Marking the 10-year anniversary of the Mine Ban Convention in Oslo

Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Jody Williams and Shirin Ebadi will be among those visiting Oslo on 18 September 2007 to attend the events organised by the Norwegian Government to mark the 10-year anniversary of the Mine Ban Convention. Thus far, 155 countries have joined the international ban on landmines.

The Mine Ban Convention is widely regarded as a major success. Some 40 million landmines have been destroyed in the 10 years since its adoption, and the trade in mines has virtually ceased. Several thousand landmine survivors receive assistance every year, and the number of new victims is decreasing.

Countries representatives, UN-organisations, international researchers, politicians and humanitarian actors from civil society have been invited to a conference in Oslo on 18 September. The theme will be cooperation between states and civil society, and how such cooperation can help to put pressing humanitarian issues on the international agenda. An important example is Norway’s initiative against cluster munitions. The conference is being organised by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo.

Nobel Peace Prize winners Jody Williams and Shirin Ebadi will open the conference, which will be taking place at Oslo Congress Centre from 09:00 to 13:30. State Secretary Raymond Johansen will chair the conference and host a lunch for participants afterwards. You can find the programme here.

The anniversary programme will conclude with an anniversary event at Gamle Logen, for invited guests, hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon will also be attending.

Interested in attending the conference?  You can register here.