This week  there will be an international conference in Ottawa dealing
with the problem of anti-personnel land mines. There are over 100 million
in the ground - killing 10,000 (mainly civilians) a year and injuring
16,000. Stockpiles of mines amount to an additional 100 million (90,000 in
Canada) and at current clearance rates it will take 1,000 years to remove
the existing mines in the ground.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has mounted an exhibit
titled "Seven Days in a Minefield" - images from Cambodia on its web site
at http://www.icrc.org/ (in Geneva).

The Events in Ottawa include public activities  with musician Bruce
Cockburn (new anti-mines song on album), UNICEF Chief Stephen Lewis, and a
fund raising conference with Ashley McIssac and others (Oct 3rd).

The lead text from the ICRC web site is as follows:
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          International Strategy Conference, Ottawa, 3-5 October 1996


               TOWARDS A GLOBAL BAN ON ANTI-PERSONNEL (AP) MINES

                        Version francais on web site

The Canadian Government Conference on Landmines takes place in Ottawa from
3 to 5 October 1996. The Ottawa Conference is a landmark event: it is the
first formal international strategy meeting of States committed to a
global ban on anti-personnel mines (AP mines). It is hosted by the
Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lloyd Axworthy, and has the
character of a working session; government representation is therefore at
the level of senior officials.

Under the theme "Towards a Global Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines", the Ottawa
Conference is intended to be a forward-looking, action-oriented meeting
for those who agree that States, non-governmental organizations and
international agencies must work together to take immediate and
substantive steps towards a global ban on AP mines. It is a meeting of the
like-minded who support a global ban and who are willing to take action on
global, regional and national levels to reach this objective.
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Sam Lanfranco <[log in to unmask]>