In progress at UNHQ

IHA/646

UNITED NATIONS STUDY FINDS CHALLENGE OF LANDMINE CRISIS CAN BE MET WITHIN YEARS, NOT DECADES

11 February 1998


Press Release
IHA/646
PKO/67


UNITED NATIONS STUDY FINDS CHALLENGE OF LANDMINE CRISIS CAN BE MET WITHIN YEARS, NOT DECADES

19980211 NEW YORK, 11 February (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) -- Landmines kill, maim and terrorize indiscriminately. The suffering and impoverishment they cause has provoked a unique and truly global crusade to secure their total elimination. The challenge is daunting, but it can be met, within years, not decades. This is one of the major conclusions of a recently completed study by the United Nations, which examines United Nations-supported mine-action programmes in Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia and Mozambique.

The "Multi-Country Study on the Development of Indigenous Mine-Action Capacities", which was initiated by the Department of Humanitarian Affairs at the end of 1996, will be launched at Headquarters at 11:15 a.m. tomorrow, 12 February, by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and the Under-Secretary- General for Peacekeeping Operations, Bernard Miyet. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, together with partners within and outside the United Nations system, are currently carrying out a systematic review of the study's recommendations, with the aim of elaborating further policy on mine action.

The study reveals that much has been learned by the United Nations since 1988, when its first humanitarian mine-action programme was launched in Afghanistan. Ten years ago, the problem had yet to be well defined. There was a major preoccupation with numbers and the amount of time needed to detect and destroy each individual mine. Projected costs seemed insurmountable, and there was little clarity on different approaches to address the problem.

The study emphasizes the need to focus on the impact of mines on people and their means of survival, thus, allowing for the identification of communities that are directly affected by mines. The study concludes that when the starting point is the safety and well-being of people, it is easier to develop effective programmes and prioritize areas to be cleared. The focus should be on strengthening the capacity of affected communities to reduce the dangers and risks inherent in mined neighbourhoods, villages and farming areas.

Even in the most severe situations, with adequate resources and well- coordinated programmes, the most acute aspects of the landmine problem -- namely, communities which are directly threatened -- can be addressed in a

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matter of years, rather than decades. The experience of Afghanistan shows this clearly. It is anticipated that all high-priority minefields in that country will have been cleared within the next two years. Resources will still be required to clear other mine areas, but the threat to life and limb will have been dramatically reduced.

In short, mine-action activities are neither esoteric nor complicated. With the right mixture of skills, resources and commitment, the problem can be solved. The study shows that most mines are cleared by laboriously and manually prodding the ground. But in some situations, mine-sniffing dogs far outpace manual teams and dramatically increase the rate of detection and clearance.

The study also finds that there is no substitute for helping mine- affected countries acquire the management and technical expertise essential for sustainable and cost-effective programmes. It shows that the United Nations can establish truly indigenous programmes. For instance, in Afghanistan, there are some 3,000 full-time deminers employed by United Nations-supported Afghan non-governmental organizations. With well-coordinated external assistance, such programmes can become progressively more sustainable.

The findings of the study, coupled with the efforts of the international community towards achieving a comprehensive global ban on anti-personnel landmines, show that the undeclared war to rid the world of the landmine menace can surely be won.

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For information media. Not an official record.