PRESS CONFERENCE BY UN MINE ACTION SERVICE

The remarkable headway achieved by recent international and regional initiatives aimed at banning, as well as curbing the sale or transfer of anti-personnel landmines, confirmed the global community's renewed sense of energy to ensure the safety of the world's people, Martin Barber, Chief of the United Nations Mine Action Service told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

Mr. Barber said that today, the second anniversary of the entry into force of the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines, should also be marked by the growing international consensus that stigmatized landmines in general and characterized the use of anti-personnel mines as immoral, ineffective and unnecessary.  Though such a consensus was by no means universal, still the Convention had received a remarkable 133 signatories and 111 ratifications in a little over three years.

Mr. Barber said that the Service's main task was monitoring the implementation of the Convention's two key objectives:  destruction of anti-personnel mine stockpiles by a State within four years of becoming a party; and the removal and destruction of all in-ground landmines within 10 years of becoming a party.  Of that particular objective, he added that extensions could be requested, since the Service recognized that even with maximum effort, it might be difficult for some countries to remove all in-ground mines. 

Various countries and regions were now working hard to find creative ways to effectively implement the tenets of the Convention, he said, and though progress had been slow in problem areas -- such as Cambodia, Afghanistan and Mozambique -- there was much good news to report.  In Kosovo, for instance, where it had been thought there would be many years of work ahead, it was now believed that, pending the availability of resources, mine removal and destruction activities could be completed by the end of the year.

He went on to say that levels of landmine production had dropped dramatically since the Convention had come into force.  There had also been no credible evidence of official transfers of anti-personnel mines from one country to another over the last two years.  "The end is in sight", he added.  "We can see the Service going out of business."    

The focus now was on getting all Member States to become parties to the Convention and ensuring those States understand and fulfil their obligations, he said.  Progress at all levels would continue to be achieved with the support of a very diverse group of actors.  Those included non-governmental organizations, civil society, international organizations, United Nations agencies and, above all, Member States.  Progress would also require continued commitment to achieve a mine-free world within the foreseeable future.  It was important to note that any future success would be dependent on the availability of resources.

Mr. Barber next turned to highlight two of his recent country visits.  In Bamako, he attended a conference organized by the Government of Mali, together with France and Canada.  He said that representatives of 45 African countries

participated in an event aimed at promoting the universalization and implementation of the Convention on the continent.  Such broad support demonstrated the value and importance of regional and subregional efforts to address the myriad landmine issues. 

In Lebanon, Mr. Barber said there was a real commitment between the Government, the United Nations, and various Lebanese and international non-governmental organizations to address the problem of landmines in that country. He said that minefields in that country had not been fully surveyed, so at present no removal plan had been set.  Demining initiatives would, however, include survey dogs, provided by the United States Government, as well as other programmes funded by the European Union and other bilateral donors.

When asked about the situation in Viet Nam, Mr. Barber said that the problem in that country was one of unexploded ordnance.  While the Service did assist countries plagued by various forms of unexploded ordnance, such weapons were not covered under the Ottawa Convention.

Asked how many dogs had been sent to Lebanon to find landmines, he answered that seven dogs arrived last Sunday and they were the first of an anticipated group that should rise to 18 altogether.

How long would it take to remove the 130,000 landmines? a correspondent asked.

Mr. Barber said there would be many different programmes working together of which the dogs were just one.  An estimate of how long it would take had not yet been made, because the minefields had not been surveyed in detail.  Of course, the length of time would depend on the level of resources.  If donors were generous, then it could be done more quickly.  It would not take hundreds of years, but it wasn’t going to be done in one or two years either.  “I don’t want to be much more precise than that because otherwise it may sound like a commitment”, he added.

Asked about financing, he said the dog programme was funded by the United States through USAID, but there were other programmes up and very close to running that were funded by the European Union and by a number of other donors, both bilaterally and through the United Nations.  So, there was a good group of donors working on the problem and it would get started soon.

* *** *