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A committee of six organizations launched the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) in 1992. It now brings together over 1,300 international NGOs working locally, nationally, regionally, and internationally to ban antipersonnel (AP) mines. The ICBL succeeded in pushing through the International Mine Ban Treaty in 1997, and received a Nobel Peace Prize for its work. The ICBL laid the groundwork for future NGO advocacy efforts with its strategy of alliance between NGOs and like-minded states, serving as a model for other NGO campaigns.
Articles and Documents
Key Documents
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (1999)
This Human Rights Watch report provides a detailed description of the ICBL movement, including the structure and activities of its working groups on mine action, on victim assistance, and on non-state actors.
2011
Libya: More Use of Landmines by Government Forces Uncovered (June 22, 2011)
After 150 landmines were discovered in the Nafuse Mountains, International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) has issued a statement condemning the use of antipersonnel mines in Libya. This statement reaffirms the need for Libya, and the other 36 countries that have not signed the Mine Ban Treaty, to stop the use of landmines. (International Campaign to Ban Landmines)
2008
UN Mine Action Team Still in Business (April 8, 2008)
UN member states have reduced but not eliminated landmines, in line with the 1997 Ottawa Convention. Signatories of the treaty have worked with 14 UN agencies to rid the world of landmines, which has decreased land mine casualties from 25,000 a year in the 1990s to between 5,600 and 12,000 in 2006. Yet, 24 countries have not fulfilled their obligations. The UNA-USA Council of Organizations urges that these countries cooperate and that all UN members sign a new treaty to ban cluster munitions in the wake of the 2006 Lebanon War. (UNA-USA)
2003
International Effort to Stop Land Mines Bears Fruit (September 25, 2003)
The US and Russia are two of forty five countries that did not sign the Mine Ban Treaty in 1997. Six years later activists continue with the campaign to Ban Landmines, which by no means has run out of steam says the Christian Science Monitor.
Modes of CSO Influence in the UN and Global Governance (May 2003)
The High Level Panel on UN-Civil Society argues that the international campaign to ban landmines and the Jubilee 2000 initiative on debt relief serve as examples of successful NGO advocacy in UN forums.
1999
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines - A Model for Disarmament Initiatives? (September 3, 1999)
Jody Williams shared a Nobel Peace Prize with ICBL in 1997. The founding coordinator of the ICBL says a non-bureaucratic approach and working within existing international law made this campaign successful and a possible model for other peace initiatives. (Nobel e-Museum)
Disarmament: NGOs Want Rebels Groups to Ban Use of Landmines (May 23, 1999)
Inter Press Service reports that the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which successfully pressured 135 governments to ban landmines, also turned to consultations with "non-state combatants" to stop the use of landmines by the rebel groups.
1998
Learning to Live with NGOs (Fall 1998)
P.J. Simmons attempts to define the role of NGOs in international civil society and determine the potential for NGO-nation state cooperation.
1997
Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (September 18, 1997)
This convention prohibits all states from using anti-personal mines, weapons which by their nature do not distinguish between combatants and civilians and cause superfluous injury. (International Committee of the Red Cross)
1996
Land Mines: Bobbled Ban (September/October, 1996)
A coalition of NGOs led a landmines ban campaign, which resulted in the first legal international commitment by states to protect those engaged in humanitarian mine-cleaning operations. (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
Links
The official website of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines includes links and general information on the campaign. It also updates the status of Mine Ban Treaty signatories.
Human Rights Watch summarizes the development of the Campaign to Ban Landmines and provides information on the types of action that individuals can take.
