Swiss photographer Michael Grob on his work with Cambodian landmine victims: "Unlike in Afghanistan which is still in a state of war, we had to learn to adjust to the reality of such an amount of mines still being in Cambodian soil so long after the fighting has stopped. It was at times very difficult for me to deal with the impression left by the very high number of mine inflicted casualties - especially those of injured children. The work of the UN in Cambodia is, in my eyes, of utmost importance. It is for some communities the only opportunity for some kind of future. The situation touched me deeply and profoundly...my work for the United Nations mine action - as insignificant as it might be in the bigger picture - shall go on as long as needed." (©2011 Michael Grob)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Efforts to get rid of landmines are making good progress in many countries and funding is being maintained despite government budget constraints, a key meeting in Cambodia that closed 2 December shows. But work remains, with 4,000 new victims of landmines each year: six people died in Pursat Province, Cambodia, which hosted the meeting, Thursday 1 December when their truck triggered a mine.
The 11th meeting of the States Parties, the 158 nations that are part of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention finished in Phnom Penh with several strong commitments.
The Netherlands stated that “despite cuts in other areas, the government remains convinced of this matter” and it will maintain its €15 million annual contribution to demining and victim assistance.
Austria is increasing its 2012 funding slightly, to €1.9 million.
Cambodia funding stepped up
Austria announced its first contributions to demining and victim assistance in Cambodia, totaling €400,000. New Zealand, too, will contribute to a demining project in northeastern Cambodia: more than US$ 1 million in 2012.
Burundi bright spot
Cheering news came from Burundi, which says it has completed demining, a full three years ahead of the deadline to which it was committed. It is the 19th country to be declared mine-free.
Myanmar told the landmine ban meeting in Cambodia at the end of November that it is carefully considering the matter (Photo, ©2011, AP Mine Ban Convention)
The meeting, with 1,000 delegates taking part, marked progress in a number of areas and made media headlines over the first-ever participation by Myanmar, as an observer.
The isolated nation has been making commitments to reform, and at the land-mine ban meeting it said that “thorough study of the treaty will be continued”.
Its actions will be watched closely; it is one of three countries, along with Qaddafi’s Libya and Israel, who have been accused of laying mines in 2011.
“Convincing evidence” Syria is using mines
There is also “convincing evidence”, the group says, that Syria has used mines this year.
Tuvalu and South Sudan took their seats as the Convention’s newest adherents. Finland announced that it is on the verge of becoming the 159th to join the Convention.
Fifteen States that have not yet joined the Convention attended as observers, “signaling their openness to engage in a discussion on the devastating impact of anti-personnel mines”, a meeting press release states. The US is one of these and it reported that it is continuing to review its landmine policy.
Other signs of progress reported by the meeting: “Turkey reported the destruction of all stockpiled anti-personnel mines: 3 million mines. Burundi and Nigeria declared completion of their mine clearance obligations. Guinea Bissau, Jordan and Uganda announced that they will complete their demining programmes in coming months.”
A major and often under-funded part of the States’ commitments is helping survivors. Meeting host Cambodia, one of the most affected countries, says it is “assessing its national action plan on disability with a view to preparing a revised plan in 2012.”
Britain, Germany fail to meet commitments to demine
Germany is one of four countries with new reports of mine contamination that are falling far behind on their commitments to demine.
The town of Koblenz, Germany is the site this weekend of a massive project to defuse a bomb with 3,000 tons of explosives left over from the second world war; 45,000 people are being evacuated from their homes to allow the army and experts to get rid of it. The bomb became apparent this year due to lower water levels in the Rhine, reports NPR.
Britain has failed to clear any mines in the Falklands for the second year in a row.
“The UK has consistently failed to meet their clearance obligations under the treaty, and now have to clear more than 110 mined areas across over 7km2 in less than seven years,” the group notes.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Myanmar’s cautious approach to joining the nations of the world in political arenas is being given a very public boost this week by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to the country 30 November, the first by a US leader in more than 50 years. The former Burma (still called that by some countries, notably Britain) has remained closed to the outside world, but reforms are starting to open the door.
Among significant moves, Myanmar this week took part for the first time ever in an Ottawa Convention meeting, addressing the States Parties annual review of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (also called the Ottawa Convention). The Geneva-based Convention is meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Myanmar is suspected of being one of only three countries to have recently laid landmines; the other two are Libya and Israel. The Convention is keen to pull Myanmar into the fold, with 158 countries now party to the Convention, which entered into force in 1999. Of these, 153 say they no longer have stockpiles of the weapons.
