After the Mine Ban Treaty was opened for signature in December 1997, the ICBL consulted with key government, international organizations, and civil society partners. Recognizing the widespread and common need for accurate, systematic, and sustained reporting, in June 1998 Landmine Monitor was created as an initiative of the ICBL to address the reporting needs of the international community with respect to landmines, cluster munitions, and other ERW, and to monitor universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. The international community welcomed the move to systematize reporting to provide information necessary to carry out their own work.

The first annual report, Landmine Monitor Report 1999: Toward a Mine-Free World, was published the following year, coinciding with the First Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty. Annual reports have since been published each year prior to the respective meeting of States Parties.

On 3 December 2008, the Convention on Cluster Munitions was opened for signature. The convention provides a framework to monitor and measure progress in eliminating cluster munitions. In November 2008, the Monitor’s Editorial Board, at the request of the Steering Committee of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), decided to monitor the universalization and implementation of the cluster bomb treaty, in addition to the landmine treaty. The Monitor has always monitored the global ERW situation more broadly including cluster munitions. The Convention on Cluster Munitions provides the Monitor with the opportunity to more specifically report on the cluster bomb problem and hold governments accountable to the treaty’s provisions.

The Monitor remains an initiative of the ICBL and, as such, the research and monitoring program of the campaign. The CMC is the ICBL’s sister campaign focused on eliminating cluster munitions and the ICBL is part of the CMC’s leadership. At the CMC’s request, the Monitor has become functionally the CMC’s research and monitoring arm.

In 2010 Landmine Monitor changed its name to Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor to reflect its increased monitoring of the cluster munition issues. Starting in 2010 the Monitor will produce three publications: Country Profiles, Landmine Monitor, and Cluster Munition Monitor.

What does the Monitor do?

Every year from 1999-2009 the Monitor produced an Annual Report and Executive Summary, in addition to fact sheets and an online version of all research products. Starting in 2010 the Monitor annually produced Country Profiles, Landmine Monitor, and Cluster Munition Monitor, in addition to fact sheets.

This consistent reporting for the past decade has provided a vast body of information used to monitor trends and developments in the global movements to eliminate the suffering caused by landmines, cluster munitions, and other ERW. The Monitor is renowned for its independent and impartial monitoring and has become the de facto monitoring regime for the treaties banning landmines and cluster bombs. The Monitor has gained respect for its work by going beyond the transparency reporting states must provide under the relevant treaties to provide independent reporting and evaluation.

How does the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor work?

The Landmine Monitor network relies on over 70 researchers from around the world. Researchers include journalists, academics, research specialists, and campaigners.

Research efforts are coordinated and supported by an Editorial Team comprised of dedicated staff from Mines Action Canada, Action On Armed Violence, Handicap International, Human Rights Watch, and Norwegian People's Aid. The program is governed by an Editorial Board consisting of members from each of these five organizations.

Who uses the Monitor?

The Monitor’s key target audiences are governments, civil society, and international organizations, as well as media, academics and the general public.

Monitor reporting is used to:

• support the universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions;
• guide policy planning and decision-making;
• determine mine action funding priorities;
• prioritize where stockpile destruction, clearance, risk education and victim assistance programs are needed in affected countries;
• serve as an advocacy tool for civil society to use to hold their governments accountable for their actions under the treaties banning landmines and cluster bombs; and
• raise awareness of the global landmine, cluster bomb, and ERW problems and keep these issues prominent in the public domain to assist in generating the momentum and support needed to sustain mine action efforts.

The Monitor and Mines Action Canada

In January 2005, MAC assumed new responsibilities as the lead agency and global coordinator for the Monitor, a task previously undertaken by Human Rights Watch. MAC is responsible for implementing all decisions taken by the Editorial Board and for coordinating the editing, production, and dissemination of all publications.

To fulfill its new role, MAC increased its capacity by hiring staff to manage the initiative, conduct final editing, and contribute to research, editing and overall program support.

By assuming the role of lead agency, MAC has significantly increased its international profile in the international movements to ban landmines and cluster bombs. Already recognized as a leader in advocacy initiatives and youth programming, MAC is further increasing its credibility and the effectiveness of its programs by developing its knowledge and capacity in research and monitoring. Operating out of Ottawa, Canada, MAC's position as lead agency on the Monitor ensures that Canada remains at the forefront of efforts to rid the world of landmines and cluster bombs.