Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan has lived and worked in a dozen countries, spending most of his adult life in Southeast Asia. In 1995 he co-founded the Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines. He has been involved in Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor since its inception in 1998, first as a country researcher (Myanmar/Burma, Lao PDR & Singapore).

Since 2005 Yeshua has worked for Mines Action Canada, providing Ban Policy Research Coordination to the Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor for Asia, the Pacific, and the Middle East and North Africa regions, and on Non-State Armed Groups globally.

Previous to working for Mines Action Canada, from 1992 to 2005, Yeshua was the Southeast Asia Regional Representative for Nonviolence International, an ICBL and CMC member organization. He was also a co-founder of the International Action Network on Small Arms- a global civil society network focused on decreasing the suffering caused by small arms and light weapons.

Yeshua currently serves on the Board of Nonviolence International Canada, and is also a member of the international Board of the International Peace Bureau in Geneva, and is a member of the grant making Advisory Board of the International Nonviolence Trainers Fund of the AJ Muste Institute in New York.

Yeshua studied for an MA in Peace and Reconciliation from Coventry University, UK and a PhD in Peace Studies from Gujarat Vidyapith in Ahmedabad, India.

US born, in 1971 he refused military conscription during the close of the US War on Indochina. Subsequently he has worked to promote pragmatic nonviolent alternatives to address human problems. Yeshua has organized, or participated in, people power or civil resistance initiatives, from the local to the national level, on four continents, and in a score of countries.

Yeshua is a skilled nonviolence trainer, activist, and independent scholar on humanitarian disarmament, human rights and nonviolent direct action. His articles have appeared in several European, Pacific and Asian language journals and he has penned Opinion Editorials encouraging adherence to the landmine ban in papers published in India, Iran and Singapore. He has co-authored reports on nonviolent direct action methods used by popular struggles in Tibet and Burma, and on international peace teams. Most recently he has been involved in peacekeeping training for nonviolent direct actions in his home province, opposing pipeline construction in British Columbia, Canada.

Yeshua works remotely from the Ottawa office of Mines Action Canada, located in either Victoria, British Columbia or Bangkok, Thailand.

Paul Hannon is the Executive Director of Mines Action Canada (MAC), the Canadian member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which was the co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. MAC is a founding member of the international Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), launched in 2003, and is also the Canadian member of the CMC. The CMC was nominated for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize. In 2011 he led the process to merge the CMC and ICBL.

Paul became the Executive Director of Mines Action Canada in July 1998 and represents MAC on the ICBL-CMC’s Governance Board of which he is the Vice-Chair. He is also a member of the Monitoring and Research Committee which oversees the research and production of the annual Landmine Monitor report and its sister publication the annual Cluster Munition Monitor report.

Paul led Mines Action Canada to co-found the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW) along with a number of likeminded civil society organizations. INEW has been key actor in the process towards a political declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

In 2012 Mines Action Canada along with six other organizations co-founded the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. The Campaign now has over 170 international, regional, and national non-governmental organizations in 65 countries. Paul is the Treasurer for the Campaign and a member of its Steering Committee.

Paul brought to the campaign 15 years of experience with the Canadian development sector including working and consulting with Africa Emergency Aid, AlterNET Communications, Canadian Council for International Cooperation, International Development Research Centre, Mozambique Task Force, Oxfam Canada, the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Fund (CCIC) and Partnership Africa Canada. He has also worked for the federal government and one of Canada’s major financial institutions.

Paul was born in Guelph, Ontario and is a graduate of Carleton University in Ottawa. He resides in Ottawa. In 2002 he was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal.

The Government of Canada is drafting a new statement of their Feminist Foreign Policy. Mines Action Canada has joined Above Ground, Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, Amnesty International Canada, The Equality Fund, Equitas, Inter Pares, Oxfam Canada, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and Women, Peace and Security Network Canada to form the Feminist Foreign Policy Working Group. 

The Feminist Foreign Policy Working Group is pleased to release our submission to the Government of Canada containing specific recommendations for Canada's Feminist Foreign Policy. Each member of the Working Group was responsible for drafting their own section and recommendations to the government. Please read the submission here.

