无雷世界2025哈里王子讲话
It's funny for you, isn't it?

Twenty years ago, in the last months of her life, my mother campaigned to draw attention to the horrific and indiscriminate impact of landmines1. She visited affected3 areas such as Huambo in Angola and Travnik in Bosnia. She heard how people in these communities lived in constant fear that each step may be their last. She met with those who had suffered life changing injuries as a result of anti-personnel mines, she listened to their stories, and helped share them with the world.

At the time, the attention my mother brought to this issue wasn't universally popular; some believed she had stepped over the line into the arena4 of political campaigning - but for her, this wasn't about politics; it was about people. She was an advocate for all those who she felt needed her voice most: whether it be marginalised men dying of AIDS in East London, ostracized5 sufferers of leprosy in India, or the teenage girl who had lost her leg to a landmine2 in Angola. She knew she had a big spotlight6 to shine, and she used it to bring attention on the people that others had forgotten, ignored or were too afraid to support.

<a Href=htTPs://WWw.EuZw.nEt/minifoRm.html>苏州作文辅导班</a>

My mother had been shocked and appalled7 by the impact that landmines were having on incredibly vulnerable people and on children in particular. She didn't understand why more people were not willing to address the cause of so much suffering. She refused to accept that these destructive weapons should be left where they were, just because they were perceived as too expensive and difficult to remove.

In June 1997 at a seminar organised by Mines Advisory8 Group and the Landmine Survivors9 Network, my mother said in a speech -

“Even if the world decided10 tomorrow to ban these weapons, this terrible legacy11 of mines already in the earth would continue to plague the poor nations of the Globe. The evil that men do, lives after them…'

Ken12 Rutherford, who is here with us this evening, was working for a humanitarian13 organisation14 in Somalia when he lost both his legs to a landmine. Ken opened a landmine survivor's project in Bosnia with my mother and, in my mind, sums up her contribution to this cause perfectly15.

He says that… “she transformed landmines from a security issue into a humanitarian issue.'

I know if my mother was here with us today, she wouldn't be willing to accept any credit for the fact that the Ottawa Treaty was signed by 122 states in the same year as her visits to Angola and Bosnia. Rather, she would have applauded the public outrage16 and the resolve of those in positions of power to end the indiscriminate killing17 of civilians18. She would have applauded that, in a moment of global conscience, the Treaty put humanitarian, not military, considerations at its heart.

There is no question that a huge amount has been achieved in the last 20 years - landmines remain politically toxic19 weapons in the eyes of people around the world; vast government stockpiles have been destroyed; and production of these weapons by the world's arms producers has all but ceased.

Additionally, thanks to the bravery and dedication20 of the teams from MAG, The Halo Trust, Norwegian People's Aid, Danish Demining Group and others; 27 Countries have been declared mine-free and out of the 30 countries deemed to have massive scale contamination in the 1990's, thankfully only a handful remain in this perilous21 position.

<a hrEf=hTtps://Www.EUZw.nEt/miniform.html>提分快的苏州初中作文阅读培训</a>

The contribution of these demining organisations cannot be overstated; if you were to retrace22 my mother's footsteps through Huambo in Angola today, you would see no danger signs and have no need for a helmet or body armour23. Where the land was once contaminated with deadly explosives, there is now a thriving community, with a small college and a workshop making wooden furniture.

It is right that we should celebrate the huge progress which has been made, thanks to the difficult and dangerous work of the field teams, the dedication of all those who support them and the tremendous financial support, especially from the governments of the United States, Japan, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, the EU and our own government here in the UK. But in marking how far we have come, we must also acknowledge that there is much more which needs to be done to fulfil the commitments of the Ottawa Treaty.

It is estimated that 60 million people still live in fear from the threat of landmines. In 2015, global deaths and injuries from landmines reached a ten-year high; but perhaps more shocking is the fact that almost 80% of them were civilians. It is typically the most vulnerable who are at the greatest risk; those attempting to rebuild their lives or returning home after conflict, where food is in short supply and medical services are often limited.
《无雷世界2025哈里王子讲话》添加时间：2024-12-14；更新时间：2025-03-09