On the one hand, the growing use of landmines and IEDs has been causing loss to lives and property and the government is maintaining silence on signing the Mine Ban Treaty on the other hand. In such a situation, added responsibility has come to the organisations like Nepal Campaign to Ban Landmines (NCBL). It has been imperative to further expedite advocacy and lobbying, to carry out programs to minimize the risks of landmines and to expand work for the relief of mine victims.

In order to expand such activities it is necessary for the youths including other sectors to be involved in anti-landmine campaigns and mine action to understand the gravity of the problem of landmines/IEDs, national and international campaigns, efforts made by state nations, and the successes and failures.

The NCBL has been carrying out Advocacy and Lobbying, Mine Risk Education, Victim Assistance, and bringing out the facts through Landmine Monitor continuously since its inception in 1995.

With a view to involving more people actively particularly the youth in mine ban campaign, NCBL has established National Resource Centre for Landmines with the assistance of MAC. NCBL wants to thank MAC for extending financial and other supports.

Activities done for establishing Resource Centre:

1. Physical Management:

The NCBL has enlisted all the reports and books collected nationally and internationally and its own publications in order to better manage them. Abhishesh Chhetri, a student from Rato Bangla School, provided a month long support for enlisting them.

2. Management of existing furniture and purchase of new furniture

3. Following equipment were purchased in order to better manage and to give continuity to the resource centre:

Dr Narayan Khadka, former vice chairman of National Planning Commission and Chairman of Kathmandu Valley Public Library, who was also the chief guest, inaugurated the Resource Centre. Former MP Mr Dev Shankar Paudel, Mr Krishna Mani Bhandari, Chief of the Central Library of Tribhuvan University, and Hari Bahadur Karki, a mine victim, spoke on the occasion.

Similarly, Ms Purna Shova Chitrakar, Coordinator of NCBL, made a presentation on the problems of landmines/IEDs and the objective of establishing the resource centre. Mr Dipak Regmi, youth activist of NCBL, emceed and Ms Padma Manandhar, advisor to NCBL presided at the inaugural function.

The opinions and suggestions expressed during the inaugural function are as follows:

B. Publication:

With a view to introducing the Resource Centre, brochures on Resource have been published.

C. Source of funding of Resource Centre:

The Resource Centre has begun raising fund through hiring out computer and LCD it has.

D. Training in digital library:

Following the establishment of the Resource Centre, Mr Dinesh Subedi, an NCBL employee, has received 35-day training in digital library. We will gradually, digitise all the documents in the Resource Centre.

E. Establishing contact:

The Resource Centre has begun establishing contacts at national and international levels. The building of rapport has resulted in providing books to this centre.