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Africa: Landmines Call for Action
Africa: Landmines Call for Action
Date distributed (ymd): 971113
Document reposted by WOA
+++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
Region: Continent-Wide
Issue Areas: +security/peace+ +US policy focus+
Summary Contents:
This posting contains two press releases by the Mozambican Campaign Against Landmines. The first release calls on
members of the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA) to sign the international treaty to ban landmines. The second document
contains information about the actions of the African Campaigns prior to October 6, 1997, and the results of those actions.
+++++++++++++++++end profile++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Press Release from Mozambique
31 October 1997
Mozambican Campaign Against Landmines calls on Global Coalition for Africa to Forge a Mine-Free Africa
On the eve of the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA) Meeting which will take place in Maputo, Mozambique 31 October - 2
November the Mozambican Campaign Against Landmines (CMCM) calls on members of the Coalition to commit to signing
the international treaty banning the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of anti-personnel landmines in December in
Ottawa, Canada. The conference opens one day after South Africa destroyed the last of its stockpiles. CMCM welcomes
this concrete step, a complement to South Africa's leadership in negotiating the treaty. CMCM calls on other African
countries to follow suit.
"We urge the Global Coalition for Africa to support the treaty, to issue a declaration in support of it, and send a clear
message that development for Africa, the most heavily mined continent in the world, includes a mine-free Africa: banning
the weapon, ratifying the treaty, destroying stocks and committing funds for humanitarian mine clearance and victim
assistance," said Julio Mapote, Coordinator of CMCM. "Many African governments, whom are represented here in Maputo
this week, have already pledged to sign the treaty. We now call on them to urge all of their partners here in the Global
Coalition for Africa to do so as well," said Mapote.
Those African governments represented here in Maputo at the Global Coalition which have already committed themselves
to signing the ban treaty in Ottawa are: Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo (Brazzaville),
Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Mali,
Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
The US remains opposed to the treaty, as does Finland, while most of the Northern partners of the Global Coalition have
indeed committed to signing the treaty. Japan also recently announced its intention to sign. "We call on the United States and
Finland to support the treaty immediately. As funders of demining programmes in Africa, particularly in Mozambique and
Angola, they should not only continue to help us remove these killers from African soil but also engage in prevention, not
just treatment," noted Mapote.
African governments participating in the Global Coalition which signed the Brussels declaration, indicating likelihood of
signing the treaty include: Benin, Chad, Malawi and Rwanda. Those GCA partners who have not yet committed to signing
the ban treaty are: Central African Republic and Tunisia.
Africa is littered with nearly 50 million landmines in countries including Angola, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Mines strewn throughout Southern Africa include 64 types, which
came from over 20 countries. South Africa, Zimbabwe and Uganda have permanently halted production, while Egypt is the
sole remaining producer on the continent. Angola has perhaps 10 million landmines in its soil, roughly one landmine for
every Angolan, and there are about 70 000 amputees in the country, of whom 8 000 are children. Here in Mozambique, at
least 8 000 Mozambicans have lost their lives to landmines and hundreds of thousands more remain in the ground.
Throughout the continent, land-hungry farmers are denied access to arable land due to landmines. They hinder social and
economic development, cause social dislocation, obstruct control of cross border diseases and destroy the environment.
Many African countries are responding to this humanitarian crisis. Mapote commented, "We are proud of those African
governments who have taken a leadership role. Indeed we hope a unified Africa will sign this treaty. We urge the
recalcitrant states to immediately join the majority of African countries and over 100 countries worldwide committed to
banning this indiscriminate weapon. And we urge all African governments to be among the first 40 countries to ratify the
treaty and to increase funds for demining and victim assistance to forge a mine-free Africa."
For further information please contact: Julio Mapote (CMCM) Tel: +258 1 430 430/1 Fax: +258 1 422 595 Email:
[email protected]
Ban em NOW!!
Earlier Actions by African Campaigns
October 6, 1997
Africa Day of Action Against Landmines:
Call to African Governments to Advance on Ottawa: Be the first to Ratify the Mine Ban Treaty!
Call to USA: Sign the Ban Treaty!
