ICRC News 36 / 13-Sep-01


Owing to this week's events, there will be only one article in the ICRC
News.


Nicaragua
Third meeting of States party to the Ottawa treaty

The government of Nicaragua will host the third Meeting of States Parties
to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production
and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on their Destruction (the Ottawa
Treaty) in Managua from 18 to 21 September. The ICRC will be on hand to
contribute to the planning for the full and effective implementation of
the treaty's provisions for victim assistance, stockpile destruction, mine
clearance and mine-awareness efforts.

On 10 September Chile became the latest State to ratify the treaty,
bringing the number of States Parties to 120. A further 21 States have
signed but not yet ratified the agreement. Twenty-nine States Parties have
already destroyed their stockpiles of anti-personnel mines, and
destruction is under way in 19 more. Twenty-seven States have adopted
legislation to criminalize violations of the Convention, and others are in
the process of doing so.  Funding for mine action has increased.

The ICRC has expanded its activities in the areas of victim assistance and
mine and unexploded ordnance awareness over the past year, largely on the
basis of resources mobilized through this treaty. The organization is now
conducting or supporting awareness programmes in 12 countries, including
seven that have been established in the past two years. In 2000, for the
fourth consecutive year, the ICRC expanded its physical rehabilitation
programmes; it supported new projects in Uganda, Myanmar and Ethiopia and
provided significantly greater numbers of prostheses and orthoses. Between
1996 and 2000 the number of patients receiving orthopaedic appliances more
than doubled, from approximately 13,000 to around 28,000 per year.

In places where the Convention's comprehensive programme of banning the
use of anti-personnel mines, clearing areas already contaminated and
raising awareness of the dangers of mines is being implemented, the ICRC
has noted a dramatic reduction in annual numbers of victims. "This simple
fact confirms that the prescriptions contained in this treaty for curing
the global epidemic of landmine injuries are correct and effective" stated
Peter Herby, head of the ICRC delegation to the Managua meeting.

The host country Nicaragua has not only known the scourge of landmines but
has also had the bitter experience of suffering a severe setback to its
mine-clearance efforts when Hurricane Mitch struck in October 1998. While
clearance operations continue, Nicaragua is also in the process of
completing the destruction of its stockpiles of anti-personnel mines. In
1996 the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Central America
undertook to make their region free of anti-personnel landmines - a
commitment that the Managua meeting is expected to reinforce.

Further information: Lena Eskeland, ICRC Mines-Arms Unit,
tel. ++41 79 389 99 32


During the weekend of 15 - 16 Srptember 2001, for all information please
call the press officer on duty Macarena Aguilar, on (mobile)
41 79 217 32 64