This
is the fifth Landmine Monitor report, the annual product of an unprecedented
initiative by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) to monitor and
report on implementation of and compliance with the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, and
more generally to assess the international community’s response to the
humanitarian crisis caused by landmines. Landmine Monitor has successfully put
into practice the concept of civil society-based verification. For the first
time in history non-governmental organizations have come together in a
coordinated, systematic and sustained way to monitor a humanitarian law or
disarmament treaty, and to regularly document progress and problems.
Four previous annual reports have been released since 1999, each presented to
the annual meetings of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty: in May 1999 in
Maputo, Mozambique; in September 2000 in Geneva, Switzerland; in September 2001
in Managua, Nicaragua; and in September 2002 in Geneva.
The Landmine Monitor system features a global reporting network and an annual
report.A network of 110 Landmine Monitor researchers from 90 countries
gathered information to prepare this report. The researchers come from the
ICBL’s campaigning coalition and also from other elements of civil
society, including journalists, academics and research institutions. In 2003,
the functions of the Landmine Monitor's central database were transferred to the
Landmine Monitor website. The website has developed into a sophisticated and
user-friendly database in its own right, equipped with a powerful search engine
that can comprehensively search every Landmine Monitor annual report and its
other research products.
Landmine Monitor is not a technical verification system or a formal
inspection regime. It is an attempt by civil society to hold governments
accountable to the obligations they have taken on with respect to antipersonnel
mines. This is done through extensive collection, analysis and distribution of
publicly available information. Though in some cases it does entail
investigative missions, Landmine Monitor is not designed to send researchers
into harm’s way and does not include hot war-zone reporting.
Landmine Monitor is designed to complement the States Parties transparency
reporting required under Article 7 of the Mine Ban Treaty. It reflects the
shared view that transparency, trust and mutual collaboration are crucial
elements to the successful eradication of antipersonnel mines. Landmine Monitor
was also established in recognition of the need for independent reporting and
evaluation.
Landmine Monitor and its annual reports aim to promote and advance discussion
on mine-related issues, and to seek clarifications, in order to help reach the
goal of a mine-free world. Landmine Monitor works in good faith to provide
factual information about issues it is monitoring, in order to benefit the
international community as a whole.
Landmine Monitor Report 2003 contains information on every country of
the world with respect to landmine ban policy, use, production, transfer,
stockpiling, mine action funding, mine clearance, mine risk education, landmine
casualties, and survivor assistance. It does not only report on States Parties
and their treaty obligations, but looks at signatory states and non-signatories
as well. All countries are included in this report in the belief it will
provide an important means to measure global effectiveness on mine action and
banning the weapon. Appendices with information from key players in mine
action, such as UN agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross,
are also included.
As was the case in previous years, Landmine Monitor acknowledges that this
ambitious report has its shortcomings and should be viewed as a work in
progress. The Landmine Monitor is a system that is continuously updated,
corrected and improved. Comments, clarifications, and corrections from
governments and others are sought, in the spirit of dialogue and in the common
search for accurate and reliable information on a difficult subject.
Landmine Monitor 2003 Process
In June 1998, the ICBL formally agreed to create
Landmine Monitor as an ICBL initiative. A Core Group was established to develop
and coordinate the Landmine Monitor system, which consists of five
organizations: Human Rights Watch, Handicap International Belgium, Kenya
Coalition Against Landmines, Mines Action Canada, and Norwegian People’s
Aid. Human Rights Watch serves as the lead agency. The Core Group assumes
overall responsibility for, and decision-making on, the Landmine Monitor system.
Research grants for Landmine Monitor Report 2003 were awarded in
October 2002, following a meeting of the Core Group in Geneva in September 2002.
Members of the global research network met in four regional meetings between
November 2002 and February 2003 to discuss preliminary findings, exchange
information, assess what research and data gathering had already taken place,
identify gaps, and ensure common research methods and reporting mechanisms for
the Monitor. In February and March 2003, draft research reports were submitted
to the Landmine Monitor research coordinators for review and comment. From 7-9
April 2003, the research network met in Rome, Italy to discuss final reports and
major findings with the research coordinators, as well as to engage in ICBL
workshops and advocacy discussions. Throughout April, May, June and July 2003,
Landmine Monitor’s team of regional and thematic coordinators verified
sources and edited country reports, with a team at Human Rights Watch taking
responsibility for final fact-checking, editing and assembly of the entire
report. This report was printed during August and presented to the Fifth
Meeting of States Parties to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty in Bangkok, Thailand in
September 2003.
Landmine Monitor Report 2003 is available online at
www.icbl.org/lm