Mines Action Canada : Mines Action Canada (MAC) is a coalition of over 40 Canadian non-governmental organizations working in mine action, peace, development, labour, health and human rights that came together in 1994. It is the Canadian partner of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and a founding member of the Cluster Munition Coalition.
The work to form a Canadian campaign to ban landmines began in 1993, when concerned individuals and organizations began to receive information from various non-governmental organizations witnessing first-hand the horrors of landmines in the field. Word spread in the Canadian NGO community and several organizations responded positively. The first meeting of these interested parties took place in September of 1994, where participants created a coalition, and agreed to formal objectives and a mandate. This coalition requested and was granted a first meeting with Canadian government officials on the landmine issue. In March of 1995, the Mines Action Canada coalition was officially launched. Physicians for Global Survival hosted MAC during its first four years.
During this initial period, MAC pushed for regular meetings with the Canadian government in order to keep abreast of current activites as well as positions related to landmines. Defence policies of the federal government strongly favoured the military use of landmines; despite this, these meetings gave the NGO's an opportunity to share information on the humanitarian and socio-economic impact of landmines, and discuss the relevance to Canadian policy.
Early on, MAC harnessed the power of public opinion in order to help influence the government agenda around the issue of landmines. They communicated to the public and the media the devastating impact of landmines and their futility as a weapon of war, and informed them of existing Canadian policy and alternatives to it.
In September 1995, as the Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) negotiations collapsed, MAC increased pressure on the Canadian government for stronger action against landmines; they hosted the launch of a National Film Board film on a Cambodian landmine survivor called Than and the Invisible War and featured guest speakers from organizations working in mine-affected communities. By May 1996, when the CCW Review Conference was reconvened, the Canadian government invited a representative of the MAC coalition to participate as a member of the official delegation. After the failure of the CCW, Canadian announced that it would host a meeting for states and NGOs interested in further pursuing discussions on landmines.
By this time, the membership of Mines Action Canada comprised over 40 NGOs. In anticipation of the upcoming conference, MAC members organized a variety of public outreach activities that included speaking tours by landmines survivors, a poster contest, exhibits, mind field and mine clearance demonstrations, a film festival and benefit concerts featuring popular Canadian musicians. Consequently, in October 1996 Minister Lloyd Axworthy challenged the world to negotiate a treaty banning anti-personnel landmines. This was signed in December 1997, thereby launching the Ottawa Process.
MAC's activities immediately following the opening for signatures of the Ottawa Treaty to Ban Anti-Personnel Landmines were focused on maintaining the pressure on the Canadian government to ensure strong and constant global leadership. These efforts resulted in the ratification of the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines on March 1st, 1999.
Since that time, MAC has initiated and participated in many activities, both domestically and internationally, including:
- Creating and managing a national domestic education and outreach program called the Youth Mine Action Ambassador Program (YMAAP), from 1998-2005. This program was developed in partnership with Foreign Affairs Canada and the Canadian Red Cross.
- The Landmine Monitor, a major activity of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. This publication reports annually on the status of every country and disputed territory in the world in relation to the Ottawa Convention. Initially, MAC was a member of the Core Group responsible for producing the annual Landmine Monitor report and the research coordinator for all the reports in the Americas. In 2005, MAC took over as the lead agency in charge of coordinating the overall research and production of the Landmine Monitor.
- Developing domestic outreach programs such as Canadian Landmind Awareness Week, the Canadian Appropriate Technology in Mine Action Competition (CATIMAC), international symposia, concerts, publications and other awareness events.
- Being a founding member and interim coordinating agency for the international Cluster Munition Coalition. This included acting as the main point of contact for information internationally, disseminating information, and mobilizing the Canadian NGO community on the issues. MAC also was a partner in the research and production of the Global Impact Survey, the first in-depth study of the socio-economic impact of explosive remnants of war on civilians.
- Creating and launching an international capacity building program called the Youth Leadership, Education and Action Program (Youth LEAP).
- An active organization on the Management Committee of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and the Steering Committee of the Clubster Munition Coalition.