Additionally, the Working Group hosted a series of engagement sessions on the topic of a Canadian feminist foreign policy. The report from these engagement sessions is now available online here. 

For more on this work and the Feminist Foreign Policy Working Group please visit: www.amnesty.ca/ffp

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Enters into Force

(Ottawa, 22 January 2021) Today Canadians celebrate nuclear weapons finally being prohibited under international law. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), also referred to as the nuclear ban treaty, entered into force today; 90 days after Honduras became the 50th state to ratify the Treaty. The Treaty will become legally binding for the 51 countries which have so far ratified it, and represents a major step forward for nuclear disarmament.

Canada has not yet joined the nuclear ban so Canadians from coast to coast are calling on Parliament to consider joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The TPNW is the first international treaty that comprehensively prohibits nuclear weapons. It includes absolute prohibitions on developing, testing, producing, stockpiling, stationing, transferring, using, and/or threatening the use of nuclear weapons. The Treaty also addresses, for the first time, the impact nuclear weapons activities have had on indigenous communities. Inspired by the Ottawa Treaty banning landmines, this Treaty also includes positive obligations such as the provision of assistance to communities affected by nuclear weapons use and testing around the world. 

For the 51 countries now legally bound by the Treaty all these provisions came ‘into force’ today. As with other treaties, such as the Ottawa Treaty, more countries will become legally bound as they ratify the TPNW.

For governments which are yet to join the Treaty, like Canada, the power of the TPNW comes from the message it sends. Nuclear weapons are now prohibited. When weapons are prohibited, investment in their production declines, they become stigmatized and it becomes easier to eliminate them. 

The TPNW is the result of decades of work by dedicated activists and diplomats around the world. The International Campaign Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) worked tirelessly for this treaty and was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.

“Despite the global pandemic of 2020, 17 states finished their internal legal work to ratify the Treaty giving the world a shining example of what committed action for a better world, diplomacy and multilateralism can accomplish.

For years the nuclear armed states repeated endlessly that prohibiting nuclear weapons was impossible. Today proves that when we focus on the humanitarian impact of weapons and work collectively it is possible to change the world. 75 years of activism has paid off. Nuclear weapons have always been immoral, now they are illegal.” said Erin Hunt, Program Manager, Mines Action Canada and a member of ICAN’s negotiating team on the TPNW.

Canadians have taken a leadership role in ICAN throughout this process including Japanese Canadian hibakusha or Hiroshima survivor, Setsuko Thurlow who was one of two people to accept the Nobel Prize on behalf of ICAN. A dozen Canadian municipalities have endorsed the TPNW through ICAN’s City Appeal while 27 Members of Parliament and 19 Senators have signed ICAN’s Parliamentary Pledge joining the over 1,000 Canadians who have signed a parliamentary petition in support of the TPNW. Despite the leadership of Canadians, Canada has been slow to join or launch substantial discussion in Parliament regarding the Treaty. Parliament can no longer put off the TPNW.

To celebrate the entry into force, a photo collage of residents in British Columbia and Washington State publicly stating their opposition to further transit of nuclear weapons through the Salish Sea (Juan de Fuca Strait, Georgia Strait and Puget Sound) will be published. Mines Action Canada will also be hosting an Instagram Live with youth activists from British Columbia and Washington State to discuss their nuclear disarmament work.

“Public opinion polls show the public unambiguously supportive of global nuclear disarmament. We know it can be done because Canada led on the international convention which banned antipersonnel landmines. That was one of Canada’s foreign policy initiatives which has had the most significant impact on reducing suffering caused by that weapon on every continent. Prohibition of a weapon comes before its elimination!  Canada lost its opportunity to lead on banning Nuclear Weapons but the opportunity to strengthen this new international instrument is in our hands now. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons asks a question that Canada needs to answer: will Canada help end nuclear weapons or will Canada wait until nuclear weapons end us?” said Dr. Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan of Mines Action Canada.

To mark the entry into force of the TPNW, civil society organizations from across Canada have come together to call on Parliament to launch a study on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Canadians deserve a public debate about this groundbreaking treaty.

