Road to Cartagena
1 December 2009
Cambodian Art Exhibit Highlights Success In Tackling Anti-personnel Mines
CARTAGENA, December 1, 2009—A Cambodian landmine art exhibit celebrating the country's significant progress in addressing its landmine and explosive remnants of war challenge was launched in Cartagena this evening. IMPACT : an art exhibit about landmines in Cambodia consists of works by ten Cambodian artists and four young landmine survivors.
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After field visits to two of Cambodia's most mine-affected provinces, Battambang and Banteay Meanchey, the ten artists created works of art portraying the progress of Cambodian mine action. Four young landmine survivors also created works of art representing both their past experiences and their ambitions for the future. The artwork consists of sculptures, paintings and installations.
"While highlighting the destructive force of mines and explosive remnants of war and the challenges that remain, this through-provoking exhibit is a reminder that our joint efforts have a marked impact on the lives of Cambodia's men, women, boys and girls," said UNDP Bureau of Crisis Prevention and Recovery´s Senior Deputy Director Miguel Bermeo on behalf of the United Nations Mine Action Team.
The exhibit debuted in
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The Royal Government of Cambodia ratified the Mine Ban Treaty in 1999. Due to the high level of contamination in
"I remember when I was a boy in the 1980s and knew nothing about the danger of landmines," wrote artist Tor Vutha about his experience with the project. "Now I understand a lot more about the issues surrounding mine action and I am very happy to have the opportunity to show my paintings in this art exhibit."
For further information please contact Alex Hiniker, UNDP Cambodia, at alex.hiniker@undp.org or Aaron J. Buckley, UN Mine Action Service, New York, at +1-917-328-4508, e-mail: buckleya@un.org
Press Release in Spanish Version Español
30 November 2009
Elements for UNMAT interventions during thematic discussions
Cartagena Summit for a Mine-Free World
Second Review Conference of States Parties to the APMBC
(Cartagena, 30 November – 4 December 2009)
Review of the Operation and Status of the Convention
Victim Assistance
Madame President, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for this opportunity to address the conference on behalf of the 14 agencies that constitute the UN Mine Action Team.
The United Nations is encouraged by the progress towards achieving a common understanding on victim assistance through the extensive work and consultations since the Nairobi Review Conference, and notes with appreciation the rights-based approach adopted. Victim assistance is not a matter of charity -- a crucial point that now is reinforced for all disabled persons through the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The chapter on victim assistance in "Review of the Operation and Status of the Convention" is a good reflection of this progress, as well as on the challenges remaining ahead.
These considerable challenges are illustrated vividly in the report "Voices from the Ground", prepared by Handicap International. The report, which is based on a survey conducted among survivors in 25 States Parties to the Convention, shows that - despite a better understanding on victim assistance - the lives of survivors has not improved much in the last five years. The report indicates that only 42% of survivors have been surveyed, that only 36% see progress in emergency and continuing medical care, that 28% of them believe that physical rehabilitation has improved since 2005, and that only 21% think that psychological support and social reintegration services have improved. Furthermore, 24% of the surveyed survivors think that their situation in terms of economic reintegration has worsened.
This should be cause for alarm for us all. While significant progress has been achieved in may countries as we have heard today, it is troubling that survivors themselves perceive progress on victim assistance as so minimal.
The UN looks to the outcome of this conference for guidance so that we can better support victims, including their families, and turn this situation around. The UN Mine Action Team acknowledges that mine action merely complements other sectors charged with the responsibility for public health and the wellbeing of survivors. These actors must remain in the lead. However mine action programmes can supplement this through gathering victim data, supporting coordination, and advocacy for victim assistance at the highest possible level in governmental headquarters, including for budgeting purposes. This should be accomplished without creating parallel systems.
Still, for a number of States Parties in a position to do so, it often is easier to identify sources of funding for victim assistance when addressing the issue from a mine action perspective. Also in many countries, survivors expect support from mine action programmes in terms of victim assistance, especially in situations when health services are scarce or non-existent due to economic instability and/or conflict. Hence, a separate discussion on landmine and ERW victims continues.
The United Nations organizations involved in mine action depend on the States Parties – especially the mine affected states -- for clarity on the scope and extent of the operational support that would best provide for the needs of mine and ERW victims and their families. We also recognize that victim assistance without psychosocial support, social and economic reintegration and the creation of sustainable livelihoods is simply incomplete. To make our collective efforts even more effective, we encourage States Parties to promote synergies between all international instruments relevant to fulfilling the rights of the world's landmine and ERW victims.
The United Nations stands ready to support your efforts and the Cartagena Action Plan.
Thank you.
