On 27th February, the Embassy participated in a celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the ratification of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, commonly known as the Mine Ban Treaty. Ethiopia was among the first states in the World to sign the Convention already in 1997. The Convention was ratified in 1999; Ethiopia ratified it in 2004 and became a State Party to it on 1st June 2005.
The Mine Ban Treaty, which has 80% of the World’s states as State Parties, obliges State Parties to the treaty to,
- prohibit the use, production, stockpiling and trade of anti-personnel mines
- destroy all stockpiled anti-personnel mines within 4 years of becoming State Party
- remove and destroy all anti-personnel mines from all known minefields under the state’s jurisdiction or control within 10 years of becoming a State Party
- provide assistance for the care and rehabilitation, as well as social and economic integration, of mine victims, as well as mine risk awareness programmes.
The 10th Anniversary celebration was organised by the Landmine Survivors Network Ethiopia. Its main focus was on measures made and results achieved in the field of care and rehabilitation, as well as social and economic integration of landmine victims. A number of Ethiopian NGOs, among those the Landmine Survivors Network and the Rehabilitation and Development Organisation, presented their experiences and results and highlighted the progress which is being made in Ethiopia in this field. A representative from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which is mandated as responsible for the care and rehabilitation of mine victims, outlined the considerable efforts made within the Ministry in implementing and mainstreaming the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, as well as the Proclamation on Employment Rights for People with Disabilities, in support of the Convention.
Furthermore, participants were informed that Ethiopia does not produce, use nor trade in anti-personnel mines.
The Embassy in Addis Ababa, through Norwegian People’s Aid, supports the capacity building of the Ethiopian Mine Action Office (EMAO), whose mandate is to remove and destroy anti-personnel mines in Ethiopia. On the basis of current progress, EMAO are confident that they will be able to fulfill the Mine Ban Treaty’s obligation to clear all known mine fields in Ethiopia by 2015. Mine risk education is another EMAO mandate, which is currently being implemented in 5 regions in Ethiopia.
The currently most urgent issue for the Ethiopian Government to address is the destruction of all stockpiled anti-personnel mines by 1st June 2009. EMAO has informed the Embassy that the Ministry of National Defence, which is mandated with this task, will ensure that all stockpiled anti-personnel mines will be destroyed before the deadline.
Contributions to the capacity-building of EMAO is only one element in Norway’s support to mine action internationally. Since its signing of the Mine Ban Treaty in 1997, Norway has had a global advocacy role in the field of mine action and has made substantial financial contributions towards the implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. In 2007, Norway was the second-largest financial contributor to mine action globally, with allocations of $50.2 million, primarily to mine clearance and victims assistance.
Norway’s advocacy role in humanitarian mine action also includes lobbying for the political accept of the Convention on Cluster Munitions which was signed in Oslo, Norway, in December 2008.