Palo Alto, California—United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has praised California wineries and landmine activists for turning minefields into vineyards in Croatia.

At a June 11, 2000, reception, supported by Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Secretary-General Annan congratulated Roots of Peace for turning "what used to be a killing field into a fruitful enterprise" through the organization's support for clearance operations in the mine-affected vineyards of Croatia.

"You have helped give back a livelihood to a community that had seen it taken away," the Secretary-General said. "You have turned mines into vines by replacing the seeds of death with the seeds of life. And you have shown the world that even with modest beginnings, a partnership backed by persistence can made a real difference."

The San Francisco Bay Area group, Roots of Peace, demined a 160-acre field in Dragalic, Croatia this spring and replanted it with grapevines. Another 200 acres were scheduled for demining this summer.

Roots of Peace has raised nearly US$170,000 from California wineries to help clear vineyards in Croatia. Contributions from the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Embassy, Slovenia's International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance, and Autodesk, a software company in San Rafael, California, have brought the total to US$500,000.

Secretary-General Annan also spoke eloquently of the need to persuade all governments who have yet to sign and ratify the treaty to do so.

Canada's Consul General in Los Angeles, Kim Campbell joined Annan to address the landmine issue among prominent Silicon Valley business and community leaders. Speaking to an audience of 130 representatives from California's information technology sector, the corporate community, and the media, Campbell outlined Canada's approach to landmine action and provided an update on Canadian initiatives to universalize and fully implement the Ottawa Convention.

The reception was organized by Roots of Peace, which has garnered the support of 12 Napa and Sonoma Valley wineries in a program designed to clear minefields around the world and turn them into vineyards.

The event drew together key U.S. anti-landmine organizations including the Landmine Survivors Network, the United States Campaign to Ban Landmines, and the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation. The U.S. State Department Office of Global Humanitarian Demining was also represented.

Annan thanked the many donors from the private sector who attended and challenged those not yet involved in the campaign to eradicate landmines to open their checkbooks and to become active advocates on this issue. Proclamations from the Governor of California and the Mayor of the City of Palo Alto in support of mine action were presented to the Secretary-General.

Reprinted with permission from SafeLane—Canada's Landmine Ban Report