Jody Williams

Columbia University, the Canadian Consulate General and the Canadian Permanent Mission to the UN celebrate the second anniversary of The Convention of the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel (AP) Mines and on their Destruction with a public conference titled "Landmines: How Global is the Ban" on Dec. 2. The conference to be held at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) will examine progress on the Convention and will build local support for a global ban. The conference will be followed by a gala event in Ottawa to benefit the Canadian Landmine Foundation.

To date, 136 countries have signed the agreement and 89 have taken the necessary steps for ratification, making it one of the most rapidly ratified multilateral conventions of its kind.

Sponsored at Columbia by the Center for the Study of Human Rights, the morning session will review the status of efforts to universalize the norms and legal obligations of the Convention and will look at developments within two hold-out states - Russia and the United States (10am-12:15pm). The afternoon session will examine progress on efforts to implement the obligations of the Contention including the ban on use, production, stockpiling and trade in mines (2-3:30pm). The panelists include representatives from government, NGO's, academia and the military. Jody Williams, Ambassador of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, will give the luncheon address (1pm).

"The history of the Landmines Convention process has been unique in that it has brought together governments, civil society, and the world's international organizations to work towards a common goal -- a total ban on landmines. This conference shares this goal, embodies this spirt of cooperation, and is important for building support at the local level for a total universal ban on anti-personnel landmines," said Consul General Michael Phillips.

Details

Date/Time: Thursday Dec. 2, 1999 10am-3:30pm

Location: Dag Hammarskjold Lounge (6th Floor)

School of International and Public Affairs, 420 West 118th Street and Amsterdam Ave.