Nobel Peace Laureate Campaign Denounces Killing of Chechen Activist

NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE CAMPAIGN DENOUNCES KILLING OF CHECHEN ACTIVIST

Geneva, 12 August 2009 - The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) strongly denounces the killing of civil society activist Ms. Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband, Mr. Alik Dzhabrailov. According to reports, the couple was abducted on Monday 10 August by armed men claiming to be part of security services from the Let’s Save the Generation office, a non-governmental organization founded and run by Ms. Sadulayeva. Their bodies were found on Tuesday 11 August.

“Ms Sadulayeva was a tireless activist who was committed to creating public awareness about the landmine problem in the region and advocating for the rights of landmine survivors and other people with disabilities,” said Ms. Kasia Derlicka, ICBL’s Advocacy and Campaign Officer. “Her death is a huge loss to the mine action community.”

Let’s Save the Generation works to promote the rights of children and persons with disabilities through the provision of social, psychological, financial, and legal support primarily to conflict-affected children and landmine survivors. Since its inception in 2001, Let’s Save the Generation has collected information and documented landmine and unexploded ordnance casualties and carried out mine risk education programs in collaboration with partners including UNICEF and UNDP. Ms. Sadulayeva was also an active contributor to Landmine Monitor, the ICBL’s monitoring and research initiative, providing research on victim assistance and mine risk education in 2008 and 2009. "Ms Sadulayeva’s work collecting data on landmine and unexploded ordnance casualties, and the services available for survivors and their families has made sure that the international community understands the devastation these weapons have caused in Chechnya,” said Ms. Jacqueline Hansen, Program Manager of Landmine Monitor.

The ICBL calls on the government of Russia to swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice and take immediate action to ensure the protection of humanitarian workers. Russia is not a State Party to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty that comprehensively prohibits the use, production, stockpiling and trade of antipersonnel mines. In June 2006, Russian officials confirmed to Landmine Monitor that Russian forces continued to use antipersonnel mines in Chechnya, both in the laying of new mines and the maintenance of existing defensive minefields. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is a global network of non-governmental organizations in over 80 countries, working for a world free of landmines and cluster munitions. It received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 in recognition of its efforts to bring about the Mine Ban Treaty.

More information and interviews:

• In Geneva: Olivia Denonville, ICBL, tel: +41 (0)22 920 03 25, email: media@icbl.org

• In Ottawa: Jacqueline Hansen, Landmine Monitor, tel: +1 613 851 5436, email: jackie@icbl.org