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Background

Negotiated in 2017, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons legally prohibits, under any circumstances, the development, production, testing, acquisition, stockpiling, transfer, use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. It also requires states party to the treaty to provide assistance to victims of the use and testing of nuclear weapons.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was negotiated and adopted by 122 nations in the United Nations General Assembly. It currently has 86 signatories and 51 ratifications. Canada boycotted the negotiations and remains outside the Treaty to this day. However, Canadian civil society, including Erin Hunt representing Mines Action Canada, played an important role in the negotiations.

Read our new document on myths and reality checks about the TPNW here: https://www.minesactioncanada.org/tpnwmythbusting 

The photo collage of residents in British Columbia and Washington State is available at: https://www.minesactioncanada.org/salishsea_photoaction 

Public opinion polling in six NATO countries shows widespread support for the TPWN: https://www.icanw.org/nato_poll_2021

A global list of Entry into Force activities can be found at: https://www.icanw.org/events.

The ground-breaking Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) enters into force on 22 January 2021. Canada remains outside the TPNW despite the risks nuclear weapons pose to Canadians. No country is equipped to respond to a nuclear detonation whether that detonation is intentional or accidental.

In the absence of a Parliamentary study of the TPNW, a number of myths about the TPNW have been circulating in Canada. These myths inhibit Canada’s ability to meet its stated goals as being a leader on nuclear disarmament and leave us behind as progress is being made towards a world without nuclear weapons.

These Canadian myths about the TPNW need a reality check.

Read the myths and reality checks here.

Nukes Out of the Salish Sea

The Salish Sea (the Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Puget Sound) is home to one of the largest stockpiles of nuclear weapons in the world and nuclear armed submarines frequent the waters putting everything we know and love at risk of a nuclear weapon detonation - accidental or otherwise. 

There is hope though, on January 22, 2021 the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force. For the first time ever, the international community says nuclear weapons are banned. 

Unfortunately, Canada and the United States remain outside the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and they refuse to join the more than 80 states who have signed or ratified the Treaty.

To celebrate the Entry into Force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to remind local decision makers that they need to take action and join the Treaty, Mines Action Canada hosted a cross-border photo action with our friends at Non-Violence International Canada and Washington Against Nuclear Weapons Coalition. 

The pandemic has made 2020 an unusual year, kept us physically far from each other but united more than ever to show that humanitarian disarmament is as relevant, and perhaps even more relevant, than before. In these first days of 2021, it is important to carry forward lessons learned from that challenging year. 

Since June, more than 250 civil society organizations have signed an open letter arguing that humanitarian disarmament can help lead the way to an improved post-pandemic normal. In a new video, Mahpekay, indiscriminate weapon survivor and orthotic specialist delivering rehabilitation services, Elkin, operator working in Colombian mine contaminated areas and Raluca, humanitarian disarmament advocate share how pandemic has affected their work. Images from Pakistan, India, Afghanistan Colombia, Belgium, France, New York, South Africa, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Turkey and Thailand show how this pandemic is a worldwide concern. MAC has been part of an informal working group on humanitarian disarmament and COVID-19 and we are pleased to share this video from Humanity and Inclusion highlighting some of the lessons learned in 2020:

To mark the new year, in the spirit of humanitarian disarmament and the Open Letter, we are calling the international community to prioritize human security, reallocate military spending to humanitarian causes, work to eliminate inequalities, ensure multilateral fora incorporate diverse voices, and bring a cooperative mind-set to problems of practice and policy. By being inclusive in 2021, we can reshape the security landscape for the future and help create a new—and improved— “normal.” 

A Fall recap post by MAC Research Associate, Madison Hitchcock who is a graduate student in globalization and international development at the University of Ottawa.

On September 27^th of this year, conflict broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. While it is a self-governing, democratic region that holds independent, free and fair elections, it is a heavily disputed territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan while being home to mostly ethnic Armenians.

There has been confirmed use of explosive weapons and sustained heavy shelling in cities such as Stepanakert and Ganja, as well as multiple other areas. After multiple brief cease fire agreements, a peace seems to be holding. On November 9^th, 2020, the two parties reached an armistice after six weeks of bloody conflict; with Armenia conceding territory to Azerbaijan.

