Message of the UN Secretary General on International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action (4 April 2006)

Message of the UN Secretary General on International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action (4 April 2006)

April 03, 2006

    BEIJING, April 3 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Kofi A. Annan,
UN Secretary-General, recently made a speech highlighting
the dangers of landmines in preperation for the
International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine
Action on 4 April 2006. 

    "Landmines are cruel instruments of war.  Decades
after conflicts have receded, these invisible killers lie
silently in the ground, waiting to murder and maim. Through
them, 20th century battles claim 21st century victims, with
new casualties added every hour."

    "A single landmine -- or even the fear of its
presence -- can hold an entire community hostage.  It can
prevent farmers from growing crops, refugees from returning
home, even children from playing. It blocks the delivery of
humanitarian relief and impedes the deployment of
peacekeepers.  In post-conflict societies landmines remain
one of the greatest impediments to rebuilding and renewal.
"

    "Yet this scourge of the past century has the
potential to become an early success story of the present
one.  The swift entry into force of the 1997 convention
banning anti-personnel landmines underscored the broad
moral condemnation of these weapons.  The treaty, which has
150 State Parties, is already producing tangible results. 
Governments, donors, nongovernmental organizations and the
United Nations are collaborating on an unprecedented scale
to address this problem, in more than 30 countries.  Both
the production and the laying of mines are in decline. 
Global trade in mines has virtually halted."

    "Stockpiles have been destroyed. Clearance
operations have accelerated. Mine-risk education has
spread."

    "The message is clear and must be heard: landmines
have no place in any civilized society."

    "The goal of a world without landmines and
explosive remnants of war appears achievable in years --
not decades as we used to think. But to realize this ideal,
every one of us -- donors, the general public and
mine-affected countries -- must focus our energies, and our
imaginations, on the cause of mine clearance. Having been so
effective in laying mines, we must now become even better at
clearing them. Each mine cleared may mean a life saved. 
Each mine cleared brings us one step closer to building the
conditions for lasting and productive peace."

    "On this International Day for Mine Awareness and
Assistance in Mine Action, I call on governments to ratify
the anti-personnel mine ban treaty as well as the new
Protocol V -- on the explosive remnants of war -- to the
Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. I ask donors to
renew their financial commitments.  I urge the international
community to address the humanitarian and developmental
impact of cluster-munitions.  And I look to affected
countries to ensure the rehabilitation and reintegration of
landmine survivors, and to increase resources for mine
action. Together, we must fight the evil of landmines as a
high and moral calling."

    For more information, please contact:

     Ms. Zhang Wei
     UNDP China, Communications Officer
     Tel:   [phone] x228
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  UNDP China