Portfolio of Mine Action Projects
$589 MILLION REQUIRED IN 2010 TO ADDRESS LANDMINES, EXPLOSIVE REMNANTS OF WAR IN 27 COUNTRIES, TERRITORIES OR MISSIONS
NEW YORK, November 30, 2009—Mine action initiatives in 27 countries, territories or peacekeeping missions will cost $589 million in 2010, according to the 13th edition of the annual Portfolio of Mine Action Projects, being released by the United Nations today.
The portfolio is an annual analysis of the impact of landmines and explosive remnants of war in countries or territories with mine action programs. The portfolio also provides proposals for mine action projects and details their costs. Countries profiled in the 2010 edition of the portfolio have so far secured only about 5 percent of the total funding needed for the coming year, leaving a funding gap of $565 million.
"Remarkable progress has been made in eliminating the threat of landmines and explosive remnants of war," says Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy. "I wish all involved in this noble endeavor will sustain their commitment to end the suffering caused by landmines and explosive remnants of war."
Le Roy chairs a group of senior representatives of the 14 United Nations departments, programs, agencies and funds that are involved in mine action.
About 70 countries are affected by landmines or explosive remnants of war, which together claimed nearly 5,200 casualties around the world last year. Landmines and explosive remnants of war also take a heavy toll on people's livelihoods, countries' economic and social development, and international peace-building efforts. United Nations support ranges from building capacities of national mine action institutions, to backstopping humanitarian relief initiatives, and ensuring the safe deployment of peacekeepers and United Nations political missions.
The largest funding gaps in 2010 are in Afghanistan ($244 million) and Sudan ($86 million). "Full donor support for these programs will contribute to ongoing efforts to consolidate peace initiatives and facilitate post-conflict reconstruction," Mr. Maxwell Kerley, the Director of the United Nations Mine Action Service, says.
The release of the portfolio coincides with the Second Review Conference of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. Many of the projects included in the Portfolio of Mine Action Projects 2010 will help remove and destroy cluster munitions, teach people how to stay out of harm's way, and assist the victims of these devices in countries such as Cambodia, Chad, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Tajikistan, Western Sahara, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
"The urgent and compelling need to protect civilians from landmines and explosive remnants of war is rightly attracting media attention this week and it is important that we continue to act rapidly to reduce new casualties to zero," Kerley says.
The portfolio is published jointly by the United Nations Mine Action Service in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations' Office for Rule of Law and Security Institutions, UNDP and UNICEF. The 2010 edition includes 277 projects covering all five "pillars" of mine action: clearance and marking of hazardous areas, mine risk education, victim assistance, destruction of stockpiled landmines, and advocacy for international agreements related to landmines and explosive remnants of war, including cluster munitions.
Contact: Aaron J. Buckley, UN Mine Action Service, New York, at 212.963.4632, e-mail: buckleya@un.org.
The UN Races Against Antipersonnel Mines in Cartagena
CARTAGENA, November 29, 2009—Gathering in one of the oldest cities in the Americas, today marks the beginning of a week long international conference on landmines in Cartagena, Colombia.
Today, antipersonnel mine survivors, persons with disabilities, delegates from over 156 countries, United Nations colleagues, national authorities, members of civil society organizations and Cartagena citizens will run through the picturesque streets of the old city. The 5K run will have 5,000 participantsand will launch a week filled with activities surrounding the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World.
The United Nations Mine Action Service and UNICEF sponsored this event. Gustavo Laurie of the United Nations Mine Action Service noted, "We are proud to support this event during this momentous occasion, as the organizers said, 'leaving two prints in the road is everyone's right."
The Vice-President of Colombia, Francisco Santos Calderón, will be present at the start and finish line of the race, together with Andrés Dávila Ladrón de Guevara, Director of the Presidential Program for Mine Action (Paicma), members of UNICEF and the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS).
Contact: Aaron J. Buckley, UN Mine Action Service, New York, at +1-917-328-4508, e-mail: buckleya@un.org
Press Release in Spanish Version Español
Civil society activities during the Cartagena conference 
Invitation
CIREC
A backgrounder brochure containing the programme for the Cartagena Summit is now available.
Download PDF 3.2MB
The Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World is the name that has been given to the 29 November to 4 December 2009 Second Review Conference of the landmark Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction.
At the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World, the international community aims to redouble its efforts to end, forever, the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines.
Gathering in Colombia ten years after the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention entered into force, States and international and non-governmental organizations, represented at the highest possible level, will take stock of incredible progress that has been made toward ending the landmine era.
Over 1,000 delegates are expected to express their shared commitment to a world without mines and adopt a Cartagena Action Plan to overcome remaining challenges. 
PRESS RELEASE
Juanes lends his voice to the world summit against anti-personnel mines
Geneva, Switzerland, 9 November 2009 – JUANES, the Colombian music superstar, has announced he will lend his voice to the world summit against anti-personnel mines which will take place in Colombia. Juanes, a 17-time Grammy Award Winner, founder of the Mi Sangre Foundation , and mine eradication activist said he is proud to support The Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World. "Cartagena represents a commitment by countries to taking action against the challenges that remain towards achieving a mine-free world and to ending the suffering caused by landmines in Colombia and elsewhere," Juanes stated.
