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Africa: Landmines Conference
Any links to other sites in this file from 1996 are not clickable,
given the difficulty in maintaining up-to-date links in old files.
However, we hope they may still provide leads for your research.
Africa: Landmines Conference
Date distributed (ymd): 961229
Document reposted by APIC
The Mozambican Campaign Against Landmines (CMCM), along with
the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and other
Southern African Landmines Campaigns, will host the Fourth
International NGO Conference on Landmines in Maputo,
Mozambique, from 25 to 28 February 1997.
Below is the official announcement of the conference, with
selected additional background information. For more details
contact:
4th International Landmines Conference, c/o Fundacao Para O
Desenvolvimento da Communidade (FDC), Avenida Eduardo
Mondlane, 1160-1170 R/C, Maputo, MOZAMBIQUE. tel. 258 1 430
430/1; fax 258 1 422 595; e-mail: [email protected].
In the US contact the US Campaign to Ban Landmines, Vietnam
Veterans of America Foundation, 20001 S St. NW, #740,
Washington, DC 20009; tel: 202-483-9222; fax: 202-483-9312; e-
mail: [email protected];
web: http://www.vvaf.org/landmine.html
***********************************************
Announcing the
4th International NGO Conference on Landmines:
Toward a Mine-Free Southern Africa
25-28 February 1997 Maputo, Mozambique
Toward a Mine-Free Southern Africa
On December 5, 1995, in a village in Maputo province,
Mozambique, several children were collecting scrap metal to
sell. Among the bits they found was a landmine. When the scrap
metal was weighed on a scale in the market, the landmine
exploded, killing eight children instantly. Three others died
later at the hospital. One injured boy saw two of his brothers
killed. This happened three years after the Peace Agreement
ended the civil war. Since then, in Maputo province alone, 98
people have stepped on landmines. 68 of them were children.
Every country in Southern Africa, except Lesotho and
Mauritius, has had people injured or killed by landmines. It
is estimated that more than 20 million landmines have been
laid in the region. They now wait, silently, for the footsteps
of a woman gathering firewood firewood or a child fetching
water. Landmines recognize no ceasefires. Long after a
conflict ends, landmines threaten villagers, render farmland
unusable, and disrupt transport and market systems.
Yet the world is no longer tolerating this carnage. The
International Campaign to Ban Landmines is calling for an
immediate ban on the use, manufacture, export and stockpiling
of antipersonnel (AP) landmines. In just four years, the
Campaign has grown into a coalition of more than 650
organizations working in more than three dozen countries. To
date, over 40 countries suppport the Campaign's goal of a ban
on AP landmines. Worldwide momentum is fueled by the pro-ban
government movement and the conference "Towards a Global Ban
on Anti-Peronnel Mines" hosted by the Canadian Government in
Ottawa 3-5 October.
Now is the time to turn words into action in Southern Africa.
President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique has expressed support
for a ban, as have the South African and Angolan governments.
The Fourth International NGO Conference in Southern Africa:
Towards a Mine-Free Southern Africa, hosted by the Mozambican
Campaign Against Landmines, aims to build on this increasing
worldwide momentum.
Of the 17 countries most severely plagued by landmines, seven
are in Africa. Three of these -- Angola, Mozambique and
Zimbabwe -- are in Southern Africa. At least two nations in
the region, South Africa and Zimbabwe, have produced
landmines. Angola has between 8 and 20 million mines in its
soil -- more than one for every one of its ten million people.
In Mozambique, about 1 million landmines remain. In the past
few years Southern Africa has moved away from war and
violence. Removing landmines now is key to ensuring peace and
development in te region. Banning AP landmines forever is the
only way to ensure long-term mine clearance, and that no more
landmines are ever planted on African soil.
Come and join us in Maputo. Or join the efforts in your
country to rid the earth of this scourge. Ban Landmines Now.
*************************************************************
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines will hold its next
conference in Maputo, hosted by the Mozambican Campaign
Against Landmines and supported by campaigns and organizations
throughout the region.
