U.S. is NOT among the three quarters of the world’s nations that have signed the Land Mine Ban Treaty (MBT)

U.S. Reacts to Civil Society Outcry

In a statement Tuesday, the head of the U.S. delegation to the Second Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty informed participants that the Obama administration has begun a comprehensive landmine policy review. In the statement, the U.S. representative said, “The Administration’s decision to attend this Review Conference is the result of an on-going comprehensive review of U.S. landmine policy initiated at the direction of President Obama.” ... Read more!

Updates from the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World

More than 1,000 activists, survivors and government delegates celebrated the close of the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World with the announcement that four new countries — Albania, Greece, Rwanda and Zambia — are now mine free. The Summit closed with more than 120 governments adopting the Cartagena Action Plan, a detailed five-year plan of commitments on all areas of mine action, including victim assistance, mine clearance, risk education, stockpile destruction and international cooperation. Read more.

Why The Mine Ban Treaty Is So Important:

Prior to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT), there were more than 25,000 new landmine casualties every year. But after the treaty was created, new landmine use was drastically curbed. As a result, last year only 6,000 new casualties were reported, and the rate is still dropping. Yet the U.S. is not among the three quarters of the world’s nations — including most of the U.S.'s closest military allies — that have signed the MBT. U.S. participation is crucial to the ultimate effectiveness of the treaty. Learn more!

Help Ban Cluster Munitions! Sign the People's Treaty

Mines Action Canada and the Cluster Munition Coalition have re-launched the People's Treaty and need your help to get 500,000 signatures to support the new convention banning cluster bombs! The first "People's Treaty" was launched in Ottawa on 3 December 1997. While inside the conference hall 122 governments signed the historic Mine Ban Treaty, outside ordinary citizens demonstrated their personal commitment by signing the People's Treaty, born out of the tremendous ground-swell of support from citizens around the world who wanted to stop the suffering caused by antipersonnel landmines. The People's Treaty provided a vehicle for ordinary people to commit themselves to ensuring that the goals of the Mine Ban Treaty are fully realized and that their governments meet their obligations. Since that time, the People's Treaty has received hundreds of thousands of signatures from all over the globe and has proven successful in engaging the public, generating media attention and putting pressure on governments. It is now time to mobilize that same public support to prevent any further civilian suffering caused by cluster bombs. The People's Treaty was re-launched internationally in Ireland on 30 May 2008 - the final day of the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions. It is a powerful tool to remind governments that the world is watching and that we expect them to fully commit to solving this problem once and for all. The People's Treaty website has everything you need to educate and engage your supporters, media, community leaders and the general public about the issue, including fact sheets, ready-to-use presentations, slide shows, photo galleries, videos, petition sheets and many other campaign resources. The People's Treaty site is available in four languages - English, French, Arabic and Spanish.