At the summit, Juanes will convene a town-hall meeting , or Conversatorio as it is being called in Spanish. The meeting will be an opportunity to give voice to mine-affected communities in Colombia. Participants in the 3 December meeting will include survivors, non-governmental organisations , and representatives of the Colombian government and of the international community.
In 2006 Juanes became the first artist ever to perform in the debating chamber of the European Parliament as part of the European Union campaign to eradicate landmines.
"In 2006, I sang about my convictions, and today I am proud to help raise the voices of landmine survivors attending The Cartagena Summit . They need to be heard, and Cartagena is the perfect venue for it," said Juanes noting that heads of States and other world leaders will be in Colombia to decide the future of the fight against landmines. "The voices of the survivors need to be heard loud and clear, their echo should resonate around the world," said Juanes.
"Juanes' participation highlights the global shared commitment to landmine eradication and the fact that this is a topic that concerns us all, not just representatives of Governments, but every citizen of the world," said the Cartagena Summit President, Ambassador Susan Eckey of Norway.
" The Cartagena Summit is the vehicle for all nations to reaffirm their commitment to the eradication of anti-personnel mines worldwide," stated Colombian Vice President, Francisco Santos Calderon, who is leading the fight against landmines in his country and who will host thousands of delegates in Cartagena. "These weapons represent a permanent threat to the exercise of people's basic rights, and a fundamental barrier to communities' economic and social development," said Santos.
Facts of the Convention
The Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World is the name given to the Second Review Conference of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, which entered into force ten years ago. The AP Mine Ban Convention seeks to eradicate the use of anti-personnel mines and to end the suffering caused to victims. States that join are required to never use landmines again and to provide assistance to the survivors. 156 States are party to the Convention.
Over 1,000 participants including heads of States and Governments are expected to attend the summit in Colombia.
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For further information on the Cartagena Summit contact: Laila Rodriguez at L.Rodriguez@gichd.org or Nathalie Castro at nathaliecastro@presidencia.gov.co
Side Events Calendar
In partnership with the Swiss Campaign to Ban Landmines (SCBL), the United Nations Mine Action Team is conducting an awareness-raising campaign with Member States, civil society and relevant mine action actors to ensure that gender is mainstreamed in the official Conference documents, including the Cartagena Action Plan. The following documents illustrate the relevance of gender-sensitive programming in the main pillars of mine action.
Gender Mainstreaming the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World:
Community Liaison and Mine Risk Education
Mine Clearance
Victim Assistance 
From ERWs to Art
NEW YORK, New York, 14 October 2009 - "Impact" a unique mine action art exhibition featuring work by ten Cambodian artists is coming to the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World with the United Nations Mine Action Team. In a UNDP-funded project, ten artists were given the opportunity to meet with people living on mined and cleared land, as well as survivors of mine accidents, deminers and others working in the mine action sector. Months in the making the exhibition highlights the ongoing crisis involving landmines in Cambodia as well as the successes achieved in mine eradication over more than a decade. "Impact" was recently shown at the Bophana Audiovisual Resource Centre in Phonm Penh, Cambodia from 1 to 10 October and will be in Cartagena, Colombia from 29 November to 4 December.
Battling Landmines with Artistry
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, 1 October 2009 - Months in the making and involving the dedicated efforts of 10 artists whose works spotlight the ongoing crisis involving landmines in Cambodia as well as the successes achieved in mine eradication over more than a decade, the UNDP-funded exhibit "IMPACT" opens tonight at the Bophana Audiovisual Resource Centre.
Albania announces that it is free of anti-personnel mines
TIRANA, Albania, 8 October 2009 – "Today we can say that the vision of an Albania free from anti-personnel mines has come true." According to Petrit Karabina, Chairman of the Albanian Mine Action Committee, his country has become the second state in South Eastern Europe to have cleared all its known mined areas in accordance with its obligations under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention.
Countdown to the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World
BRUSSELS, Belgium - 29 September 2009 - What difference has been made a decade after the entry in force of the Anti-Personnel (AP) Mine Ban Convention? What are the challenges that remain, and what are the opportunities that The Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World can offer? These are some of the questions addressed at a European Union-sponsored seminar that took place in Brussels on 28 September.
World Leaders Announce their Commitment to a Mine-Free World
GENEVA, Switzerland – 23 September 2009 – WORLD LEADERS reaffirm their commitment to a mine-free world by announcing their participation in the Second Review Conference of the Anti- Personnel (AP) Mine Ban Convention, referred to as The Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World taking place in Colombia from 30 November to 4 December 2009.
Participants Manual for the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World