The 4-day conference will consist of speakers, panel
discussions, workshops, open papers as well as visits to
demining sites and training centers, prosthetics and
rehabilitation programmes. Topics will include:
- scale of the regional problem and socio-economic
consequences
- case studies of Mozambique and Angola
- effects of landmines on women, refugees, internally
displaced and returning populations
- mine awareness training techniques
- landmine survivors experience
- humanitarian demining and setting demining priorities
- 'double dipping': to end the practice of awarding
mine-producing companies humanitarian clearance contracts
- 'polluter pays' : steps towards accountability of producers
- strategies for advocacy and country campaigns: building on
the momentum from the Ottawa Conference
- regional iniatives via SADC and other channels to achieve a
Mine- Free Southern Africa as an international model
Landmines in Southern Africa:
Number of landmines: more than 20 million
Countries most affected: Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia,
Zimbabwe. Every country in the region except Lesotho and
Mauritius has had landmine incidents
Producers: South Africa, Zimbabwe and possibly Namibia
Types of mines: Over 62 types of mines from 17 countries,
including the former Eastern Bloc, the US, China, Italy,
Portugal, France, Sweden & South Africa
Number injured by landmines: in Angola, at least 70,000 people
out of a population of about 10 million
Number of victims: over 250,000 since 1961
Cost of a landmine: US$3 - $30
Cost to clear a landmine: US$300 - $1000
Cost to make a prostheses: US$52 - $5000
Approximate number of mines cleared: less than 400,000 since
1991
Every 20 minutes someone, somewhere in the world steps on a
landmine.
BAN LANDMINES NOW!
Date: 25-28 February, 1997
Location: Maputo, Mozambique
Cost: Registration fee of US$50 (lodging and meals not
included)
Hosted by: Mozambican Campaign Against Landmines
To register, or to obtain further information, please complete
and return this form:
Name:
Mailing Address:
Country:
Organization:
Telephone:
Fax:
Email:
* Some donated funds may be available to assist with
transportation costs. If you wish to apply, please send a
letter with this form indicating why you or your organization
should receive financial assistance.
** I would like to contribute $_______ to the above fund.
Checks can be made out to "Landmines Conference" and mailed to
the above address or wire transfers made to:
4th International NGO Conference on Landmines or "Landmines
Conference"
Acct. No. 834007
Banco Internacional de Mocambique
Av 24 de Julho, 771
Maputo, Mozambique
fax 258 1 42 93 84
Swift: BIMOMZMX
Ban em NOW!!
**************************************************************
Background Information
----------------------
1. SUMMARY
The global movement to ban antipersonnel landmines continues
to gain enormous momentum -- particularly over the past two
years. This momentum would not have occurred had it not been
for the coordinated work of the International Campaign to Ban
Landmines (ICBL), a coalition of more than 650 diverse
organizations in over three dozen countries. It was the work
of the ICBL that helped to spur the government pro-ban
movement, the most prominent expression of which was a
Canadian government sponsored conference held in Ottawa from
3 to 5 October 1996. This dynamic and historic conference set
a timetable for achieving a ban with the Canadian proposal to
host a treaty signing conference in December 1997. The ICBL's
4th International Conference, which will be held in Maputo,
Mozambique 25-28 February 1997, will build on the momentum of
Ottawa, serve as an impetus toward the signing of the ban
treaty, continue expansion of the ICBL into mine-affected
countries and strengthen campaigns throughout Africa.
ICBL staff has been in Southern Africa since mid-August 1996
to develop the NGO network throughout the region while
solidifying the interaction of the ICBL with NGOs in Southern
Africa, and ultimately throughout the continent. The presence
of the ICBL has already had a significant impact with the
creation of a national campaign in Zambia (see addendum); the
launch of the Zimbabwe campaign, which coincided with the
opening of the Ottawa conference (see addendum), and plans to
expand into Angola (see addendum).
The Mozambican Campaign Against Landmines will take a lead
role in organizing the conference, thereby strengthening the
campaign in the region, capacity building in lobbying and
organizing, and both regional and international networking.
