The campaign’s next step: The treaty itself is still an issue. Sixty-four countries have ratified it, but everyone has to ratify it before we’re through. And then there is the rest of the work, the destruction of stockpiles, de-mining, victim assistance. Each situation will dictate a different solution. In some cases NGOs will take the initiative. In some it will be the local government. There will be instances that can be best resolved by a U.N.-sponsored initiative. It’s not like there aren’t enough mines in the ground to occupy us all for a while.
On criticisms that ICBL spends money on receptions and press conferences instead of on de-mining and victim assistance: Our campaign made a decision to use the funds it raised on political activities and not on mine clearance. The reasons behind that decision were two. First, the political work needs to go on to make sure that the treaty is universalized. The second is that the relatively small amount that it has cost us to run this campaign politically would have had little or no impact on the mine-clearance program. From October 1992, when we launched our organization, to December 1997, the signing of the treaty, we’ve spent $6 million globally. That’s nothing. That’s politics on a shoestring.
On media scrutiny of the land-mines campaign: I think it’s skewed. But I think that much journalism is. When I speak all over the world people don’t ask me the questions that the media asks me. Most people look at the positive.
On charges that land-mine foes inflated estimates of existing mines by a factor of 10: We all know that the early numbers were guesses. Frankly, I don’t think it matters whether there are 80 million or 100 million. But nobody I work with has said that the estimate was 10 times too large. We all agree that 110 million is a high estimate. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s half that. There are still too many in the ground … The numbers game is absurd. How can anyone think there are only 10 million when we’ve already destroyed 10 million in stock? Russia probably has stockpiles that number over 100 million mines. To think that since World War II all the mines that have been planted across the globe number only 10 million is laughable. Pathetically laughable. It would be amusing if they weren’t killing people every 20 minutes.
