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Landmine Information:

• Every 22 minutes someone somewhere around the world is killed or maimed by an antipersonnel landmine.
• About 26,000 people each year, an average of 500 people per week, are killed or maimed by antipersonnel landmines.
• There are an estimated 100 million landmines in the ground in over 70 countries. It is estimated that there are more landmines than children in Angola.
• At the current rate, it would take 1,100 years to clear the world of mines, and then only if not a single new mine were laid.
• A landmine cannot tell the difference between the footfall of a soldier and the footfall of a child, between times of war and times of peace.
• 100,000 U.S. citizens have been killed or injured by antipersonnel landmines in this century.
• Landmines were responsible for 34% of U.S. casualties during the Persian Gulf War; 33% of U.S. casualties in Vietnam. Two hundred eighty-four international peacekeepers in Bosnia were landmine casualties.
• Forty-seven U.S. companies have been involved in the manufacture of antipersonnel mines. Seventeen of these companies have agreed to renounce future involvement.
• In early 1996, 15 top retired U.S. generals, including Norman Schwarzkopf, endorsed a ban on landmines in an open letter in the New York Times.
• A mine can cost $3 to make and over $300 to clear.

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  Advocacy

  Catholic parishioners need to become advocates of U.S. leadership to bring about an early and effective ban on landmines. Parish social ministry, pro-life, and other structures can help inform and encourage action on landmines.

  Parishes can:

  • Focus on landmines on a special weekend, distributing the brochures, posters, and other materials, show the video, integrate these concerns into worship and formation.
  • Organize letter writing to Congress and the President.
  • Make a visit to members of Congress on landmines and other issues.
  • Encourage friends, co- workers, and neighbors to advocate a ban on landmines.

  The materials that follow can help parishioners become better advocates and respond to questions which may be raised.

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  MINE AWARENESS LINKS

  GINIE LANDMINE AWARENESS EDUCATION PAGE
  The Global Information Networks in Education (GINIE), Land Mine Awareness Education (LMAE) program is a place for the worldwide experts to exchange ideas, discuss their work experiences, and collaborate in order to enhance the ways of dealing with this issues.

  KOSOVO MINE AWARENESS MATERIAL
  MINE AWARENESS (Kujdes nga Minat) UNITED NATIONS INTERIM ADMINISTRATION MISSION IN KOSOVO (UNMIK) Mine Action Coordination Centre MINE/UXO AND BASIC SECURITY INFORMATION FOR RETURNING REFUGEES.

  MEDEX MINE AWARENESS CAMP FOR CHILDREN
  The Camp is placed on the mountain Pavlovica, 20 km from Novi Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main goal is professional tuition in mine and unexploded ordnance awareness, first aid, social and ethnic tolerance and respect to the countryside.

  OTHER PAGES

  A PLAGUE OF PLASTIC SOLDIERS
  Producer Stephen Smith of Minnesota Public Radio travels to Cambodia and reports on the latest efforts to clear deadly mines, in a place where people are still living in fear. Contains Real Audio and Video.

  LANDMINE WHO'S WHO
  Landmine Who's Who complied by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). A list as an aid to persons seeking information on the landmine problem and its potential solutions.

  LANDMINES
  ONEWORLD ONLINE and its partners give you the facts about landmines, examine the arguments for banning them, report on the UN review conferences and what action you can take.

  MEDIA and PHOTOGRAPHS
  

  JOURNAL OF MINE ACTION
  Mine Awareness and Community Risk Education edition 4.3. Fall 2000. The official publication of the Mine Action Information Center at James Madison University, Virginia, USA.
  
  CHILDREN'S LANDMINE RELATED ART
  Children Create Art to Express Feelings about Landmines

  LANDMINE RELATED FILMS ON THE NET
  Landmine films available on the internet Here are some landmine films that you can view for free on the internet.

  ADOPT-A-MINEFIELD Photo Gallery
  Searchable Database of landmine related images.

  REPORTS

  HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ARMS PROJECT REPORT
  Exposing the Source:US Companies and the Production of Antipersonnel Mines.

  UNITED NATIONS STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF ARMED CONFLICT ON CHILDREN
  Graça Machel, Chairperson. The Study is the first of its kind in the history of the United Nations, it seeks to demonstrate to the world community the necessity of adopting effective measures for the promotion and protection of the rights of children who are victims of armed conflicts.

  ARMS TRADE DATABASE: Antipersonnel_Landmines
  CDI's Conventional Arms Trade Project exists to inform the public, media, scholars, and government officials about the conventional arms trade.
  