Working groups have been established and preparation for the
conference has begun. There is also a regional steering
committee composed of representatives of the South African,
Zimbabwe, and Zambian campaigns as well as interested
organizations in Angola.
The Maputo Conference is seen as a key step in the dynamic
process which will lead to a ban. Tremendous impetus has been
gained as a result of the widespread recognition of the
minimal results of the two-year review process of the
Landmines Protocol of the Convention on Conventional Weapons
(CCW) and that a ban is the only solution. Not only is Maputo
the fourth in the series of international conferences
sponsored by the ICBL, but also because of increased
NGO-government cooperation as a result of the Ottawa
Conference it is anticipated that the Maputo conference will
be part of a series of regional meetings to foster the
creation of mine-free zones which will contribute to the
establishment of a global ban. The Maputo Conference is viewed
as a critical step in moving Southern Africa to become the
second mine-free zone in the world. This would build on the
momentum of the September 1996 announce-ment by Central
American presidents to renounce the use, production and trade
of AP mines.
At a crucial period for ensuring that a ban will happen soon
as a result of the Canadian initiative, the Maputo Conference
is vital to maintaining the momentum of the ICBL and the ban
movement. The Campaign expects concrete results from the
Conference at the international, regional and national
levels. Other goals are to continue to enhance NGO-government
cooperation that began during the review process and developed
significantly throughout the planning process leading to the
Ottawa Conference as we move toward the treaty signing
scheduled for December 1997.
2. RATIONALE
Africa is the most heavily mined continent in the world, yet
there has been little international attention devoted to the
region and to the urgent needs of demining, rehabilitation and
assistance for landmine survivors nor to the crucial
relationship between a global ban and mine clearance. Angola,
with an estimated 9-15 million mines and Mozambique, with
approximately one million mines planted in its soil, are two
of the most seriously affected nations in the world.
Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia also have substantial numbers of
mines. South Africa, which has been a major producer,
dominates the region and Zimbabwe has also produced landmines.
Both Angola and Mozambique now face monumental tasks of
rebuilding their nations and societies after years of
conflict. Development can only truly take place in peace and
stability, and in both countries, mine clearance is a vital
task for enabling the countries to rebuild and develop in any
substantial way. International and local NGOs as well as
international agencies and the growing number of pro-ban
governments are acutely aware of the importance of clearance
operations to coincide with political will and concrete action
towards a total ban. Without a global ban in place, mine
clearance and victim assistance programs will not be able to
keep pace with the problem. In this vein the ICBL will
continue its advocacy efforts nationally and internationally
to achieve a total ban on production, trade, stockpiling and
use of landmines, as well as increase assistance for demining,
rehabilitation and survivor assistance projects. The next
step, intended to galvanize efforts regionally as well as
globally, will be the 4th International NGO Conference on
Landmines.
The Mozambican Campaign Against Landmines, active since 1994,
will be the primary host of the conference. The South African
Campaign to Ban Landmines, formed in July 1995, will join the
recently formed campaigns in Zimbabwe and Zambia and NGOs in
Angola and other countries of the region and the International
Campaign to Ban Landmines to organize the 4th International
NGO Conference on Landmines: Toward a Mine-Free Southern
Africa.
As international momentum toward a ban on landmines continues
to grow, the conference will help strengthen existing
campaigns in the region and mobilize new ones; focus
international attention on these most seriously affected
nations; garner increased support for the urgent demining and
rehabilition needs of the region; encourage governments to
take national and regional steps, such as through the Southern
Africa Development Community (SADC), to ban the production,
use, trade and stockpiling of AP landmines; and enable
affected countries to exchange information and advocacy
strategies for the next phase in the campaign towards a global
ban on these cowards' weapons.
