ICRC News 38 / 25.09.96

OTTAWA CONFERENCE ON ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES A STRATEGY FOR THE TOTAL ELIMINATION OF MINES

As an observer with special expertise on the mines issue, the ICRC will be taking an active part in the International Strategy Conference to be held in Ottawa from 3 to 5 October under the auspices of the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This Conference is the first formal meeting of States committed to the total elimination of anti-personnel mines - bringing together all countries that support an immediate ban and are willing to take action at the international, regional and national levels to reach that objective. Since 1993, a total of 43 States have taken such a stand, 25 have already renounced or suspended the use of anti-personnel mines, and 11 have begun destroying their existing stocks. Almost 200 participants and observers - representatives of governments, international agencies and non-governmental organizations - are expected to attend the Ottawa meeting.

The magnitude and gravity of the mines scourge prompted the ICRC to launch a global awareness-raising campaign in November 1995, with a view to stigmatizing these barbarous weapons in the public conscience. For Ottawa the ICRC plans to use its Web site to show photos taken in Cambodia as the Conference actually proceeds by Tim Page, who won fame as a photographer during the Vietnam war. Page knows the country well and is familiar with its countless vicissitudes. His task will be to inspire the Conference and promote its goals through vivid illustrations of the day-to-day reality of minefields and their consequences for the victims. The novelty of this "Seven days in a minefield" project is that every day the photos will appear on the Web site within hours of Page capturing the scenes on film. National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are being encouraged to set up Web site links so as to create a forum for international dialogue on this photo documentary. The kick-off date is 29 September, and the display will continue through to the end of the Conference on 5 October.

Further information: on the awareness-raising campaign: Johanne Dorais-Slakmon, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2319 on the Tim Page/Web project, Karen Saddler, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2391

PRESS BRIEFING

Monday 30 September 3 p.m. Palais des Nations Geneva (Press room 3)

CANCELLED

Press kits will, however, be available to journalists at the Palais des Nations.

TAJIKISTAN "SOMETIMES IT'S LIKE BEING AT THE VERY END OF THE EARTH"

Thomas Merkelbach, the ICRC's head of delegation in Tajikistan, could not be more explicit. At a press conference in Geneva, he turned the spotlight on the forgotten conflict plaguing this country. His greatest concern was the growing number of mines being laid in Tajikistan. The ICRC has, moreover, still not been granted access to certain areas. In the Mionadu Valley, some 5,000 civilians are completely cut off from the outside world. ICRC convoys have to cover huge distances to reach the victims, driving 2,500 km instead of the usual 300 km from Dushanbe to Kalai-Khum, for example.

The ICRC currently has 30 delegates and 150 locally hired staff working to assist about 20,000 displaced persons and other individuals requiring aid, and its activities in Tajikistan are constantly expanding. Last July, the organization launched an appeal for over 12 million Swiss francs to meet ever-growing needs in the country.

Further information: Suzanne Berger, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2307

On the ICRC public server - http://www.icrc.org (in English only):

- Update No. 96/3 on ICRC activities in Iraq (as at 20 September 1996) - Update No. 96/3 on ICRC activities in Liberia (as at 20 September 1996) - Fact sheet on ICRC activities in Tajikistan (as at 24 September 1996)

For any information you may need during the week-end of 28-29 September, please call the press officer on duty, Peter Iseli, on: (mobile) ++41 79 357 50 03

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