The humanitarian cost of this conflict is heavy. Currently, hundreds of civilians have been confirmed dead and thousands have been displaced from the conflict. The use of explosive weapons in populated areas cause high civilian casualties from their wide area blast effects in densely populated zones, as well as damaging critical infrastructure including hospitals, homes, schools, roadways, electrical grids and sanitation centres. These reverberating effects will cause further death and injury, as well as continued displacement of survivors in the future.

These weapons have been utilized by those on both sides of the conflict. Azerbaijan has refused to allow additional humanitarian aid other than the International Committee of the Red Cross to enter the region which is extending the suffering of many survivors who are unable to access support. This crisis is all happening in the context of COVID-19 which puts civilians at further risk.

Additionally, there have been credible reports of the use of cluster munitions which have been banned by international convention – to which neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan are signatories. These weapons are especially harmful to civilians as they have wide blast areas and it is estimated that between 5-20% of the munitions fail to explode leaving incredibly dangerous situations for civilians long after their initial use[1].    

Under international humanitarian law, Armenia and Azerbaijan have an obligation to minimize harm to civilians. Mines Action Canada strongly condemns the neglect of this duty and calls on all parties to uphold this obligation and refrain from using explosive weapons in populated areas and banned cluster munitions; as well as allowing further humanitarian aid organizations into the region. We also call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately join the Convention on Cluster Munitions and support the draft Political Declaration on Strengthening Protections from Humanitarian Harm arising from the use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas. 

[1] Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/10/armenia-azerbaijan-civilians-must-be-protected-from-use-of-banned-cluster-bombs/

The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) just reached the 50 ratifications needed for entry into force! On the 75^th anniversary of the founding of the UN, Honduras ratified the treaty bringing about a historic milestone. In 90 days the TPNW will enter into force and become binding international law!

Mines Action Canada congratulates the 50 states and the dedicated campaigners of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons on making history. Those 50 states are on the right side of history and we hope that Canada will soon join them.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has provisions to mitigate the harm caused by nuclear weapons use and testing that will start being implemented immediately making it a very useful new addition to international law. Canada should support that work in line with our commitment to the SDGs, a Feminist Foreign Policy and the rules based international order and the join the Treaty without delay.

Congratulations to all 50 states for leading the way to a world free of nuclear weapons, and to everybody who was ever involved in making this happen!

Delivered to the Convention on Conventional Weapons' Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems by Executive Director, Paul Hannon, from our office in Ottawa via the online platform Interprefy.

Thank you Chair and thank you to Germany and the ODA for their support in permitting remote participation. I would like to acknowledge that I am speaking to you today from the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin people. Recognizing the indigenous nations upon whose land we are working is an excellent reminder of the need to ensure that these discussions are inclusive and grounded in humanity. 

As a member of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, Mines Action Canada encourages the high contracting parties to ensure that CCW continues to draw on the expertise from civil society and the private sector. Civil society and the private sector have made significant contributions to the discussion since the beginning and High Contracting Parties have frequently commented including today on the importance of contributions from civil society. Our role should be safeguarded in any future work streams to ensure that all these discussions are inclusive. 

To keep our conversations grounded in humanity, we recommend adding in a work stream on moral or ethical concerns. A technocratic debate is insufficient to deal with the challenges posed by autonomous weapons systems. We need to be able to answer questions like “how can one test the humanity of an algorithm?” or “what is the relationship between explainablity and ethics?” Explainablity should never be considered as a synonym for ethical. 

 We are pleased to hear many delegations express a desire to move on from a discussion of definitions and characteristics because we note that CCW Protocol IV does not have a definition of a blinding laser weapon. It prohibits “laser weapons specifically designed, as their sole combat function or as one of their combat functions, to cause permanent blindness to unenhanced vision, that is to the naked eye or to the eye with corrective eyesight devices.” and while there is a definition of permanent blindness in Article 4 there is no definition of laser weapon in the Protocol. That lack of a definition obviously did not prevent negotiations nor stop it from being an effective Protocol. 

We appreciate the robust debate this week and would like to direct specific attention to Austria’s comments outlining the needs to show that this GGE is not an isolated diplomatic silo. The work here must reflect the situation outside of CCW where scientists, experts and industry are calling for action, where the public wants to prohibit autonomous weapons, and where political leaders are stepping up. Ambitious guidance at the political level such as the mandate letter for Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs which instructs him to “Advance international efforts to ban the development and use of fully autonomous weapons systems” are not being matched by ambition in the CCW.  

New international law is needed to address the multitude of concerns with autonomous weapon systems. It is time to negotiate another legally binding instrument, either here or elsewhere. That instrument should include: 

• A general obligation to maintain meaningful human control over the use of force;
• Prohibitions on weapons systems that select and engage targets and by their nature pose fundamental moral or legal problems; and  
• Specific positive obligations to help ensure that meaningful human control is maintained in the use of all other systems that select and engage targets. 

Mines Action Canada appreciates the guiding questions put forward by the chair in his non-paper and we would like to present some additional questions for delegates to consider today and in future meetings:  

• Considering what you have heard about data bias, are these conversations inclusive? 
• Do our statements reflect the public conscience and political will of our citizens? 
• Are we being as ambitious as those inventing new technology? 
• What or who is missing from these conversations? 
• Will a future generation of diplomats need to negotiate a treaty to protect the rights, lives and livelihoods of civilian victims of autonomous weapons systems because this generation did not seize the chance to negotiate a pre-emptive ban?  

We do not want to be the people who let the world sleepwalk into another humanitarian crisis. It is time for ambition and for taking the next step.  

Thank you.  

Right before the holidays, the Prime Minister's Office published the mandate letters for all the Cabinet Ministers and from Mines Action Canada's perspective there are a couple very interesting items in these letters. With Parliament resuming in less than two weeks, let's dig into the mandate letters and see what we can find.

First is the big news, the mandate letter for Minister of Foreign Affairs, François-Philippe Champagne, includes instruction to "advance international efforts to ban the development and use of fully autonomous weapons systems". You read that right - Canada's Foreign Minister as to help a ban on the development and use of killer robots. That is pretty big news. Canada has been waffling on the issue of autonomous weapons for years now. In diplomatic talks at the United Nations, Canada would occasionally give a statement on the importance of international humanitarian law and the role of weapons reviews in preventing the use of indiscriminate weapons but no one would consider Canada a leader on this issue. Now Canada needs to join the likes of Austria, Chile, and Brazil in not only calling for a ban on autonomous weapons systems but actively working for one. This addition to the mandate letter has definitely been noticed internationally and states will be looking to see a change in Canada's position at the United Nations. We will be watching closely to see how Global Affairs implements this instruction from the mandate letter. We will be looking to see if Minister Champagne is working with his counterparts in National Defense, Innovation, Science, and Industry, Public Safety and Justice to formulate a strategy to bring Canada and the world towards a ban on autonomous weapons systems. Canadian diplomats will need to have the time and resources needed to make this ban a reality but with support and political will it can be done in the next two to three years.

Next up, both Minister Champagne and Minister of National Defence, Harjit Sajjan, have instructions related to the women, peace and security agenda in their mandate letters. This is more great news for our work. Mines Action Canada knows that humanitarian disarmament and the women, peace and security agenda are closely linked. Better implementation of disarmament treaties like the Ottawa Treaty banning landmines protects girls and women in conflict affected areas while better implementation of the women, peace and security agenda increases women's participation in disarmament decision making resulting in better outcomes for us all. 

Finally, there is a strong focus on the Sustainable Development Goals and the effectiveness of international assistance in the mandate letter for Minister of International Development, Karina Gould. That is important because there are significant links between the Sustainable Development Goals and disarmament, whether it is nuclear disarmament or clearance of landmines, cluster munitions and explosive remnants of war. Landmine clearance alone is linked to progress on 12 Sustainable Development Goals. The focus on effective international assistance is welcome because we know that supporting mine action (clearance of contaminated land and victim assistance) provides exceptional value for money. Landmines, cluster munitions and explosive remnants of war are lethal barriers to development so support to mine action allows all other development work to happen. When land is cleared and survivors are assisted, communities can safely grow food, refugees and displaced persons can return home and trade can flow smoothly. A recent report showed that for every dollar invested into mine action in Lebanon resulted in an economic benefit of $4.15. If Canada is looking for development projects that promote the Sustainable Development Goals and exemplify effective international assistance, mine action is the way to go. Plus, we would be finishing what Canada started in 1997 with the Ottawa Treaty banning landmines. 