3. BACKGROUND
A. Phnom Penh Conference: The International Campaign to Ban
Landmines has gained enormous momentum in the past year. The
third International Campaign- sponsored conference, The Human
and Socio-Economic Impact of Landmines: Towards an
International Ban, was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in June
1995. The Conference was the first such international
conference held by NGOs in a heavily affected country. It was
attended by 400 delegates from 40 countries, and did indeed
galvanize support and momentum for the Campaign both in the
Asian region as well as worldwide. As a result of the
conference, campaigns in other Asian countries were launched,
the Cambodia Campaign was strengthened, the Cambodian
government called for a ban and drafted national legislation
toward that end, and a few months later the Philippine
government became the first ASEAN country to unilaterally ban
AP mines and destroy stocks.
B. CCW Review Process: The Campaign played an important role
in the two-year review process of the the 1980 UN Convention
on Conventional Weapons (which would not have been convened
had it not been for the pressure exerted by the French
campaign). The Campaign always viewed the CCW review as but
one step on the way to a ban-- not as an end in itself, but as
an opportunity for promoting the Campaign's agenda. With the
intense international focus on landmines during the review
process, significant steps were take by some states to move
effectively toward a ban. The momentum of the Campaign to Ban
Landmines continued to grow in this period -- so much so that
the movement to ban AP mines has overtaken the CCW approach to
controlling the weapon. At the beginning of the first
session of the review conference, in Vienna in September
1995, only 14 nations had pledged support for an immediate
ban. That number has now grown to nearly 50.
C. Ottawa Conference: It was also during the review conference
that the pro-ban governments first began to meet. The ICBL
convened the first such meeting during the January 1996 review
session. It was then that the Canadian government announced an
indefinite moratorium on the use and production of APMs and
began to take an important leadership role among pro-ban
governments. Working with the Quaker office in Geneva, the
ICBL and the Canadian government called for two additional
pro-ban meetings during the final session of the review
conference. At those meetings the broad outlines of a
Canadian initiative to galvanize the pro-ban movement in a
meeting of states and ICBL members in Canada in the autumn of
1996 was presented.
In preparing for the Ottawa Conference, held from 3 to 5
October 1996, the Canadian government stated that the
purpose of the conference was "to catalyze practical efforts
to move toward a ban and create partnerships between states,
international organizations and agencies and non-governmental
organizations essential to building the necessary political
will to achieve a global ban on AP mines." And indeed it did.
At the conference 70 governments, numerous NGOs, the ICRC and
UN agencies adopted a Declaration and the Conference Chairman
put forward an "Agenda for Action" outlining concrete global,
regional and national activities "to be undertaken by the
international community - on an immediate and urgent basis -
to build upon the Ottawa Declaration and to move this process
ahead...to achieve a rapid global ban on AP mines." The
Canadian government concluded the conference by inviting
governments to return to Ottawa in December 1997 to sign a
treaty banning AP landmines. The Campaign considers the
Ottawa Conference to be the most significant event in the
movement to ban landmines. It has clearly accelerated the
process and identified a target date to work toward in banning
landmines.
Although the ICBL had already begun plans for its 4th
International Conference to be held in Africa, the Ottawa
Conference viewed that conference as a key element in the
Ottawa Agenda for Action. Thus, the ICBL's 4th international
conference on landmines: Toward a Mine-Free Southern Africa
will be an important forum to follow up on initiatives
launched in Ottawa. For example, one of the objectives of the
Ottawa Conference was to focus on regional groupings and
initiatives. The conference in Southern Africa will help
identify ways to encourage SADC members to take concrete
national and regional steps towards a mine-free Southern
Africa. In Ottawa, representatives of African governments and
the OAU suggested strategy sessions at the Maputo conference
on how to implement the OAU resolutions calling for
Africa-wide bans. The establishment of a Southern Africa
mine-free zone is viewed as an important step after the recent
announcement by Central American presidents, renoucing use,
production and trade of APMs, thus effectively creating the
first mine-free zone in the world.
************************************************************
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the
Africa Policy Information Center (APIC), the educational
affiliate of the Washington Office on Africa. APIC's primary
objective is to widen the policy debate in the United States
around African issues and the U.S. role in Africa, by
concentrating on providing accessible policy-relevant
information and analysis usable by a wide range of groups and
individuals.
************************************************************
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