  ACTIONS

  ADOPT-A-MINEFIELD
  Adopt-A-Minefield raises awareness and funds to clear landmines and rehabilitate landmine survivors. Also educates people about the problems that landmines continue to cause in many countries around the world.

  UNITED NATIONS DHA LANDMINE ACTIONS
  The United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs landmine advocacy suggestions.

  WRITE TO THE WORLD LEADERS

  EMAIL THE WORLD LEADERS
  Email addresses of the world leaders

  WORLD LEADERS ADDRESSES
  US Governors' addresses and World Leaders' addresses.

  EMAIL ADDRESS DIRECTORY FOR THE POLITICIANS OF THE WORLD
  Email address Lists of the Head of State E-mail Page.
   

Additional Links/Resources:

The Catholic Campaign to Ban Landmines With Pope John Paul II and Catholic Bishops from around the world, the bishops in this country have long called for a ban on these indiscriminate and deadly weapons and have urged the U.S. Government to sign the Mine Ban Treaty. Much progress has been made in the past decade toward acting on the moral imperative of ending the use of landmines. The continued reliance of the world’s largest military on these insidious weapons will only delay the day when the world will be freed from this scourge.

Roots of Peace was founded in 1997 with a clear mission: to rid the world of landmines by transforming toxic minefields into thriving farmland. Our vision of turning "Mines into Vines" seeks to restore the promise of hope and prosperity to afflicted communities throughout the world. We invite you to join us.

Adopt-A-Minefield exists so that people whose lives are shattered by landmines can once again experience life to the full. 

Adopt-A-Minefield raises awareness and funds to clear landmines and help survivors of landmine accidents. 

100% of all donations to Adopt-A-Minefield (UK) are applied to mine action.

The U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL) is a coalition of approximately 500 U.S.-based human rights, humanitarian, faith-based, children's, peace, disability, veterans', medical, development, academic, and environmental organizations dedicated to a total ban on antipersonnel landmines. It is one of 90 country campaigns that form the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). The ICBL, launched in 1992 works to bring about a global ban on antipersonnel landmines. In 1997, the ICBL and its coordinator, Jody Williams, received the Nobel Prize for Peace for their work banning landmines.

International Campaign to Ban Landmines
1998 Nobel peace prize winners - detailed information on the history of the campaign, recent news, photographs and current actions.

MINE ACTION CANADA (MAC)
Detailed information on the treaty process, database of the country campaigns and more mines related information.

VVAF LANDMINE CAMPAIGN PAGE
Details on the US Campaign to Ban Landmines.

ICRC LANDMINE PAGE
Information on the problem, Conferences and meetings, ICRC campaign: "Landmines must be stopped"  Anti-personnel landmines and International Humanitarian Law ICRC assistance to mine victims Seven days in a minefield and the Latest news

HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL
French organisation.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Human Rights Watch Homepage.

MSF - Médecins Sans Frontières
MSF is a humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency medical assistance to populations in danger in more than 80 countries.

Landmine Survivors Network
LSN works to help mine victims and their families recover through an  integrated program of peer counseling, sports, and social and economic re-integration into their communities.

BAN THE LANDMINES
Bruce Cockburn/ Mines Action Canada, Vietnam Vets. of America Foundation.

Landmine Information Center
CARE Landmine page, includes A Special Land Mine Awareness Photo Exhibit: Angola...The Lingering Effects of War. Real Audio Interview with CARE Staff in Angola.

BAN ANTI-PERSONNEL LANDMINES PROJECT
The Landmine Project - Physicians for Global Survival, Canada PGS actively promotes the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

DEMINING LINKS

GENEVA INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR HUMANITARIAN DEMINING (GICHD)
GICHD is active in landmine related research, provides operational assistance and supports the implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.

UNITED NATIONS DEMINING
United Nations Database

NORWEGIAN PEOPLE'S AID
Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) is one of Norway's largest non-governmental organizations, founded in 1939 by the Norwegian labor movement.

DEMINING RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
This site is intended as a resource for anyone interested in helping to reduce the threat posed by unexploded weapons, particularly landmines, wherever there have been conflicts in the last 100 years or so.

UXO LAO
The Lao national organisation responsible for UXO clearance and community education. Supported by an international Trust Fund, our mission is to reduce the number of accidents, and to increase the land available for food production and other development activities and agricultural activities.

Non-Violence International - South East Asia Program
"Mass Destruction in Slow Motion" by Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan