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Laying Landmines to Rest?
IRIN Web Special on Humanitarian Mine Action
(with special focus on the 2004 Nairobi Summit of a Mine Free World)
The Nairobi summit: keeping up the pressure
Ten-year-old Andrevski survived the war in Kosovo but was blown up by a landmine 10 days after the peace agreement was signed. He was playing on a hillside with friends when he activated an anti-personnel mine. Both legs had to be amputated, one above the knee and the other below.
Credit: MAG/Sean Sutton
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A star-studded line-up of senior world diplomats and leaders, with hundreds of United Nations and civil society representatives are expected to meet in Nairobi from 29 November to 3 December 2004 for the First Review Conference of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on their Destruction.
This historic disarmament instrument of international law is also known as the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) and came into force in March 1999. The Nairobi summit, hosted by the Kenyan government, is taking place five years after this date as required under Article 12 of the MBT and will be convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan.
Ambassador-designate for the summit, Austrian Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch will preside over the high-level discussion aimed at adopting an action plan for the next five years. The plan is intended to show continued commitment for a mine-free world by the signatories of the treaty.
"There is of course always a danger that meetings at this level can become diplomatic talk-shops, but not in this case," Petritsch said while outlining to IRIN the 70 specific points of a plan for signatories to adopt during the conference. "We expect a very substantive action plan will result from this conference," he said.
The Mines Ban Treaty is the extraordinary culmination of five short years of intense global campaigning by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). The treaty was first opened for signature in December 1997 and after the pre-requisite number of countries joined (40), it came into force in 1999.
The world gave the campaign, along with key activists, the highest tribute by awarding the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, but the movement did not slow down and rest on its laurels. The ICBL has kept the landmines issue and treaty obligations high on the international agenda. It says that without universal compliance and the commitment of signatories in meeting their obligations, the treaty would become meaningless. Through continued pressure on governments and the monitoring of progress, the ICBL has played a major role in ensuring the MBT has been effective.
Unless all efforts are re-doubled communities will have to live with mines for many more years. In N.Irqa a group of women walk only on tarmac roads.
Credit: ICRC
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The need to maintain pressure is crucial because the MBT is not just about banning landmines but it also specifically addresses the global needs in assisting mine victims, the clearing of all landmines and the destruction of stockpiled unused mines held by signatory countries. It is also about "universalising" the treaty and encouraging every country to get on board.
"Interestingly the control the civil society has exerted through this partnership has been more effective than any coercive approach," Petritsch told IRIN. He also detailed how this treaty signals "a new kind of diplomacy; public diplomacy represented through this private/public partnership."
The ICBL has been closely involved in the preparatory meetings for the Nairobi Summit and have high expectations of the outcome. Nevertheless, in a statement issued in late August 2004 they outlined concern that the current action plan "lacks concrete, time bound actions linked to the various points raised."
Sue Wixley, spokeswoman for the ICBL, told IRIN they were worried that some countries were watering down their commitment to the treaty. "As soon as people stop thinking about their obligations then we are in trouble," she said.
For the ICBL, the Nairobi Summit is an important venue to persuade non-member states to join the treaty. "We want new countries to join," said Wixley. "Overall the conference is a rallying point for new countries to join and a planning conference for the next five years where states party to the treaty ensure they deliver promises."
According to Ambassador Petritsch, signatories were keen to have the review conference in a region of the world affected by mines and consequently Kenya was selected. A number of countries in Europe and the Americas hoped to host this prestigious meeting. Despite the notoriety of individual countries such as Afghanistan and Cambodia, "Africa is, as a region, the most mine-infested region globally," Petritsch told IRIN.
Will Nairobi make concrete steps towards a world free of mines and relief for those still living with the impact of mines?
Credit: MAG/Sean Sutton
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While hosted by the Kenyan government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the summit has been organised by both the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian De-mining and the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS). Royalty, heads of state, senior diplomats, numerous UN and civil society staff will ensure the summit will gain wide media exposure. The Pope is expected to send a message to the participants through video link-up.
Martin Barber, chief of UNMAS, said this historic summit would be "like a vitamin-boost, a re-launch of energy for the next five years." He said he was fully optimistic that landmines had already been relegated to the "dustbin of history." The ICBL are more cautious about this claim, realising much needs to be done still to assist the victims of landmines and ensure mine clearance gets all the political and financial support it needs.
"The summit will be a success if it produces a bold, practical action plan, plus financial pledges and political commitments to make this happen," said ICBL coordinator Liz Bernstein in a recent statement. "With our goal of a mine-free world now within reach, states needs to show some staying power!" she added.
Some Summit highlights:
28 Nov: Summit opening by President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya.
29 Nov: Opening address by Jody Williams, joint 1997 Nobel Peace Prize winner with the ICBL.
1 Dec: Nobel laureate panel discussion, including the 2003 Iranian winner, Shirin Ebadi.
2 & 3 Dec: addresses by heads of state, cabinet ministers and other dignitaries with closing ceremony led by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
For more details of the summit, its agenda and objectives and how to attend please visit the following links:
- Nairobi Summit Official Site
- International Campaign to Ban Landmines: Nairobi Summit
Key Draft Documents to be discussed at the Nairobi Summit:
Draft review of the operation and the status of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction: 1999-2004.
Ending the Suffering Caused by Anti-Personnel Mines: Draft Nairobi Action Plan 2005-2009.
Towards a Mine-Free World: The 2004 Nairobi Declaration.
Draft programme of meetings and related matters to facilitate implementation, 2005-2009.
Preparatory Meetings:
Second Preparatory Meeting held 28-29 June in Geneva.
Related Documents.
First Preparatory Meeting held 13 February in Geneva.
Related Documents.
[ENDS]
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