Landmine survivors hope the Cartagena Action Plan will change their lives

The world came to Cartagena, Colombia recently to take part in the second review conference of the Mine Ban Treaty.

What emerged from the Cartagena Summit was a collective will to improve the lives of landmine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors.

The 127 states that took part in the summit hammered out the comprehensive 67-step Cartagena Action Plan (CAP) that will guide the mine action community for the next five years.

Landmine survivors and people who work directly with mine-affected communities provided input to the plan as well.

“The CAP provides a clear and concrete roadmap of what is required to bring us significantly closer to a mine-free world,” said a spokesperson with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), in an email interview.

The amount of money required to implement all the plans is not yet known, although the ICBL is asking donor countries to contribute the same amount of funding as previously committed, to ensure the objectives of the CAP are met (US$626.5 million in 2008 according to Landmine Monitor).

Before anyone cries “donor fatigue” the ICBL points out that many actions in the CAP do not require additional funding – just heightened interest, commitment and energy by affected State Parties.

“It does not necessarily require money to engage in effective and inclusive planning on victim assistance,” said Tamar Gabelnick, ICBL treaty implementation director. “Furthermore, coordination on developing and implementing a victim assistance plan with other actors inside and outside of government should lead to less costs if it can show that the needs of landmine survivors will be satisfactorily met through existing mechanisms.”

In addition to stable funding, accountability is also important to ensure that donor money actually gets to where it is supposed to go. The ICBL says it will be vigilant in monitoring the progress of the CAP implementation.

Unfortunately, there were only a few funding announcements in Cartagena that will have to be monitored.

“Australia pledged 100 million Australian dollars over the next five years, the UK pledged a three-year commitment of over 30 million GBP, the Netherlands stated it would contribute 15 million euro annually in the two coming years,” said the ICBL.

For Canadians, the Cartagena Summit was a mixed bag. No new funding announcements were made, although a pledge to stay engaged was welcomed by experts with Mines Action Canada.

“We are glad that they attached enough importance to it to send a minister,” said Nancy Ingram, manager of programs and organizational development at Mines Action Canada.

“Canada was one of the major donors to our Youth Leaders Forum that ran alongside the Summit, which enabled the training of 36 aspiring youth leaders, 25 of which were from affected countries. Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas), Peter Kent took the time to come to the Forum and present graduates with their certificates, which they and we really appreciated,” said Ms. Ingram.

Canada is one of the top five donors to mine action.

“In the past two years, Canada has contributed more to the mine action effort than at any point in our history,” said a spokesperson with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT).

Other good news to come out of the Summit was the announcement that Albania, Greece, Rwanda and Zambia are now mine-free. However, there are still approximately 70 countries with a landmine problem. There is much work left to be done.

Landmines weren’t the only topic of discussion in Cartagena. The cluster bomb issue and rights for disabled people were also raised.

“One thing that was really underlined at the Summit was the importance of ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” said Christian Champigny, programme support officer, Handicap International Canada.

Blue Summit

Photo: Maude Barlow, United Nations senior water advisor, speaks to a crowd on Parliament Hill as part of the 10th annual Water Watch in Ottawa. Activists from around the country gathered together to attend the Blue Summit. Activists are calling on the leaders who will be attending the upcoming climate conference in Copenhagen to commit to a binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gases and to help developing countries better deal with the effects of climate change. Speakers also called for local governments to invest in water services, infrastructure, and come up with solutions to raw sewage problems.

Cambodians rally on Parliament Hill

Several Cambodian nationals staged a peaceful rally on Parliament Hill today to protest against the Cambodian government's decision to strip opposition leader Sam Rainsy of immunity from prosecution.

Mr Rainsy (who is currently in France) has been charged with misconduct for encouraging villagers who were evicted from a border area to uproot wooden posts that had been placed along the newly agreed border with Vietnam. Opposition groups have said that Vietnam is stealing land from Cambodia – something that both governments deny.

In 2006, Cambodia and Vietnam officially began demarcating their contentious 1,270-kilometre border in an effort to end decades of territorial disputes, according to a report in the Phnom Penh Post.

This is the third time this year that the Cambodian government has voted to strip parliamentary immunity from the opposition party, so that they can be prosecuted on defamation charges.

Members of the Sam Rainsy Party of Ottawa are calling on the international community to get involved by demanding the Cambodian government respect democracy and human rights.

150 years of riding the rails in Ottawa

Photo: Ottawa's Union Station on Lebreton Flats in 1881. Photo courtesy Library and Archives Canada. Click on the photograph for a larger view.

A new exhibition called Track Changes: 150 years of Rail Transportation in Ottawa recently opened at the City Hall Art Gallery on Laurier Avenue.

