Mission accomplished.

Mission accomplished

Jody Williams, Co-ordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
and co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize

British anti-landmine posters.

In 1992, six non-governmental organizations launched a campaign to scrap antipersonnel landmines. Five years later, 121 countries have signed the Ottawa treaty to ban them

Even die-hard optimists would not have believed it possible when a handful of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) came together in 1992 to take landmines out of the world’s arsenals. Because the lowly landmine has been in widespread use by most fighting forces in the world throughout this century, the possibility of banning the weapon looked far from achievable. However, the situation changed dramatically in five years. “The campaign started a process which in the space of a few years changed a ban on antipersonnel mines from a vision to a feasible reality,” explained the committee awarding the 1997 Nobel Prize for Peace to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).
The ICBL made wishful thinking a reality when 121 governments came to Ottawa, Canada in December 1997 to sign the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). The numbers continue to grow as does the momentum towards a total elimination of landmines. The Nobel Committee concluded that “as a model for similar processes in the future, the campaign could prove of decisive importance to the international effort for disarmament and peace.”
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, NGOs began to seriously think about trying to deal with a global humanitarian crisis - the tens of millions of landmines claiming hundreds of lives every year all over the world. It became very clear that to eliminate the problem, it would be necessary to eliminate the weapon - to ban the production and use of landmines.
In October 1992, Handicap International, Human Rights Watch, Medico International, Mines Advisory Group, Physicians for Human Rights and Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation formally launched the ICBL with a “joint call to ban antipersonnel landmines.” These organizations, which became the steering committee of the ICBL, called for an end to the use, production, trade and stockpiling of mines. The call also pressed governments to increase resources for humanitarian mine clearance and for victim assistance.
The international campaign has become an unprecedented coalition of over 1,000 organizations working together in 60 countries to achieve a ban. And as the campaign grew, the steering committee expanded to represent its diversity. The Afghan and Cambodian campaigns and Radda Barnen were added in 1996; the South African campaign and Kenya Coalition in 1997; and the Association to Aid Refugees, Japan, Lutheran World Federation, the Colombia Campaign Against Landmines, Inter African Union of Human Rights and Norwegian People’s Aid joined early this year.
The core strength of the campaign, has always been its loose structure. There has never been a central secretariat or headquarters. There has never been an overreaching, bureaucratic structure. ICBL members always meet regularly to plot out overall strategies and plan joint actions, but beyond that each NGO and each national campaign is free to develop its own work best suited to its mandate, culture and circumstances.
The overall strategy of the international campaign has always been to press for national, regional and international measures to ban landmines. Initially an attempt was made to persuade the nations to review the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), which attempted to control the use of antipersonnel mines and to ban the weapon by amending the convention. While the revised CCW did not ban them, pressure by the ICBL made many governments take the issue seriously.
During the last phase of the CCW review, the campaign called on individual governments to come together in a pro-ban group. A series of meetings between pro-ban governments and the ICBL was held in Geneva during the final sessions of the review conference. After the conference in May 1996, the Canadian government offered to host a governmental meeting in October. The hectic negotiations in the subsequent months paved the way for the historic December 1997 meeting in Ottawa for the Mine Ban Treaty.
At the time of writing, twenty-eight states—more than half the number necessary for entry into force—have deposited their instruments of ratification at the United Nations. Six other governments have finalized and just have to deposit the ratification.
The ICBL, and its partnership with governments, has launched a truly remarkable and historic process. It has clearly demonstrated that civil society and governments do not have to see themselves as adversaries. It also shows that small and middle powers can work together with civil society and address humanitarian concerns with breathtaking speed.

The UNESCO Courier

	Mission accomplished
	Jody Williams, Co-ordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize
British anti-landmine posters.	In 1992, six non-governmental organizations launched a campaign to scrap antipersonnel landmines. Five years later, 121 countries have signed the Ottawa treaty to ban them Even die-hard optimists would not have believed it possible when a handful of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) came together in 1992 to take landmines out of the world’s arsenals. Because the lowly landmine has been in widespread use by most fighting forces in the world throughout this century, the possibility of banning the weapon looked far from achievable. However, the situation changed dramatically in five years. “The campaign started a process which in the space of a few years changed a ban on antipersonnel mines from a vision to a feasible reality,” explained the committee awarding the 1997 Nobel Prize for Peace to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). The ICBL made wishful thinking a reality when 121 governments came to Ottawa, Canada in December 1997 to sign the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT). The numbers continue to grow as does the momentum towards a total elimination of landmines. The Nobel Committee concluded that “as a model for similar processes in the future, the campaign could prove of decisive importance to the international effort for disarmament and peace.” In the late 1980s and early 1990s, NGOs began to seriously think about trying to deal with a global humanitarian crisis - the tens of millions of landmines claiming hundreds of lives every year all over the world. It became very clear that to eliminate the problem, it would be necessary to eliminate the weapon - to ban the production and use of landmines. In October 1992, Handicap International, Human Rights Watch, Medico International, Mines Advisory Group, Physicians for Human Rights and Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation formally launched the ICBL with a “joint call to ban antipersonnel landmines.” These organizations, which became the steering committee of the ICBL, called for an end to the use, production, trade and stockpiling of mines. The call also pressed governments to increase resources for humanitarian mine clearance and for victim assistance. The international campaign has become an unprecedented coalition of over 1,000 organizations working together in 60 countries to achieve a ban. And as the campaign grew, the steering committee expanded to represent its diversity. The Afghan and Cambodian campaigns and Radda Barnen were added in 1996; the South African campaign and Kenya Coalition in 1997; and the Association to Aid Refugees, Japan, Lutheran World Federation, the Colombia Campaign Against Landmines, Inter African Union of Human Rights and Norwegian People’s Aid joined early this year. The core strength of the campaign, has always been its loose structure. There has never been a central secretariat or headquarters. There has never been an overreaching, bureaucratic structure. ICBL members always meet regularly to plot out overall strategies and plan joint actions, but beyond that each NGO and each national campaign is free to develop its own work best suited to its mandate, culture and circumstances. The overall strategy of the international campaign has always been to press for national, regional and international measures to ban landmines. Initially an attempt was made to persuade the nations to review the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), which attempted to control the use of antipersonnel mines and to ban the weapon by amending the convention. While the revised CCW did not ban them, pressure by the ICBL made many governments take the issue seriously. During the last phase of the CCW review, the campaign called on individual governments to come together in a pro-ban group. A series of meetings between pro-ban governments and the ICBL was held in Geneva during the final sessions of the review conference. After the conference in May 1996, the Canadian government offered to host a governmental meeting in October. The hectic negotiations in the subsequent months paved the way for the historic December 1997 meeting in Ottawa for the Mine Ban Treaty. At the time of writing, twenty-eight states—more than half the number necessary for entry into force—have deposited their instruments of ratification at the United Nations. Six other governments have finalized and just have to deposit the ratification. The ICBL, and its partnership with governments, has launched a truly remarkable and historic process. It has clearly demonstrated that civil society and governments do not have to see themselves as adversaries. It also shows that small and middle powers can work together with civil society and address humanitarian concerns with breathtaking speed. The UNESCO Courier