International Summit on Landmines, Cartagena, Colombia

29 November - 4 December

Over a thousand activists, survivors, landmine action practitioners and government representatives from around the world are gathered in Colombia for the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World. The Summit is the second five-year Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty, evaluating progress made and identifying actions to build a landmine-free world.

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, urges the state parties to the treaty to:

- increase support for persons and communities affected by landmines and
cluster bombs and other explosive remnants of war.
- ensure more rapid clearance of mine affected areas.
- encourage more states to sign and ratify mine ban convention
- encourage more states to sign Oslo Treaty on Cluster Munitions, only
six more signatories are needed for it to become international law.

The Mine Ban Treaty has made tremendous, tangible progress in the past ten years, both in alleviating, and preventing further, human suffering caused by antipersonnel landmines. It has brought about a near halt to use of the weapon globally, the destruction of tens of millions of stockpiled mines, and a huge expansion in mine clearance, risk education and victim assistance programmes. This success is largely due to the ongoing cooperation between governments and civil society. More than ever, this partnership needs to be reaffirmed and maintained in this next, more challenging phase in the implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.

1. *Increase support for persons and communities affected by mines and
cluster bombs and other explosive remnants of war.

*Despite the fact that casualty rates have steadily decreased over the past decade, victim assistance has made the least progress of the major mine action sectors in terms of funding and the provision of services. Hundreds of thousands of people urgently need more or better assistance.

*In the words of Tun Channareth, Cambodian survivor,* JRS staff member and ambassador for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL):

"Over the last ten years, we survivors have done a lot for ourselves and for other survivors. We are asking for more government action, but we are not beggars. Concrete commitments to mine clearance, risk education, and rehabilitation and economic inclusion of survivors are in the interests of everyone as they will bring increased peace, security, and prosperity."

2. *Ensure more rapid clearance of mine affected areas.

*Despite the clearance of over 2.2 million antipersonnel mines since 1999, meeting the 10-year treaty deadline for mine clearance is also proving to be a formidable challenge.

According to Tamar Gabelnick, ICBL Treaty Implementation Director:

"Fifteen States Parties with mine clearance deadlines in 2009 have been granted extensions last year, and four additional states are requesting extensions this week... We need governments at this Summit to commit politically and financially to ensure that mine clearance deadlines are met and resources are in place for heavily-affected states that need them."

3. *Encourage more states to sign and ratify mine ban convention; so
far 156 states are signatories

*Eighty percent of the world's nations have signed the Mine Ban Treaty. Only
39 states - including China, India, Pakistan, Russia and the USA - have yet to do so. The majority of these countries are de facto complying with key treaty provisions. Burma and Russia are the only states using antipersonnel mines in recent years. Non-state armed groups in seven countries also use the weapons.

The US State Department recently announced it was beginning a "comprehensive review" of policy on landmines and that it would send a team of observers to the Cartagena review conference this week.* This is a perfect opportunity for non-signatory states*, particularly the USA,* to demonstrate the
leadership* to eliminate once and for all these indiscriminate weapons that maim and kill thousands of innocent people every year. *It is time for non-signatory states to join the right side of history.

*4. Encourage more states to sign Oslo Treaty on Cluster Munitions, only six more signatories are needed for it to become international law.

The convention was adopted on 30 May 2008 in Dublin, and was opened for signature on 3 December 2008 in Oslo. It will enter into force after it has been ratified by 30 states. So far 24 states have ratified it and another 79 have signed but not yet ratified it.

Background information

• Since 1999 approximately 3,200 square kilometres of land has been cleared of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), and that the number of new casualties registered declined significantly to 5,197 in 2008. More than 2.2 million antipersonnel landmines, 250,000 anti-vehicle landmines and 17 million ERW have been removed.
• Eighty percent of the world's states are party to the landmine ban treaty.
  Thirty-nine countries - including China, India, Pakistan, Russia and the USA - have yet to join the treaty. In recent years, Burma and Russia have been the only states to use antipersonnel landmines. Use by non-state armed groups decreased from a peak of 19 countries in 2001 to seven countries in 2008.
• Over the past decade, state parties to the treaty have destroyed 44 million stockpiled antipersonnel landmines. While 86 state parties have completed the destruction of their stockpiled landmines, three states - Belarus, Greece and Turkey - missed their stockpile destruction deadlines in 2008 and remained in serious violation of the treaty as of November 2009.
• Nonetheless serious challenges remain, the report continued, with more than 70 states still landmine-affected today. The total number of casualties is still far too high. From 1999 to 2008 Landmine Monitor identified 73,576 casualties in 119 countries or areas. Data collection is poor in many countries so the actual number of casualties is likely to be far higher.
  Moreover, victim assistance has made the least progress over the last decade, with both funding and the provision of assistance falling short of what is needed.
• The Treaty on Cluster Munitions is an international treaty that prohibits the use of cluster bombs, a type of explosive weapon which scatters submunitions ("bomblets") over an area. Countries that ratify the convention will be obliged "never under any circumstances" to: use cluster munitions; develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer to anyone, directly or indirectly, cluster munitions; assist, encourage or induce anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State Party under this Convention.

For further background information see the Landmine Monitor Report 2009 see
www.lm.icbl.org/lm/2009