The exhibition features paintings, photographs, scale models of trains and postcards of Ottawa streetcars – including one going down Sparks Street (which is now pedestrian only).

Some of the artifacts include: a conductors cap and pin, train lanterns, bells and a locomotive brass name plate. There is even a ticket to board the special train to go to Sir John A. MacDonald's funeral back in 1891.

For those who have lived in Ottawa for some time, you may get nostalgic when you see the excellent colour photographs of the last streetcars to run in Ottawa back in 1959.

One of the streetcars had I Will Miss You All Good Bye painted on its right side.

The exhibition does a good job of explaining the history of rail in Ottawa and mentions some of the important entrepreneurs who were involved in bringing the train system to the nation's capital.

The installation continues until January 3, 2010. Admission is free.

2009 Landmine Monitor released

Photo: Landmine warning sign in Pursat, Cambodia.


The International Campaign to Ban Landmines has just released its 11th annual Landmine Monitor report and like their previous editions, this one contains both good news and bad news.

Fewer casualties were reported last year (5,197) compared to the year before (5,473); however, mine action experts believe the actual number of casualties is higher than reported. The exact number is unknown due to inadequate reporting mechanisms in developing countries.

Forty one per cent of civilian casualties last year were children. What were many of them doing when their lives were changed forever? They were collecting food, water, firewood, or tending to animals.

While Canadian children are free to walk in their neighbourhoods without the risk of landmines, the same cannot be said for those residing in 70 countries/states elsewhere in the world.

Victim assistance is one of the pillars of mine action and it is the least funded. This is something that must be addressed at the upcoming Second Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty in Cartagena, Colombia, 29 November – 4 December.

Another area of concern is the fact that even though international funding for mine action was up last year to US$518 million compared to US$430 million the year before, 15 State Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty failed to meet their required deadlines to clear all antipersonnel mines from areas under their jurisdiction.

As well, three countries – Belarus, Greece and Turkey – missed their stockpile destruction deadlines.

For Canadians, the report should raise concern, as Canadian mine action funding fell seven per cent last year.

Canadian taxpayers contributed US$43.1 million in funding. More than half of that amount went to Afghanistan. The remainder was divided amongst 12 countries.

As a result of the decrease in funding Canadian mine action NGOs operated at less than capacity last year.

To read the report, please click here.

Don't take water for granted!

Photo: Dr. Rob de Loe speaking about water at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa.


The RBC National Lecture Series – A Canadian Perspective on Water kicked off last night at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa.

Dr. Rob de Loe, University Research Chair in Water Policy and Governance, University of Waterloo in Ontario, was the keynote speaker and his presentation delighted the crowd with what was essentially, a tour of how we use and abuse water in this country.

More than 97 per cent of all the earth’s water is saltwater, Dr. de Loe reminded the audience. How we use the remaining fresh water is of the upmost importance.

“We have an exceptionally long history of mucking around with water,” said Dr. de Loe.

Dr. de Loe’s presentation focussed on the importance of groundwater and how it is negatively affected by the hardening of the earth – pavement, concrete and other forms of development and urban sprawl.

A large part of his presentation was devoted to how we use water in Canada – agriculture, drinking water, household chores, gardening, recreation, manufacturing, mining – and something most people would rather not talk about – getting rid of human waste.

As the talk took place in Ottawa, he made mention of the fact that the city’s combined storm/sewage system flushed millions of litres of raw sewage into the Ottawa River this year and downstream for someone else to worry about.

Dr. de Loe suggested that we need to look at our own behaviour and offered ways in which we could have a positive affect on water issues.

Some of these were obvious – use less water overall, gather rainwater for use in gardening, washing cars, flushing toilets and refrain from dumping toxic substances down the drain.

He also said people need to become “active consumers” and question manufacturers more.

“You can’t believe all the labeling on the cans,” said Dr. de Loe.

As an example, he warned the audience about cans of tuna that have been marked as “dolphin safe.”

Just because they are marked that way, does not necessarily mean that other potenially-endangered species were not killed while the massive drag nets brought in tuna.

The series continues with more lectures along with the exhibition – Canada’s Waterscapes – Yours to Enjoy, Explore and Protect.

For more information please go to the Canadian Museum of Nature's website.

Veterans' week starts today

To find out what is going on in your community, please click here.

A call to action on climate change

Photo: Stephen Hazell, executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.


Climate change protest organizers called on Canadians to “fill the hill” this afternoon, but Mother Nature seemed to have kept many of them away from Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Perhaps a thousand people stood in the rain and heard speeches from politicians and leading environmental leaders about the need for Canada to aggressively reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).

