To Walk Without Fear: The Global Movement to Ban Landmines

Dan Duda is a librarian specializing in military history at the
University of Alberta.

To Walk Without Fear is a collection of 21 essays dealing with the
global movement to ban the use of landmines and to remove the millions
that still litter the earth, especially in developing countries. The
1997 Ottawa Convention was the scene of the movement’s greatest
success, when over 120 countries signed the treaty to ban landmines. The
challenge now is twofold: to ensure that the Convention is enforced by
all the signatories, and to bring onside those governments that have not
yet signed and ratified the treaty, especially the United States,
Russia, and China.

The book’s 32 contributors (academics, students, diplomats, generals,
medical doctors, and concerned civilians) discuss the humanitarian,
medical, economic, and political havoc landmines have caused to
civilians and governments in many parts of the undeveloped world.
(Landmines claim 26,000 victims a year.) Another major topic is how
governments worked closely with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),
such as the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), to achieve
the Ottawa Convention. This teamwork, a major key in the Convention’s
success, is being studied to see what can be learned for future treaty
negotiations.

Readers with an interest in humanitarian and international causes will
welcome this comprehensive treatment of the landmine issue.