excited about the possibilities for our fundraising dinner party and perhaps had unreasonably high expectations. We imagined ourselves serving hors d'oevres as we mingled with our throngs of guests, who laughed gaily at our lovable charm and unmatched wit. We figured everyone we invited would attend and it would be the social event of the year. However, as is often the case, "The best laid plans of mice and men…"

Colette and I cooked and created a delicious array of salads, rice, pasta, homemade pizza, and we even tried our hands at an exotic foreign dessert. We splurged on some tasty finger foods from a local grocery store, but everything else we made on our own. The preparation was a lot of fun, and when we were beginning to panic as the clock ticked away, two of my friends showed up early and helped us finish everything before the scheduled party time.

We cleaned the house, prepared the food, readied the sound system, set up our donation jar, displayed our landmine information, and waited … and waited … and waited. After an hour, it was still only Colette, myself, and my two close friends who had helped us make the food. We were getting hungry and decided to dig in ourselves. By the end of the night, only a few more of my closest friends and a couple of my brothers showed up. The extravagant dinner party of my dreams turned out to be a gathering of the same friends that hang around my house and eat my food on a daily basis.

When planning the dinner, I dreamed up this triumphant moment when I would stand on a chair and command the attention of all my guests. Everyone would gather around as I counted the hundreds of dollars we had raised. My dream possessed all the glory and enthusiasm of a PBS pledge drive (You know when they all look up at the giant scoreboard thingy that shows all the money they made, and then they count down the seconds until the final tally is announced, with the drum rolls and everything?)

Instead, when 11:00pm rolled around, and I decided to count the contents of our donation jar, it was rather uneventful. I must confess that I was feeling pretty bummed at this point and I wasn't particularly looking forward to counting the money. The total funds raised at the end of the night were a little more than $60 (including the $20 my Mother had contributed and the $10 I tossed in). I was disappointed with the amount, and I considered the night a failure.

One of my brothers then noticed the "Adopt-a-Minefield" informational video that I had neglected to play. So, my friends and I watched it together; paying the images on screen sporadic attention as we chatted with each other. Every once and a while we would perk up at a particularly graphic image or captivating fact, tune in for a moment, and then return to our conversations. "A prosthetic limb for a child in Vietnam costs only $20 Canadian," proclaimed the video's invisible narrator. The statement halted all conversation in the room. My brother asked me to rewind the tape. We heard the words and figures once again. "Hey Brendan," my brother began, "you said we raised $60, right?" "Yeah, $63 I think." "Well, I believe we just paid for three new limbs for kids in Vietnam." My mood changed instantly.

There are lots of times in our lives when we are told that every little bit counts. Rarely, however, are we actually confronted with the notion that our nickels and dimes actually make a difference. Well, they do.

Far too often, we focus on what we are incapable of doing, so we refrain from acting, and therefore protect ourselves from failure. The fact of the matter is that our actions, however small, can make a significant difference in the world. By hosting a small gathering for the Night of a Thousand Dinners, my friends and I were able to improve the lives of people we will never meet. That's power.

Our actions may have been small, but the results were far greater.

In the end, we may have only raised about $60, which isn't going to eliminate all the world's landmines or repair any of its problems. However, there is one thing I know for sure; those kids in Vietnam must be smiling … and that's more than enough for me.

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