PSALM/WVCBL, as well a campaigners worldwide, joined together for a global month of action that kicked off on March 1st, the anniversary of entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty and built up to April 4th, the International Day for Mine Awareness. March 1st also marked the anniversary of the founding of PSALM/WVCBL by a group of concerned students in 1999. Many thanks to ALL who joined us and the world and rolled up one pant leg to show solidarity with the victims and survivors of landmines and let the world know…NO MORE LANDMINES!
WHY LEND A LEG??? We don’t have to worry about our next step being fatal, but hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens around the world are not so lucky. Landmines are a humanitarian issue. It is not about politics or parties, it is about making sure kids can play, farmers can grow their crops safely and all can walk without fear that their next step may be their last. PLEASE JOIN US!!!! Visit LEND YOUR LEG USA facebook page and post your “lend your leg” photo here:http://facebook.com/LendYourLegUSA
As part of the 2013 Lend Your Leg (LYL) global month of action, the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL), in conjunction with Handicap International’s U.S. office, is promoting an online petition urging the U.S. to join the Mine Ban Treaty. Please help us get the U.S. on board with the MBT – sign the petition and share it with your friends and networks and ask them to do the same.
You can find the petition here –http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/760/465/580/
Two years ago in Colombia, the country with the third highest annual landmine casualty rate, civil society came up with a simple yet brilliant idea: on April 4th, the International Day for Mine Awareness, they went about their normal routines with one of their pant legs rolled up as a symbolic act to say, “No more landmines!” They did it massively: kids and students joined, private companies joined by rolling up their logos, the military, local celebrities joined, even the President ended up working with his pant leg rolled up! In 2012, the United Nations, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and 74 countries around the world “lent their legs”. Important leaders, such as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Prince Mired of Jordan, the British Minister of State Jeremy Browne, and celebrities, such as soccer player Iker Casillas, singer Juanes and many others, “lent their legs” to ban landmines. Positive Mine Ban Treaty developments in 2012 included the announcement by five countries—Denmark,Guinea-Bissau,Jordan, theRepublicofCongo, andUganda—of their completion of mine clearance. Since the beginning of 2012, three countries have joined the treaty:Finland,Somalia, and most recently, in December 2012,Poland. All European Union countries and all countries in sub-SaharanAfricaare now on board. However, significant challenges remain, including landmine contamination in 59 countries, slow progress on clearance goals, and 36 countries still remaining outside the Treaty. The 2013 ICBL Lend Your Leg actions are focused on addressing these at the national level in nearly 50 countries around the world. In the US there will be “Lend Your Leg” flash mobs, seminars, demonstrations and lobbying efforts. “ICBL’s 2013 Lend Your Leg action is a clear call to states and the international community to finish the work of eradicating landmines and the destruction they wreak, and to do it quickly, “ said ICBL Director Kasia Derlicka. Specifically, the ICBL is using the Lend Your Leg action to urgently call for:
*An immediate halt to the use of any new antipersonnel mines, anywhere. *Remaining countries, including theU.S.to join the Mine Ban Treaty without delay.*Full compliance by State Parties to the Treaty regarding their obligations to destroy all stockpiles, clear mine-affected land, and assist victims. *All countries to provide the necessary resources to achieve a world free of antipersonnel landmines.
LEND YOUR LEG VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdJtGWbNT4s
Lend Your Leg to Ban Landmines:
Website: http://www.lendyourleg.org
Facebook: http://facebook.com/LendYourLegUSA
Twitter: http://twitter.com/LendYourLegUSA
YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/user/lendyourlegcampaign
PSALM video: http://animoto.com:80/play/Fma9yMdHazO1VH4y5PPyyA
PSALM/WVCBL students released red, yellow and blue balloons inspired by Colombian NGO Fundacion Arcangeles. The symbolic colors of the Colombian flag were chosen to call attention to the issue of landmines and their devastating effect on communities in Colombia and throughout the world. On April 4th, the International Day for Mine Awareness, community and state members as well as national leaders wanting to “make a stand” joined us and wore jeans/pants that day with one pant leg rolled up to show solidarity with those that suffer and urge the United States to join the Mine Ban Treaty immediately.