15.09.2011

The most successful civil society initiative in the world

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines was founded in 1991 by medico international in cooperation with the Vietnam Veterans of War Foundation. In 1997 the International Campaign to Ban Landmines was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The idea developed into a movement for a global ban. Without global support, the campaign would never have become so significant. The ‘most successful civil society initiative in the world’ (as Kofi Annan, then UN Secretary-General, then called it) succeeded in forcing the military in many countries of the world to ban these weapons. The Ottawa Treaty came into force in 1999, banning the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of anti-personnel mines as well as stipulating that financial resources be provided for mine clearance and mine victim assistance programmes. Finally, for the first time, the number of mines being cleared is exceeding the number of new mines being laid..

There are many reasons for the success of the campaign. One of the most important is that the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) succeeded in building up an independent ‘international public’ that enabled it to turn a military issue into a public one. At its height the ICBL consisted of a global network of more than 60 national campaigns.

Much has changed since the landmine campaign started back in 1991. The number of people killed or maimed by mines has been drastically reduced. That large areas around the world are now being cleared of mines is also due to a network of institutions set up since then to ensure the implementation of the Ottawa Treaty in all countries. The pressure brought to bear by the ICBL in the last two decades has not just lead to the establishment of a new international standard, a ban on landmines under international law, but to an institutional structure which is essential to reduce the danger posed by landmines as well. The institutions that have emerged since the signing of the Treaty include regular conferences held by the Treaty signatories concerned with the political implementation of the provisions of the Treaty; civil society monitoring programmes such as the ‘Landmine Monitor’ that watch over compliance with the resolutions; the UN Mines Action Service (UNMAS) that coordinates the mine awareness and mine clearance programmes enforced around the world; the Swiss-based Intergovernmental Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) provides essential materials and has developed appropriate mine clearance processes, compiling the standard operating procedures for mine removal. This might sound like too much bureaucracy, but these quality standards are finally crucial life or death decisions. It took a lot of work to convince people – a form of ‘citizen diplomacy’ – and to persuade the individual Treaty signatories including Germany to fulfill multilateral mine clearance and victim assistance duties. The continuing need to keep up this type of multilateral commitment on these issues is evident in Afghanistan today, where the successes of the past years risk being superseded by a number of military strategies, whether these are called ‘a comprehensive approach’ or ‘networked security’.

Examples of mine clearance and victim rehabilitation projects funded by medico:

Colombia: Landmine war on a daily basis

The violent conflict in Colombia is far from over. The government’s military strategy to take the fight directly to the midst of populated areas is having fatal consequences. Colombia has the highest accident rates from landmines and explosives in the world. medico’s partner Tierra de Paz focuses on protecting children: schools are declared conflict-free zones and teachers become mine awareness-raisers.

Afghanistan: Anti-landmine sniffer dogs

Millions of mines and unexploded devices have been left behind by the conflict in Afghanistan and now present a huge danger to the population. Before fields, schools and roads can be repaired and used to the full, the munitions must be removed from zones used by the population. MDC has 1,500 Afghan employees and is training landmine sniffer dogs to detect mines.

El Salvador: Artificial limbs on the principle of solidarity

PODES is Spanish for ‘You Can’. This organisation employs mostly people injured by mines laid during the war, as artificial limb technicians and managers. They have been injured and traumatised by the long years of fighting. But at PODES they make artificial limbs, supports and spare parts to international standards and earn enough to support their entire families. Another success story due to a long-term cooperation partnership with medico.

Sri Lanka: Mine awareness protects the civil population

In Vanni, an area previously under the control of the Tamil Tigers (LTTE), there was severe fighting shortly before the end of the conflict. Large areas are riddled with landmines and unexploded devices. Returning refugees are in great danger: already in a precarious situation, they have no free access to their fields and have not been made aware of the danger posed by landmines. To prevent further accidents, CTF raises awareness of explosive remnants of war and trains up many disseminators to disseminate knowledge as broadly as possible.