Based on these mandate letters, there is a lot of potential for Canada to resume its position as a champion of humanitarian disarmament and help make the world a safer place for us all. Let's hope the Ministers have the courage to see them though.

As we have in previous elections, Mines Action Canada submitted surveys on humanitarian disarmament policy to the major political parties - the Conservative Party, the Green Party, the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party. We were unable to reach the People's Party of Canada via telephone or email and thus was unable to send a copy of the survey to them.

With assistance from international experts on each of these topics, we are pleased to provide you with a brief analysis of each response to assist you in making your decision for October 21st. MAC does not endorse any one party as each party's positions on humanitarian disarmament issues have strengths and weaknesses. Overall, we would have liked to see stronger commitments to fund disarmament work and more concrete examples of how policies would be put into practice. 

Before we get into any analysis of the parties' positions, here are the full answers as provided to Mines Action Canada in alphabetical order:

• Conservative Party of Canada (the Conservative Party)
• Green Party of Canada (the Green Party)
• Liberal Party of Canada (the Liberal Party)
• New Democratic Party of Canada (the NDP)

While Mines Action Canada is happy to provide this resource free of charge, please consider making a donation to support our work.

There are many ways to get in touch with our team.

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Mines Action Canada                            

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Mines Action Canada and its advocates realize the importance of public opinion in influencing the government agenda. A letter writing campaign is ongoing to engage the Canadian public, the media, high profile Canadians and our representatives at all levels of government to call upon them to take stronger action.

Get Local Media Involved

Write to your local newspaper reporters or post on your blog,

• spread the word to newspaper, radio, and TV personalities,
• submit articles or comment online with alternative media outlets,
• Check our How–To–Guide for getting media attention.

Contact your MP

Write a letter to your Member of Parliament or to the Prime Minister to ensure Canada continues to provide global leadership – politically and financially - on landmines and cluster bombs until all obligations of both Conventions are met, organize a “Write–athon” at your school or university, engage as many participants as possible, check our How–To–Guide for engaging the government.

Actions in support of our mission can be as minimal of investment as participating in political action alerts (like writing a letter to your MP) to more intensive actions such as organizing educational events (like school or community group presentations on the issue), or fundraising events to support advocacy work in Canada (like a casual dress day at work during Canadian Landmine Action Week in February).

Organize an educational awareness raising event

Let people know that landmines, cluster bombs and explosive remnants of war harm thousands each year. Events could be:

• an information table in a public space (shopping center, community center), schools and universities
• a roundtable discussion or speakers panel
• a display of drawings and paintings in a public space
• a memorial shoepile that you build representing all the lives and limbs lost to these weapons. One mis-step and life will never be the same again!

Help break new ground on an age-old problem. Visit our page of How-to Guides or contact us at info [at] minesactioncanada.org for more information.

MAC wants to help you take action. Here are some of the resources available but contact us at info[at]minesactioncanada.org if you need any more help.

How-to & Event Kits

• How to Engage the Media 
• How to Engage Your Government
• How to Organize Fundraisers
• How to Give a Presentation

Videos

Antipersonnel landmines claim victims in every corner of the globe each day. Incapable of distinguishing between the footfall of a soldier and that of a child, they remain a threat long after the end of a conflict.

Antipersonnel landmines are explosive devices designed to injure or kill people. They lie dormant for years and even decades under, on or near the ground until a person or animal triggers their detonating mechanism. Antipersonnel mines cannot be aimed: they indiscriminately kill or injure civilians, soldiers, peacekeepers and aid workers alike.

Made of plastic, metal or other materials, they contain explosives and some contain pieces of shrapnel. They can be activated by direct pressure from above, by pressure put on a wire or filament attached to a pull switch, by a radio signal or other remote firing method, or even simply by the proximity of a person within a predetermined distance.

