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CNN Live At Daybreak

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Campaigns for Elimination of Landmines

Aired June 12, 2001 - 07:36   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to focus now on landmines, the buried booby traps of war. They're often forgotten until someone stumbles onto one, and all to often they are found by children at play. Leaders of a global campaign to ban landmines joined a Prophets of Peace conference in Washington this week. They include Nobel Laureate Jody Williams and 11-year-old Katherine Schmidt. They shared a stage in the nation's capital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JODY WILLIAMS, NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE: Unless you get up off your seat and do something like this young woman does, you are no better than the person who doesn't feel at all. The only thing that changes this world is taking action, and not waiting for the other guy or the 11-year-old student to do it for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCEDWARDS: And special guests for us this morning, Jody Williams and Katherine Schmidt join us thanks for being here.

WILLIAMS: Good morning, Carol.

KATHERINE SCHMIDT, ACTIVIST AGAINST LANDMINES: Hi.

MCEDWARDS: It's Colleen, actually.

WILLIAMS: Oh, I'm sorry. They told us it was Carol.

MCEDWARDS: That's all right. We switched. Thanks so much. Jody, this issue a lot of publicity four or five years ago and when you won the Nobel in -- what was it -- 1997, it was a pretty hot issue. But how much has changed now? Is the world a safer place?

WILLIAMS: The world is a safer place. We have 140 countries that have signed the treaty. We have 117 that have ratified. People seem to think that, you know, it's an old issue because we got the treaty in '97 and the Nobel in '97, but people keep coming on board. Paul McCartney and Heather Mills are new people to this issue because they understand that if a few us continue to work together, we can solve the problem in a very short period of time and maybe even get the United States to sign the treaty. MCEDWARDS: Yes, and I'll pick up on that, the U.S.'s role in just a moment. But Katherine, tell us your view and what you've learned about the problem. How serious is it?

SCHMIDT: It's pretty serious. If it's affecting children, it's affecting me. Everyone is involved and it's everyone's problem.

MCEDWARDS: And I know you've done some traveling and you've actually talked to some people who are victims of landmines. Tell us what your experiences were like and what kind of stories you heard?

SCHMIDT: Well, Saam Kasal (ph) was six when she was maimed by a landmine, and she came to our peace conference with UCBL, and I met her then. She's a beautiful, lovely person. She shared her story with us, and we're still learning more.

MCEDWARDS: Katherine, what got you interested in this issue?

SCHMIDT: My art teacher. Mrs. Sheets, had been doing many art projects about -- to make people understand more about the issue, sculptures and paintings, and I started reading some of her magazines that had articles about them and I started thinking, hey, maybe I can do something about it.

MCEDWARDS: OK, good for you. Now, Jody, I want to pick up on something you said earlier about the U.S. government's role. The government has refused, in the past, to sign a treaty banning certain kind of mines. Why has it been so difficult?

WILLIAMS: Well, you will hear different things depending on who you speak to. The standard argument is that we're a unique power in the world, and we have unique responsibilities, therefore we need the weapon. I believe that it's really an issue of precedent. I think the Pentagon is concerned that if they quote, unquote, "give in" to civil society's call for banning this weapon, then we will try to take away other weapons at their disposal. But this...

MCEDWARDS: Is it a tougher argument with the Bush administration than it was with previous ones?

WILLIAMS: We don't know yet, quite honestly. As you know, the administration is reviewing its military policy. In that context, it is reviewing the landmine issue. I hope that it will recognize this as a weapon that is outmoded, outdated and that the rest of our allies are on board, and we should be resuming a leadership role that we played in the early years on this issue.

MCEDWARDS: Katherine, where the biggest problems areas today?

SCHMIDT: A lot of them are in Africa and South America. They're all over Europe and Asia, too, it's...

MCEDWARDS: What's your biggest goal?

SCHMIDT: To ban landmines and have the U.S. sign the treaty.

MCEDWARDS: Pretty simple goal and well stated, but a big fight ahead of you. Jody, what has to be done?

WILLIAMS: Well, it's not just about getting every country to sign the treaty or ratify it. That's certainly important. It's about compliance. We don't want this treaty to be just beautiful words on a piece of paper that countries sign to look good internationally because it is an issue of global concern; we want every country to obey so we strengthen international law. So, it's -- we have a lot of work ahead of us to make sure that those who sign obey the treaty.

MCEDWARDS: Indeed, Jody Williams and Katherine Schmidt, thank you both for your time this morning. We really appreciate it.

WILLIAMS: Anytime.

SCHMIDT: Thank you.

MCEDWARDS: Bye-bye.

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