What they lacked in numbers, however, they made up for in enthusiasm, as many danced, sang and cheered, despite the inclement weather.

Every good protest needs a whipping boy and the target du jour was Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whom many blame as the reason why Canada has the worst record on reducing domestic emissions among G8 nations, according to a press release that was circulated.

But Canada’s GHG problem started long before Mr. Harper got elected, something Stephen Hazell, executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada recognized.

In his speech to the crowd, he said his group and others have been talking to governments over the years and because of their inaction, the country finds itself playing environmental catch-up.

He cited the difference between Bangladesh and Canada as a striking example.

On a per capita basis, for every ton of GHG emitted in Bangladesh, 24 tons are emitted in Canada.

Mr. Hazell encouraged members of Parliament to fast track Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act.

Robert Fox, executive director of Oxfam Canada warned Canadians that climate change is already here.

“Climate change is measured in the (increased) number of kilometres that girls and women have to walk each day to access water in Africa,” said Mr. Fox.

According to a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change fact sheet, more than 20 million people were displaced by sudden climate-related disasters in 2008 alone. An estimated 200 million people could be displaced as a result of climate impacts by 2050.

The protest on Parliament Hill was one of 5,200 International Day of Climate Action events in 181 countries around the world, according to the 350.org website.

The number 350 is the number that (some) scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide – measured in parts per million (ppm). According to the 350.org website, the world is already at 387 ppm.

The next United Nations Climate Change Conference starts on December 7 in Copenhagen.
















Photo: Climate change activists on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Book review - FOB DOC

In late 2008, several Afghan girls were injured when men threw battery acid on them as they walked to school in Kandahar.

The girls’ crime? Getting an education.

For Ray Wiss, an emergency room medical doctor from Sudbury, Ont., and a Captain in the Canadian Forces (CF), the way to win the war against the Taliban is to stay in Afghanistan long enough for the population to get sufficiently educated to reject the Taliban’s loathsome way of life.

Capt. Wiss believes the Taliban fear an educated population and that is why they do everything in their power to prevent young people from acquiring knowledge.

In 2007, the Taliban forced the closure of 300 schools and burned or blew up another 130. In addition, they killed 105 students and teachers.

Capt. Wiss has recently returned to Canada after having served his second tour of duty in Afghanistan and is currently promoting his book, FOB DOC, in which he states (among other things) that the Afghanistan conflict is a moral war and one Canadians need to not only be engaged in, but better informed about.

“A moral war is defined by the immorality of our enemies,” said Capt. Wiss in a telephone interview from Toronto.

He did not start out to intentionally write a book; instead, he maintained a diary while on his first tour of duty, and that evolved into the book.

This book will probably not change the minds of those who are adamantly against the war, but it may give them a greater appreciation of the hardships and difficulties that men and women in the CF have to endure to do their jobs in Kandahar.

More than that though, Capt. Wiss wants Canadians to know about the impact the CF is having on the lives of people in Kandahar.

He tells a story about a Canadian ambulance crew who helped a girl who was injured in a Taliban bomb attack last August. While the crew were helping the girl, her mother got inside the ambulance, took off her burka, and in English, not only thanked the medics, but expressed bewilderment as to why Canadians would come all this distance to help them.

For much of his tour, Capt. Wiss stayed in the Canadian Forward Operating Bases – otherwise known as FOBS. The facilities and amenities he describes in the book are primitive but functional.

The book is illustrated with more than 100 photographs that give the reader a good idea of life in one of the FOBs and at the Kandahar Air Field, where the majority of the CF stay.

Capt. Wiss describes Kandahar province (the birthplace of the Taliban) as a socially barren environment where women have been excluded from the social milieu and where the lives of boys and young men are limited to home, mosque, limited educational and employment opportunities and no interaction with women.

One question that always gets asked is why won’t the civilian population fight the Taliban more? Capt. Wiss says they do, but they have to be very cautious.

“They come to our FOBs in the middle of the night or will whisper something to us when we are out on one of our combat patrols,” said Capt. Wiss. “But they have to been exceedingly careful. They don’t have the guns – the Taliban do. The Taliban will come into a village at night and settle scores with anyone who they think has been cooperating with the coalition.”

Capt. Wiss wishes Canadians knew more about the successes the Canadian Forces have achieved in Kandahar. His book details highly successful combat operations where Canadian, British and Afghan troops routed the Taliban without suffering any losses themselves, nor take any civilian casualties.

Despite the military successes the coalition has achieved, and the fact that Afghanistan receives millions of dollars in international aid, it is ranked second to last on the United Nations Human Development Index.

Royalties from the book will be donated to the Military Families Fund.