Israeli mine survivor’s uncomplicated prose begs for clearer political thinking
Daniel Yuval, age 11, addresses Geneva followup meeting to Cartagena Summit on implementing the Mine Ban Treaty
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Daniel Yuval is 11, an Israeli sixth grader who is in Geneva to make one thing perfectly clear to the world: it should get rid of its landmines and not another single child should be hurt by one. He appears to be getting the message across, both at home in Israel and further afield.
Daniel was enjoying the thrill of his first snow 6 February 2010, playing on a hillside in the Golan Heights with his father, older sister and a younger brothers, when he stepped on a landmine. He lost a leg to it, but gained a power for speaking out against landmines, which is literally moving mountains where adults have been able to achieve far less.
A bill was submitted 10 May 2010 to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, by 73 members, to establish a national mine action authority to manage the clearance of non-operational minefields. The bill followed Daniel’s address to the Knesset, asking them to take action.
Daniel Yuval during a break in Geneva, 29 November 2010
Israel is one of the 20 percent of countries that have not signed the Mine Ban Treaty. The 1997 treaty was implemented in 1999 and 156 States are signatories. Its web pages note: “The Mine Ban Treaty prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of antipersonnel mines. It is the most comprehensive international instrument for eradicating landmines and deals with everything from mine use, production and trade, to victim assistance, mine clearance and stockpile destruction.”
Israel and landmine groups estimate it has 260,000 mines.
Some 20 medical operations and 10 months later, with a prosthesis in place, Daniel has caught up on his schoolwork and is getting good grades, his father says. And he’s able to run faster than some of the kids in his class, Daniel says enthusiastically.
Daniel was in Geneva 29-30 November, brought by Roots of Peace. He gave a powerful speech (speech text in full) as part of the first followup meeting to the Cartagena Summit that took place in Colombia in November 2009. His audience included Micheline Calmy-Rey, Switzerland’s foreign minister, and Jakob Kellenberger, head of the ICRC (International Red Cross).
Daniel and Jerry White, founder of Survivor Corps, who also lost a leg on the Golan Heights when he was 20, will receive the 2010 Roots of Peace Global Citizens Award. Roots of Peace seeks to make sacred sites mine-free and safe for pilgrims and other visitors.
The pair spoke to GenevaLunch about Daniel’s experience and its impact on the current state of the Mine Ban Treaty. Daniel has been learning English for six months and hopes to perfect it so he can address the United Nations.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The United States provided the first clue to its unchanged landmine treaty policy Tuesday 1 December in Cartagena, Colombia, saying its ongoing review of the policy will take time. The US baffled the world a week ago by first saying it had decided not to sign the Ottawa Convention, then two days later saying the matter was still under review. No explanation was given at the time. The Ottawa Convention, signed by 156 countries and in force since 1999, is also known as the international Mine Ban treaty. The Cartagena Summit in Colombia this week is the second five-year review of the progress made under the treaty.
The US issued a brief statement at the conference, saying that “the Administration’s decision to attend this Review Conference is the result of an on-going comprehensive review of US landmine policy initiated at the direction of President Obama.
