- Making it Work (MIW) is a global multi-stakeholder initiative supporting the effective implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
- Source is an international information support center designed to strengthen the management, use and impact of information on health and disability.
- The U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs, currently coordinated by Handicap International, is a coalition of thousands of people and U.S. non-governmental organizations working to convince the U.S. government to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions.
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Landmine Ban Treaty
Landmine Ban Treaty
WASHINGTON, D.C.: A letter signed by 68 senators, asking the administration to join the 1997 Landmine Ban Treaty, was delivered to President Obama on Tuesday. The signers of the letter include 10 Republicans and two Independents and constitute more than the two-thirds of the Senate needed to ratify a treaty.
Sens. Patrick Leahy (VT-D) and George Voinovich (OH-R) circulated the Senate letter, and a similar letter in support of the Senate initiative, circulated by Reps. James McGovern (MA-D) and Darrell Issa (CA-R) in the House of Representatives, was also delivered to President Obama. The existence of the letters was made public on May 8, but the final versions, with all signatures, was delivered Tuesday.
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OUR FIGHT AGAINST LANDMINES
In Cambodia, Mozambique, Angola and many other countries, Handicap International's teams soon came to realize that fitting artificial limbs and providing rehabilitation was not enough. Faced with the ever-increasing number of distressed and suffering mine victims, Handicap International decided to denounce the cynicism and cowardice of these weapons by obtaining a ban.
We therefore decided to launch the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) in 1992 along with five other NGOs*. Through petitions, speeches, media interventions, national and international events, Handicap International and the other ICBL members have increasingly publicized the issue for five years. The campaign has resulted in more widespread knowledge of the danger of these weapons. Several million citizens have signed the petition to obtain a ban on landmines and to show their support for the victims. This unprecedented wave of support from the general public, coupled with the political lobbying of governments, led to the signing of the Ottawa Treaty on December 3rd, 1997. This treaty banned the use, storage, production and transfer of landmines and ordered their destruction.
On December 10th of the same year the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded collectively to the organizations that form the International Campaign.
Learn more about Handicap International's fight against landmines.