"People's treaty" to ban landmines: Ottawa Process delivers prompt results.

Amidst cheers and tears, on December 3 Canada became the first country both to sign and to ratify the new international treaty banning anti-personnel mines. Watched by an estimated 1700 delegates representing non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international agencies, and governments from around the world, Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy signed the treaty on behalf of the Canadian government and immediately presented ratification papers to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The Minister received a standing ovation at an earlier session of the conference, which took place in Ottawa on 2-4 December, for the leadership he and his department officials had shown in guiding the "Ottawa Process" to a successful treaty in under two years.

By the end of the conference, 122 nations had signed the "Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction." Although several states including the United States, Russia, and China were not among the signatories, most nations affected by mines and many of the past major producers signed the treaty. Under the treaty's terms, states are obligated to ban all production, use, and trade in anti-personnel mines, and to destroy all stocks except for a "minimum number absolutely necessary" for training purposes. Unprecedented for a weapons-related treaty, the convention also includes clauses obligating signatories "in a position to do so" to assist other countries with mine clearance, mine awareness, and victim rehabilitation programs.

The treaty is a powerful and timely victory for the many thousands of people worldwide, led by the NGO-sponsored International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), who worked for a global landmines ban. Although the treaty is among states, the conference recognized the central role of the ICBL and the public pressure it mustered and channelled to bring states to the signature table. Canadian officials praised Mines Action Canada (the national coalition of which Ploughshares is a member) and its leading spokespeople, Celina Tuttle and Valerie Warmington. In recognition of its grass roots origins and promotion, NGOs dubbed the landmines ban a "people's treaty." At the site of the Ottawa treaty conference, in Canadian cities across the nation, and at events around the world, citizens were invited by ICBL members to sign a statement declaring their support for the convention and their commitment to monitor adherence to the convention's terms.

The conference celebrated the signing of the treaty and the new form of diplomacy that led to it, but NGO and government delegates alike dubbed it a "work in progress." Remaining work includes early ratification by signatories so that the treaty can enter into force (40 ratifications are needed), the cajoling of reluctant governments to sign, and the implementation of major mine action programs to clear mines and assist mine survivors. In addition, conference participants reflected on the lessons learned from the landmines ban experience and how they could be applied to other disarmament and related issues, most notably the pervasive proliferation and impact of small arms.

Staff members Ken Epps and Ernie Regehr attended the conference on behalf of Ploughshares.