Mines

© T. Dirven / Handicap International Belgium

In Cambodia, Mozambique, Angola and many other countries, Handicap International's teams soon came to realise that fitting artificial limbs and providing rehabilitation was not enough. Faced with the ever-increasing number of distressed and suffering  mine victims, the organisation decided to denounce the cynicism and cowardice of these weapons by obtaining a ban. 

We therefore decided to launch the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) in 1992 along with five other NGOs*. Petitions, speeches, media interventions, national and international events etc.: for five years, Handicap International and the other ICBL members have increasingly publicised the issue, resulting in a collective realisation of the danger of these weapons. Several million citizens have signed the petition to obtain a ban on landmines and to show their support for the victims. This unprecedented wave of support from the general public, coupled with the political lobbying of governments, led to the signing on December 3rd 1997 of the Ottawa Treaty banning the use, storage, production and transfer of landmines and ordering their destruction. On December 10th of the same year the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded collectively to the organisations that form the International Campaign.    

The fight goes on...

Nearly 10 years after the signing the treaty the Landmine Monitor¹ annual report paints a bleak picture: although the use of landmines has decreased, these weapons still shed blood in 33 countries or territories, killing or maiming one victim every 30 minutes.  

On a humanitarian level this fight is obviously more crucial than ever but it also vital on a political level to keep the pressure up on the 40 states which still refuse to sign the Mine Ban Treaty. The fight is also essential in order to increase the amount of international funding devoted to mine clearance and victim assistance which today falls well short of what is required to meet the huge needs.    

^{1The Landmine Monitor is a body created by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, designed to monitor the application of the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty by State parties, and more generally to assess the international community's response to the issue of antipersonnel landmines.  Published annually since 1999 the Landmine Monitor Report is coordinated by an editorial committee composed of four organisations: Mines Action Canada, Handicap International, Human Rights Watch and Norwegian People's Aid.}