Message from Sylvie Brigot, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, to all conference participants

The Cartagena Summit is the time for states to clearly show their determination to live up to their commitments to survivors and their families, to communities still living in mined areas.

When we started the campaign, it was common to hear that mine clearance would take centuries, that victim assistance was too broad an issue to be tackled effectively, that stockpile destruction would cost too much.

A decade of Mine Ban Treaty implementation proved this was wrong. The treaty is now one of the brightest points in the world of disarmament and a robust instrument of international humanitarian law. A mine-free world in our life time is a Mission Possible. But there is still a lot to be done. People still fall victims to landmines every day. Mine survivors still struggle to make their voices heard and to have their basic rights respected, in every mine-affected country in the world.

This is why we are asking states to come to Cartagena, at the highest possible level, to  share their successes in realising the vision of a mine-free world, and show they care by tangibly committing to finish the job.

We hope that Colombia, as a mine-affected country, and host of this important international event, will seize that opportunity to improve the  life of the many Colombians who live in mine-affected areas, or who have already been victims of landmines, either directly, or through their families or relatives.  

We will do everything we can to ensure a positive and successful outcome to the Cartagena Summit.