Williams, Jody (1950–)

Born on October 9, 1950, in Vermont, United States, Jody Williams is an American activist, teacher, and writer, a corecipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her extensive work and struggle on the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines, and a former coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). An influential and popular activist, she decided to become an activist when she was in college, when the Vietnam War was still being fought. The primary motive behind her decision was her concern about what was happening in Vietnam. As an ardent critic of U.S. foreign policy, she has worked for 11 years to draw public attention to U.S. policy toward Central America. During her particular work on Central America, she has developed and supervised humanitarian relief projects and coordinated the fact-finding delegations to Nicaragua and Honduras, where she first learned of the dangers posed by land mines.

Having realized the scope of the danger and the sensitivity of the issue, she did not hesitate to proceed when she was invited to bring the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) together for the purpose of addressing the land mines problem. At first, the endeavor was very modest and humble and far from promising. The campaign headquarters was a computer in her home as ICBL coordinator, and there were only three people dedicated to the ban on land mines at the beginning of the campaign, none of whom thought the land mines would ever be banned. Even Williams was not so optimistic for the success of the action they were planning. But the efforts of the NGOs under her leadership and coordination culminated in a strikingly influential global movement that significantly affected the process in which the treaty to ban land mines was negotiated. While efforts to ban anti-personnel mines had begun in the 1970s, it was the global campaign Williams coordinated that created a solid and satisfactory outcome. The Ottawa Treaty, which the ICBL contributed to, creates a clear international norm: Land mines cannot be used as weapons in any circumstances, either in times of war, or of peace. Moreover, NGOs have not only been involved in the whole negotiation process, but also they gained the right to take part in the mechanism established to supervise the implementation of the treaty. For this reason, at the signing ceremony, NGO representatives declared that the partnership between the NGOs and likeminded governments throughout the negotiating process is the real superpower of world politics.

Williams's role in the campaign and her contribution to the effort was enormous. She proved to be a keen activist who wanted to see the land mines issue resolved; she was humble, determined, resolute, fearless, and challenging. Sometimes she openly challenged states' delegates and reminded them of their earlier positions on the issue. In her determination, she declared that the movement would accept absolutely nothing but explicit terms in the treaty that would result. Her stance remarkably contributed to the creation of a comprehensive treaty to ban land mines that is clear, short, and free of ambiguities, with few reservations, exemptions, or loopholes. Her humility is best seen in her speech at the Nobel Prize ceremony, at which she gave the full credit to the campaign itself.

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