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Two years ago, Kamiar Alaei, MD, and Arash Alaei, MD, were arrested in Iran, just as they were preparing to leave for Mexico to present on their innovative harm reduction work at the XVII International AIDS Conference.

On July 18, the world convenes again for the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria — but will be short two shining stars. Arash and Kamiar remain in jail today. The Iranian government accused the brothers of using trips to AIDS and public health conferences around the world to “foment a velvet revolution” and sentenced them to years in prison. We say treating AIDS is not a crime.

Friends and colleagues of the Alaeis will be in Vienna spreading the word about their case and advocating for their release, and PHR will be supporting them all the way.

Will you be in Vienna at the AIDS conference? To volunteer with these efforts, email Clint Trout at clintworldwide [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Want to take action to support the Alaeis? Sign our new petition, calling on the government of Iran to free the Alaeis.

Throughout their careers, the Alaeis have promoted public health diplomacy and supported the quest for shared solutions to the world’s shared disease burden. It is an outrage to call this treason. Medical professionals should not be put in prison for doing their jobs. Take action today and stand in solidarity with the Alaeis.

See the Background page at IranFreeTheDocs.org for more information on their case.

The Obama Administration has initiated a comprehensive review of US landmines policy to decide whether or not the US will join the Mine Ban Treaty. President Obama needs to hear from you about how harmful landmines are to the health and human rights of people worldwide.

Email President Obama today and tell him to join the Mine Ban Treaty.

PHR shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for our work to ban landmines. Since then, 156 countries have signed onto the treaty, which bans the use, trade, production and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines.

However, the US has refused to join. President Obama now has the opportunity to partner with every member of NATO—and every country in the Western Hemisphere, save Cuba—in supporting this critical treaty. Tell him to take action today.

Landmines kill thousands of people a year, with millions more affected by the agricultural, economic and psychological impact of the device. While landmines are a weapon of war, most casualties are civilians: indeed, UNICEF estimates that 30-40% of landmine victims are children. And landmines don’t just kill in conflict zones: there are millions of landmines and unexploded ordinances in more than 80 countries worldwide.

These indiscriminate weapons maim and kill, and destroy families and communities. The US has not used landmines since the 1991 Gulf War; it is time for us to promise never to use them again. Tell Obama to join the Mine Ban Treaty today.

68 Senators co-signed a letter to President Obama in May, showing their support for the Mine Ban Treaty. Now Obama needs to hear from you. Email him today, and ask 6 friends to do the same. PHR members have been advocating to ban landmines for more than 15 years. This is our best chance to join the Mine Ban Treaty in years, and we need your support.

Take action today!

Want to do more? We are asking major US health professional associations to sign a letter to the Administration against the use of landmines. If you have any contacts at health professional associations who might be able to help, please email Gina at gcoplon-newfield[at]phrusa[dot]org.

As you read in our previous landmines blog post, the Obama Administration is reviewing current US landmine policy right now, and will soon decide whether or not the US will join the Mine Ban Treaty. Why should the US join? Check out these compelling facts and see why this is a critical health and human rights issue:

Injury and Death:

• The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) estimates that 15,000-20,000 people are maimed or killed by landmines yearly, with millions more affected by the agricultural, economic and psychological impact of the weapon.
• UNICEF estimates that 30-40% of mine victims are children under 15 years old.
• Landmines are responsible for the injury and death of thousands of US and allied troops in all US-fought conflicts since World War II, including dozens in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the 1991 Gulf War, landmines caused 34% of US casualties.
• At the beginning of the 20th century, nearly 80% of landmine victims were military personnel. Today, 90% of landmine victims are civilians.

The Economic and Social Cost:

• The ICBL estimates that there are millions of landmines and other unexploded ordnance in the ground in over 80 countries.
• Landmines cost as little as $3 to produce and up to $1,000 per mine to clear.
• Most kinds of landmines last forever. Mines laid during WWII are still killing and maiming civilians.
• It costs $100 to $3,000 to provide an artificial limb to a landmine survivor. Adults require a prosthesis replacement every two to three years and a child must have a new one every six months to a year.
• Landmines cause environmental damage in the forms of soil degradation, deforestation, and the pollution of water resources with heavy metals. Subsistence farmers are unable to work the land in mined areas.
• Landmines affect all aspects of human life, including the ability of refugees to return home. A report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) published in 1997 stated that 13.2 million refugees, 4.9 million internally displaced people and 3.3 million returnees were at risk from landmines.

The US and Landmines:

• The United States is one of only 39 countries that have not yet joined the Mine Ban Treaty; in the Western Hemisphere, only the U.S and Cuba are non-signatories.
• The US has the third largest mine arsenal in the world—a stockpile of 11 million Anti-Personnel Landmines (APLs)—despite not using landmines since 1991 or producing them since 1997. Enormous amounts of taxpayer money are used to maintain these weapons.
• The United States is one of only 13 countries that refuse to halt production of APLs.
• The Bush Administration’s landmine policy, announced in February 2004, represented a major rollback of US progress on the landmine issue. The policy increased funding for mines, permitted indefinite US use of self-destructing mines, and refused to phase out long-lived mines until 2010. The Obama Administration has yet to revise the Bush policy.