Clinton’s visit will allow her to assess reforms in Myanmar first-hand, she has said. “The historic two-day visit comes in the wake of concessions by the new government of President Thein Sein,” notes CNN. “His government freed dozens of political prisoners last month following the earlier release of Nobel Peace Laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi Clinton is meeting the long-time opponent of the military regime Wednesday.
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Four specialists from the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA) were dispatched to Thailand by the Swiss government, which is also supplying CHF100,000 to help Thailand and Cambodia organize their flood aid efforts.
The team of four experts is made up of a water specialist, microbiologist, and two experts on flood containment and coping measures, says Bern. “They will provide their expertise in the areas of water management, the measuring of water quality, and in evaluating the condition of the dams and embankments.”
Landmine removal in Tirana, 2009 (photo, Cartagena Summit)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Landmine groups meeting in Cambodia this week are calling for more countries to sign the 1997 Landmine Ban Treaty. They are marking International Mine Awareness Day 4 April by drawing attention to the case of Cambodia, one of the world’s most heavily affected countries, with 44,000 survivors.
States Parties the convention, as well as the 2008 Cluster Munitions Treaty, “need to improve efficiency in clearance, including by more precisely identifying affected areas. For example, Cambodia is currently conducting a new baseline survey to better understand the extent of its contamination,” says ICBL, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.
“Both conventions also require victim assistance to support landmine and cluster munition survivors’ efforts to achieve social acceptance, gain meaningful employment and ensure their rights are respected. In addition to enduring physical pain, survivors report that they are faced with a lack of services and job opportunities, limited capacity-building programs and, most importantly, insufficient financial and technical resources for victim assistance.”
ICBL says that Cambodia needs to fully implement its National Plan of Action for Persons with Disabilities, “which has faltered so far”, to ensure that “survivors receive the support they need to lead dignified lives.”
Two EPFL students use electromagnetic currents to explode mines remotely
The remains of Preah Vihear, an ancient temple built nearly 1,000 years ago and a Unesco heritage site, are at the heart of a dispute between Cambodia and Thailand that has claimed several lives.
More than 10,000 Cambodian villagers reportedly have been evacuated from areas along the Thai border and are waiting for relief from the Cambodian Red Cross and other local NGOs (non-governmental organizations).
Thailand’s prime minister says “the French offer to mediate in the Thai-Cambodian border is not wanted,” and he referred to the episode, where fighter planes flew close to the Cambodian border, as a mistake.
The Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry has also come out against a plan by Unesco to send a mission to inspect the temple following claims by Cambodia that it suffered severe damage in fighting between the two countries.
Links to other sites: BBC News, the Bangkok Post and the Phnom-Penh Post
A stampede on a bridge in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, has killed at least 339 people, with as many wounded the country’s prime minister told the nation on state public television. Reuters, which is carrying regular updates, reports that “thousands panicked late on Monday when several people were electrocuted while celebrating the end of an annual water festival.”
(video) Phnom Penh, Cambodia (GenevaLunch.com, agencies) – Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, was sentenced Monday 26 July to 35 years in prison with five years off for time served. Duch, age 67, was the man who ran Cambodia’s notorious S-21 prison where some 15,000 people died under the Khmer Rouge regime that saw one-quarter of the country’s population killed. He was found guilty by a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal for crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Convention.
“During the course of his 77-day trial [in 2009], he admitted to heading Toul Sleng, a top secret detention center for the worst “enemies” of the state,” reports the New Zealand Herald. CNN cites the court spokesperson as saying more than 10 million Cambodians were expected to watch the court’s decision on television Monday.
Comrade Duch, as he was known under the Communist Khmer Rouge regime, was a mathematics teacher before he became active in the Communist party. He is the only former Khmer Rouge leader who has pleaded guilty to serious charges, and he is the first to have stood trial. He has angered many Cambodians, however, by asking for an early release from prison, saying that although he was responsible for his actions, he was only following orders.
The Geneva Conventions signed before 1949 are a series of treaties that protect military personnel and prisoners of war. The fourth convention, signed in 1949, protects the civilian population. The Geneva Conventions as a whole “contain the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war”, according to Geneva-based International Red Cross (ICRC), and they are at the core of international humanitarian law.
