PHNOM PENH– Continued commitment of financial resource is key to achieving a world free of land mines, which presently continue to thwart progress in many developing countries, UN’s development chief Helen Clark said at a recent mine action conference
in Cambodia.
“Sustained and predictable funding from both international and national sources will enable all states to reach their mine clearance commitments,” Ms. Clark said.
The Administrator said in her opening remarks to the 11th Meeting of the State Parties to the ban landmine treaty known as the Ottawa Convention on Nov. 27. The event hosted by Cambodia brought together some 1,000 delegates from around the world, including heavily mine-affected countries.
In 1997, the UN Secretary-General hailed the Mine Ban Convention as “a landmark step in the history of disarmament,” and “an historic victory for the weak and vulnerable of our world.”
Despite years of progress in tackling them, the menace of landmines and explosive remnants of war still persist.
“In countries emerging from conflict, these weapons slow the repatriation of refugees and the return of other displaced persons. They hamper the provision of aid and relief. They deprive communities of the productive and safe use of land and natural resources,” Ms. Clark said.
There is a strong link between effective mine action and progress on the Millennium Development Goals.
“With the legacy of decades of conflict, our hosts here in Cambodia understand this well. The contamination of so much land in this country with landmines has resulted in more than 63,900 deaths and injuries over the past three decades,” she said.
“Overall, the progress over the last two decades of mine action in Cambodia has been impressive – with a reduction in the number of victims from 4,320 in 1996 to 286 in 2010. The invaluable experience gained here is now being shared with other countries,” she said.
Demining operators here have cleared some 700 square kilometers of contaminated land in Cambodia from mines and explosive remnants of war. That has provided hundreds of thousands of Cambodians with safe land for resettlement, agriculture, and infrastructure development.
While it is difficult to quantify exact numbers of victims and survivors, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines has estimated that these weapons have killed and maimed over a million people in the last 30 years. Seventy-one percent of these were civilians, and 32 percent were children.
In 2001 the Landmine Monitor listed 90 countries around the world affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war. Many of them are least developed countries, whose development is severely hindered by this explosive legacy of conflict and who the least able to fund weapons clearance.
UNDP works on national mine action programmes in close to forty countries and territories to strengthen the capacity of national authorizes to effectively plan and implement the programmes.
“This meeting here in Phnom Penh is an opportunity both to celebrate progress to date in overcoming the menace of antipersonnel mines, and to acknowledge that much work still remains to be done to rid the world of them,” said Clark.
“Having recently witnessed the adoption and entry into force of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in record time, this meeting is also an opportunity to acknowledge the power of partnerships between states, civil society, and international organizations in pursuing humanitarian diplomacy which is preventive in nature and helps build a more peaceful and secure world,” she added.
During her visit, Ms. Clark met with Prime Minister Hun Sen to discuss Cambodia and UNDP’s ongoing work to clear landmines in the country, progress on the MillenniumDevelopment Goals, particularly on combatting HIV/AIDS and maternal mortality, and the recent flooding that affected 2 million people. She also met with President Designate of the Conference, Prak Sokhonn, the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Dr. Ing Kahntha Phavi, and the UN Country Team.
Prime Minister Hun Sen, in his keynote speech to open the landmine conference, urged stronger cooperation among all States Parties to the Convention and stakeholders in working together “towards our noble cause for A Mine-Free World.”
“Without intensifying the speed and efficiency of the way in which we address our respective problems, our ultimate goal of a mine-free world will remain in a distance,” the prime minister said.
in Cambodia.
“Sustained and predictable funding from both international and national sources will enable all states to reach their mine clearance commitments,” Ms. Clark said.
The Administrator said in her opening remarks to the 11th Meeting of the State Parties to the ban landmine treaty known as the Ottawa Convention on Nov. 27. The event hosted by Cambodia brought together some 1,000 delegates from around the world, including heavily mine-affected countries.
In 1997, the UN Secretary-General hailed the Mine Ban Convention as “a landmark step in the history of disarmament,” and “an historic victory for the weak and vulnerable of our world.”
Despite years of progress in tackling them, the menace of landmines and explosive remnants of war still persist.
“In countries emerging from conflict, these weapons slow the repatriation of refugees and the return of other displaced persons. They hamper the provision of aid and relief. They deprive communities of the productive and safe use of land and natural resources,” Ms. Clark said.
There is a strong link between effective mine action and progress on the Millennium Development Goals.
“With the legacy of decades of conflict, our hosts here in Cambodia understand this well. The contamination of so much land in this country with landmines has resulted in more than 63,900 deaths and injuries over the past three decades,” she said.
“Overall, the progress over the last two decades of mine action in Cambodia has been impressive – with a reduction in the number of victims from 4,320 in 1996 to 286 in 2010. The invaluable experience gained here is now being shared with other countries,” she said.
Demining operators here have cleared some 700 square kilometers of contaminated land in Cambodia from mines and explosive remnants of war. That has provided hundreds of thousands of Cambodians with safe land for resettlement, agriculture, and infrastructure development.
While it is difficult to quantify exact numbers of victims and survivors, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines has estimated that these weapons have killed and maimed over a million people in the last 30 years. Seventy-one percent of these were civilians, and 32 percent were children.
In 2001 the Landmine Monitor listed 90 countries around the world affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war. Many of them are least developed countries, whose development is severely hindered by this explosive legacy of conflict and who the least able to fund weapons clearance.
UNDP works on national mine action programmes in close to forty countries and territories to strengthen the capacity of national authorizes to effectively plan and implement the programmes.
“This meeting here in Phnom Penh is an opportunity both to celebrate progress to date in overcoming the menace of antipersonnel mines, and to acknowledge that much work still remains to be done to rid the world of them,” said Clark.
“Having recently witnessed the adoption and entry into force of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in record time, this meeting is also an opportunity to acknowledge the power of partnerships between states, civil society, and international organizations in pursuing humanitarian diplomacy which is preventive in nature and helps build a more peaceful and secure world,” she added.
During her visit, Ms. Clark met with Prime Minister Hun Sen to discuss Cambodia and UNDP’s ongoing work to clear landmines in the country, progress on the MillenniumDevelopment Goals, particularly on combatting HIV/AIDS and maternal mortality, and the recent flooding that affected 2 million people. She also met with President Designate of the Conference, Prak Sokhonn, the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Dr. Ing Kahntha Phavi, and the UN Country Team.
Prime Minister Hun Sen, in his keynote speech to open the landmine conference, urged stronger cooperation among all States Parties to the Convention and stakeholders in working together “towards our noble cause for A Mine-Free World.”
“Without intensifying the speed and efficiency of the way in which we address our respective problems, our ultimate goal of a mine-free world will remain in a distance,” the prime minister said.
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