The work Diana did for humanitarian groups continues 10 years after her death, says Simon Conway, president of Landmine Action.
Conway remembers that when Princess of Wales joined a British Red Cross campaign and walked through an area in Angola that had just been cleared of landmines to raise awareness, she exerted great pressure on governments worldwide to take action.
Diana wanted to draw attention to the deadly and significant toll on civilians caused by landmines, particularly on children who can be severely injured or maimed.
Diana's trip to Angola happened in January, 1997. The Ottawa Treaty was ratified by the end that year, months after her death.
"I think she put real pressure on politicians to come up with a treaty with teeth," Simon Conway, president of Landmine Action told CTV's Canada AM. "The Ottawa Treaty could have died the death of a thousand cuts -- it could have been watered down the way that many international treaties are. But actually that treaty is a very, very strong treaty."
Another of Diana's high profile causes was the care and compassion she showed AIDS patients at a time when a social stigma surrounded the disease. She would be seen shaking the hands of patients when ignorance and a lack of knowledge surrounding the disease were widespread. Her actions were seen as a turning point in how AIDS was perceived worldwide.
"People were quite horrified at the time because they still believed, or some people did, that you could contract AIDS by simply touching people with HIV or AIDS," said Paul Hensby of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.
While it is 10 years since Diana's death, her work continues through the Fund. Diana's sons Princes and William and Harry are not involved the as they have their own charities, but the Fund was one of the beneficiaries of the July 1 Concert for Diana at London's Wembley Stadium they organized.
The Fund is due to wind down within the next seven to nine years and has three major initiatives it is following in accordance with some of the causes Diana worked with during her life.
These include:
- Continuing efforts to improve the delivery of palliative care for countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Addressing the difficulties facing asylum seekers who have arrived in the United Kingdom.
- Liaising with organizations such as Landmine Action to address the issues of cluster mines
Cluster mines are different from landmines in that it is a container which breaks open in the air and scatters dangerous material over a large area. Conway and Hensby are working together on banning the devices and hope this will happen by the end of 2008.
It is a cause that Conway believes the princess would have brought attention to the issue if she were alive today.
"In her quiet way without necessarily saying anything, but by having herself photographed together with victims of cluster bombs...I think she would have gotten the message across," Conway said.