Links to other sites: Case information sheet from the courts of Cambodia, Guardian on French scholar François Bizot’s imprisonment by Khmer Rouge, ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) on the Geneva Conventions
Corrections 14:05 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) has denounced Cambodia’s forced return to China of 20 ethnic Uighur asylum-seekers before their claims were heard. The Geneva-based organization said it was “deeply distressed” at the news and concerned that “a disturbing pattern of such cases is increasingly evident around the world.”
Human rights groups condemn deportation
The 20 were deported Saturday 19 December as illegal immirants, reports Reuters AlertNet, an information service for humanitarian organizations. The move coincides with a trade visit to Cambodia by Chinese Vice-president Xi Jinping 21 December. Reuters AlertNet quotes a faxed statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, received by Reuters: “Recently, Cambodia deported 20 Chinese citizens in accordance with immigration laws for illegal entry into Cambodia. China received these people in accordance with usual practices,” but the statement also links the immigration crime to smuggling.
Several human rights groups have condemned the deportations, and US State Department’s spokesman Gordon Duguid says the US is “deeply disturbed” by the decision and the lack of appropriate participation by the UNHCR which, he warns, will affect its relations with Cambodia.”Now that the group has been returned to China,” says Duguid, “we urge the government of China to uphold international norms and to ensure transparency, due process and proper treatment of persons in its territory.”
Tensions are rising sharply between Cambodia and Thailand, with Cambodia refusing Wednesday 11 Novmber a demand for extradition from Thailand for Thai former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thailand is now reviewing its cooperation agreements with Cambodia. Thaksin was to stand trial on corruption charges in Thailand when he fled the country in 2008, saying the trial was politically motivated. Cambodia has said that it does not consider the charges valid because they are politically motivated, but it limited its response to the extradition request to a simple refusal without explanation, according to local media. The BBC’s reporter in Bangkok reports that Thaksin and Cambodia’s Hun Sen are golf partners and close friends.
Links to other sites: Bangkok Post, BBC, Independent, UK,
Thailand’s former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has arrived in Phnom Penh to take up a job as economic advisor to Cambodia. The wealthy businessman’s arrival Tuesday 10 November in the Cambodian capital prompted Thailand to suspend its cooperation agreement with Cambodia in protest. The latest move in worsening relations between the two as a result of the job offer to Thaksin follows Thailand’s removal of its ambassador last week. It has also suspended a memorandum of understanding that covers a shared waterway. A Thai government spokesperson says the government will issue an extradition order to Cambodia for Thaksin, who served two terms as prime minister before he was deposed in 2006 and charged with corruption in 2008.
A tsunami washed over the Southern Pacific islands of Samoa early 30 September leaving at least a hundred people dead and many more injured. Six-metre high waves flooded up to 1.5 km inland, washing away entire villages in low-lying areas on both of the main islands of Samoa and American Samoa, a US dependency. The tsunami was triggered by an earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale about 30 km underground and only 190km off the coast. A tsunami warning went out immediately but officials said there was practically no time to heed the warning. BBC, Reuters
In the Philippines, hundreds of thousands of exhausted survivors from the weekend’s torrential rains and floods have swamped shelters in churches, schools and gymnasiums. Relief officials say they cannot keep up. Agriculture ministry officials estimated that tropical storm Ketsana, known as Ondoy in the Philippines, had destroyed more than $60 million worth of income-generating crops. The storm has continued moving west, causing death and destruction in Vietnam and Cambodia. BBC, Manila Times
IBJ CEO Karen Tse
[includes video] Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Karen Tse, founder and CEO of Geneva-based International Bridges to Justice (IBJ), will be awarded the 2009 Gleitsman International Activist Award for her work “to guarantee all citizens the right to competent legal representation, the right to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment, and the right to a fair trial.” The honour, given by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership in Cambridge, Massachusetts USA , comes with a $125,000 prize. The awards ceremony takes place in Cambridge 29 September.
IBJ was founded in Geneva in 2000. Tse recognized that laws were not being applied in many countries. Lack of expertise and poorly trained judicial staff in many countries results in people being denied basic legal rights. Thus, untrained policemen torture prisoners to obtain confessions because it is the easiest way to extract information.