These indiscriminate weapons maim and kill, and destroy families and communities. President Obama is currently reviewing US landmine policy. We need your voice to tell the President to ban mines now! The US has not used landmines since the 1991 Gulf War. It is time for us to promise never to use them again.

Take action today: email Obama and tell him to join the Mine Ban Treaty!

The Obama Administration has initiated a comprehensive review of the US landmines policy to decide whether or not the US will join the Mine Ban Treaty. PHR has re-engaged in this campaign at the request of The US Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL) and members of the Administration, and we are hopeful that this will be an opportunity to show the world that the US respects health and human rights.

Over the next few months, we’ll be updating you on the treaty via a new blog series (this is blog #1) and asking for your help to urge President Obama to join the Mine Ban Treaty.

One immediate action item: We are asking the presidents of major US health professional associations to sign a letter to the Administration showing the unity of the medical, public health and nursing community against the use of landmines. If you have any contacts at major health professional associations who might be able to help, please email Gina Coplon-Newfield at gcoplon-newfield[at]phrusa[dot]org as soon as possible.

As you may know, PHR is a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), a grassroots movement that brought the international community together to form the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which bans the use, trade, production, and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines. PHR and the other ICBL founding groups were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward achieving the treaty, which 156 countries have signed.

As with many international human rights treaties, the US has refused to sign, arguing that US soldiers are exposed to risk if the country can’t use landmines as a deterrent weapon. The United States’ position sets us apart from most other countries: Indeed, all other member countries of NATO are signatories to the treaty (Poland plans to ratify the treaty in 2012). By refusing to sign, the US joins China, Russia, Cuba, India and Pakistan among the countries that have not committed to stop using landmines. The US has not used landmines since the 1991 Gulf War, yet previous administrations have chosen to keep the weapon available, just in case.

Early in his tenure, it appeared President Obama had made the same decision. In November 2009, a White House spokesman stated that after reviewing the matter, the Obama Administration had decided not to sign the Mine Ban Treaty. The announcement prompted public outcry among human rights groups, and the following day, the White House insisted the issue was still under review. The current review is headed by Samantha Power and Barry Pavel at the National Security Council.

We expect the Obama Administration to make a decision in the next few months, making it critically important that the President hear from health professionals and human rights activists about how harmful landmines are to humanity. We will soon send out an action alert, which will give you the chance to email Obama and urge him to sign onto the Mine Ban Treaty. Please take action, and urge friends and family to do the same.

Congress is joining in the advocacy too. On May 22, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont sent a letter co-signed by 68 senators (including 10 Republicans) to President Obama, encouraging him to develop a plan to overcome any obstacles to joining the Convention. 68 is a magic number: international treaties must be approved by a 2/3 majority in the Senate, so if Obama decides to sign onto the treaty, 68 Senators would be enough to accede to it (of course, though this letter is a good indication of potential votes, it’s not a guarantee).

PHR members have been advocating to ban landmines for more than 15 years, and we need your help again at this critical juncture. Keep an eye out for more actions alerts and blogs. And spread the word—this is our best chance to join the Mine Ban Treaty in years, and we need your voice!

Today, as we celebrate International Nurses Day, the health workforce crisis remains one of the greatest hurdles to realizing the right to health for all in developing countries.

The Global HEALTH Act can help. The GHA, introduced in Congress by Representative Barbara Lee on March 24, would provide $2 billion over five years to increase the number of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health workers in developing countries, and to improve primary health care for all. The bill not only authorizes new resources, it also calls for the creation of a US Global Health Strategy that will complement the goals of developing countries and ensure our aid money is effectively used to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

That is why PHR is uniting with more than 15 other US organizations to hold a national Call-in Day TODAY to support the Global HEALTH Act. Be part of the movement. Tell your Representative to support Global Health by co-sponsoring this bill.

It’s easy. Call the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative’s office (if you don’t know who your Rep. is, find out). Then, make your case. Use the script below, and/or bring your own experiences into the call:

Hi, my name is XXX and I live in Town, State. I am calling to encourage Representative XXX to co-sponsor HR 4933, The Global HEALTH Act, which will help fix broken health systems in developing countries. The Global HEALTH Act calls for the development of a US Global Health Strategy to harmonize aid, and provides $2 billion over 5 years to help countries in Africa hire, train and retain more doctors, nurses and other health workers. The Global HEALTH Act will save lives: I hope Rep. XXX will consider co-sponsoring this bill today.

As of today, the global health community has secured nine co-sponsors: Reps. John Conyers (MI), Lynn Woolsey (CA), Raul Grijalva (AZ), Keith Ellison (MN), John Garamendi (CA), Fortney Pete Stark (CA), Diane Watson (CA), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC). Help us secure more. Commemorate International Nurses Day by taking action. Join thousands around the country today who are making a difference. Call your Representative and encourage them to co-sponsor the Global HEALTH Act today.

UPDATE, May 17: The Global HEALTH Act has garnered six new co-sponsors: Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Sam Farr (CA), Maxine Waters (CA), Bobby Rush (IL) and James McGovern (MA).