When triggered, a landmine unleashes unspeakable destruction. The blast causes injuries like blindness, burns, destroyed limbs and shrapnel wounds. Sometimes the victim dies from the blast, due to loss of blood or because they don't get to medical care in time. Those who survive and receive medical treatment often require amputations, long hospital stays and extensive rehabilitation.

Stepping on a blast antipersonnel mine will invariably cause foot and leg injuries, and secondary infections usually resulting in amputation. Fragmentation mines project hundreds of metal fragments, showering the victim with deep wounds. Bounding fragmentation mines are more powerful versions: they spring up about 1 meter and then explode, firing metal fragments to a large radius.

The Ottawa Convention banning landmines defines an antipersonnel mine as: "a mine designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person and that will incapacitate, injure or kill one or more persons." (Article 2.1)

Landmines are everywhere. According to Landmine Monitor, over 54 countries and territories in all regions of the world are affected by landmines and/or explosive remnants of war. Nobody knows how many mines are in the ground. But the actual number is less important than their impact: it can take only two or three mines or the mere suspicion of their presence to render a patch of land unusable.

The Ottawa Convention banning landmines and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines - of which Mines Action Canada is a part of – has made huge strides in solving this problem over the past 20 years – 80% of the world’s countries have  joined the Convention; millions of stockpiled mines have been destroyed. However, there is still much left to do. In 2022, the Landmine Monitor recorded 4,710 mine/ERW casualties, of which at least 1,661 people were killed. There is also an estimated 500,000 survivors living in the world today expecting the medical, psycho-social support and economic assistance they have been promised under the Convention.

Read all our news about landmines here and learn more about the Landmine Monitor here.

We can absolutely solve this problem in our lifetime – but not without your help! Please ACT, GIVE or LEARN more today. 

Cluster munitions (also referred to as cluster bombs) include cargo containers and explosive submunitions. Fired, launched or dropped by aircraft or land-based artillery, the containers open and disperse bomblets or submunitions over a wide area, often resulting in very dense contamination. The submunitions are designed to pierce armour and can kill anyone within a range of 50 meters with its explosive lethal charge. A single cluster munition strike can spread hundreds to thousands of submunitions over as much as one square kilometer - with no distinction between military or civilian targets.

Cluster munitions also have a failure rate ranging from 5-30%. Those that do not explode on impact become explosive remnants of war. These 'dud' munitions become de facto landmines and must be treated and cleared as such. Throughout 2001-2002, 1,228 cluster munitions containing 248,056 submunitions were used in Afghanistan. In 2003, 13,000 cluster munitions containing an estimated 1.8 to 2 million submunitions were used in Iraq. In recent years, cluster munition use in Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, Libya, Armenia, and Azerbaijan have resulted in new contamination and casualties. In 2010–2019, at least 4,315 new cluster munition casualties were reported in 20 countries and other areas. More than 80% of the global casualties were recorded in Syria, while children accounted for 40% of all casualties. In 2022, the Cluster Munition Monitor recorded 1,172 casualties from cluster munition strikes and cluster munition remnants.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions was finally negotiated and its wording was adopted at the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on May 30^th, 2008 by 107 states.  It is a legally binding international treaty that forbids the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster bombs.

Like chemical, biological, and antipersonnel landmine conventions before, the Convention on Cluster Munitions bans an entire category of weapons. The Convention sets the highest standard to date in international law for assistance to victims and their communities. It obliges nations to destroy all stockpiles within eight years and to clear contaminated land within ten. States must also provide detailed annual transparency reports on progress towards meeting their legal obligations.

To date, 123 countries have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) since it opened for signature and 110 countries have ratified it – it entered into international law on August 1^st 2010.

Read all our news about cluster munitions here and the Cluster Munition Monitor here. 

Learn more about efforts to Stop Explosive Investments. 

What still needs to be done?

Use of cluster munitions must be stopped, survivors assisted and unexploded submunitions need to be cleared.

We can absolutely solve this problem in our lifetime – but not without your help! Please ACT, GIVE or LEARN more today.