Today, October 6, was declared Africa Day of Action Against Landmines by the continent's 10 campaigns -- a day which
activists will mark with a flurry of correspondence, congratulations and pleas to African governments to continue their
leadership in the ban movement and to become the first to ratify the international ban treaty. Campaigners also urged
governments to work to bring it into force before the year 2000, increase demining efforts and release funds for victim
assistance.
Graca Machel, in a letter to African leaders on behalf of African Campaigns noted "It was a day for all of us to feel proud to
be African. For as the most heavily mined continent in the world, we have felt an acute responsibility to help rid our
continent, and the world, of these weapons and ensure that our governments take a leadership role in this campaign. And our
words have not rung hollow... We are proud of the impressive participation of numerous African governments in Oslo who
spoke up strongly, individually as well as a unified region, and were instrumental in securing a clear, simple treaty truly
banning AP mines. We are proud that we can say that the plea made in South Africa by Archbishop Tutu that Africa help
give the world the gift of a total ban on landmines has been heard throughout the continent, and indeed world."
African governments consistently defended the integrity and spirit of the ban treaty text by preventing attempts by the USA to
gut the treaty. The US demanded exceptions for ongoing use of AP mines on the Korean peninsula, a permanent exception for
use of its mixed systems and a lengthy delay of entry into force. African governments were exemplary in their consistent
resistance to US pressure. In addition, the conference was skillfully chaired by South African J.S. Selebi.
Separate letters were also sent to the Foreign Ministers of African governments by the South African Campaign to Ban
Landmines, the Mozambican Campaign to Ban Landmines and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines via embassies
in Washington DC. Those African governments which participated in the Oslo Conference and adopted the ban treaty are:
Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya,
Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania,
Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Campaigns also sent letters to African governments NOT present in Oslo, including the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Egypt, Eritrea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, urging them to give up this indiscriminate weapon and "become part of
the 100 or so countries who negotiated the ban treaty and who are now prepared to sign the treaty in December in Ottawa."
Activists are also calling on those African governments which are members of the Commonwealth to maintain their
leadership and unified action by urging those partners to sign the treaty during the upcoming meeting of heads of state in
Edinburgh 24- 26 October.
Today African activists are also calling on the United States to sign the ban treaty in Ottawa. In Mozambique, where 200
people held a demonstration in front of the US embassy in Maputo on 9 September, campaign members will hold a follow
up meeting with embassy staff on 6 October. "Given the destructive role of the US in Oslo, we in Mozambique would like to
ask why they fund demining programmes in our country but refuse to give up this weapon. We will tell them that they are
mistaken in thinking that the absence from this treaty of the US, China and Russia is more important than the participation of
100 countries. They have only one choice, and that is to get on board," said Julio Mapote, coordinator of the Mozambican
Campaign to Ban Landmines.
Yet as a symbol emphasising the next step of the work remaining to be done at home to eliminate landmines, today the
Mozambican Campaign will also hold a meeting with the National Demining Commission of Mozambique to discuss the
progress and future priorities for demining in Mozambique.
In other actions by African Campaigns, petitions will be presented to the government of Mauritius by the Mauritius Ban
Landmines Group and the Zambian Campaign to Ban Landmines will also issue letters to government leaders and the United
States Embassy.
##
For further information, contact: Sue Wixley, South African Campaign to Ban Landmines: tel. 27 11 339 2560/81; fax 27 11
339 2740; email [email protected] Julio Mapote, Mozambican Campaign to Ban Landmines tel: 258 1 430 430/1; fax
258 1 422 595 email: [email protected] Muleya Mwananyanda, Zambian Campaign to Ban Landmines: tel. 260 1 226
544 fax: 260 1 238 911 email: [email protected] Mereso Agina, Kenya Coalition Against Landmines: tel 254 2 222 095
fax: 254 2 225 390 email: [email protected]
Ban em NOW!!
For information on actions being taken in the United States please contact:
US Campaign to Ban Landmines,
2001 S Street,NW Suite 740,
Washington, DC 20009
Ph +202-483-9222 Fax +202-483-9312
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
http://www.vvaf.org/htdocs/landmine/us/can_do/index.html
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the Washington Office on Africa (WOA), a not-for-profit church,
trade union and civil rights group supported organization that works with Congress on Africa-related legislation. WOA's
educational affiliate is the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC).
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