Lend Your Leg

March 1, 2012 marks the 13th anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty becoming international law and celebrations will take place around the world in support of landmine survivors.

To date, 159 countries have ratified the treaty while 37 have not. While there has been significant progress in the fight to eradicate antipersonnel landmines, much more needs to be done – especially when it comes to helping landmine survivors re-integrate back into society. 

Civil society groups are calling on individuals and governments to show support for the treaty with a new campaign called Lend Your Leg. 

Here in Ottawa, Mines Action Canada is hosting a pub night at the Standard Tavern on Elgin Street on March 1 at 7 p.m., with a portion of the proceeds going to support the Uganda Landmine Survivors Association.

Click on the links to learn more.

Guinea-Bissau is now landmine free

Officials from the tiny West African country of Guinea-Bissau have informed the AP Mine Ban Convention secretariat in Geneva that their country is now free of landmines.

“Guinea-Bissau is proud to declare that all areas under its jurisdiction or control in which antipersonnel mines were known or suspected to be emplaced, have been cleared in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention, thus complying with our deadline," said Cesar Luis Gomes Lopes de Carvalho, the national director of Guinea-Bissau’s humanitarian demining programme.

In complying with its Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) obligations, Guinea-Bissau surveyed/demined 5.8 million square metres of territory under its control.

 A total of 3,724 antipersonnel mines were destroyed, along with 318 other types of mines and 182,000 explosive remnants of war (ERW).

The landmine problem in Guinea-Bissau goes back as far as 1963. According to Landmine Monitor, there are approximately 850 landmine/ERW survivors in the country.

Guinea-Bissau is one of 159 state parties to the MBT. To see a complete list, please click here.