We are in the thick of 2021 and SafeGround is excited to announce progress on our major projects. Devastating events in the Solomon Islands have drawn international awareness to the issue of explosive remnants of war (ERW) left over from World War II, to which SafeGround has long drawn attention. Whilst tragic accidents taking life and causing injury are a sad way to mobilise action, we really hope the Solomon Islands and other Pacific nations get the assistance they need to rid their countries of legacy weapons which continue to cause suffering. SafeGround hopes to continue its work in the Pacific. The Pacific is unfortunately a much forgotten entity in the mine action world. Sadly, the Solomon Islands experienced the harsh consequence of this as they lost two young men in the accident in Honiara early this May. Despite being a state member to the Mine Ban Treaty since the beginning, Solomon Islands has received little support to deal with its explosive legacy of war. SafeGround have received small grant from the International Campaign to Ban Landmines – Cluster Munition Coalition “Investing in Action” Programme to focus on building support for the universalisation of the Cluster Munition Convention. This project will focus on promoting the Convention on Cluster Munitions in the Pacific.
With the continued support from the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots Steering Committee we have continued to urge Australian policy makers to support calls for a new treaty to prohibit fully autonomous weapons. SafeGround has engaged parliamentarians, attended a Roundtable at ANU College of Law and continues to reach out to grow the civil society network. If you, or an organisation you are involved with, is interested in our efforts please get in touch with us.
Our newer project ‘Support Survivors of War’ has a team of three interns researching the consequences of drone warfare on drone operators as well as civillians who happen to live in the area they attack and keep under surveillance. More broadly we are also assessing the mental health effects of military operations on serving ADF members.
Our journal Middle Ground has of course reached our second issue. We are also excited to be taking part in other initiatives within the peace community. We are writing a submission for Independent and Peaceful Australia Network’s People’s Inquiry into the Costs and Consequences of the US Alliance, emphasising the negative role this has had in particular, on disarmament policy. SafeGround is also looking forward to taking part in ‘Raising Peace’ in Sydney running from 19th September – 3 October, including International Day of Peace. We will be involved in some panel/seminar sessions so stay tuned for the program.
We hope you enjoy this issue of Middle Ground,
SafeGround
