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Statement
by
the NATO Spokesman
First
meeting arranged for new NATO Committee
on Depleted Uranium
At a special meeting at NATO headquarters today NATO
officials, and representatives of past and present SFOR
and KFOR contributing nations were briefed on details
of the new Ad Hoc Committee on Depleted Uranium (CDU),
and set its first meeting for Tuesday January 16 at 1500
hrs.
The creation of the committee was one of the initiatives
agreed earlier this week by Ambassadors on the North Atlantic
Council. It is in response to government and public concern
over the use of Depleted Uranium munitions in Kosovo and
Bosnia. NATO intends to act as a clearing house for information
sharing and co-ordination on the issue, and the ad hoc
group is a key part of this process.
For that reason the membership of CDU is very wide. Apart
from NATO civil and military representatives it will include
contributors to SFOR and KFOR; participation is open to
UNMIK, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, and in due course
from Yugoslavia. Other international organisations and
civil bodies could also be invited on a case-by-case basis,
and today's meeting emphasised the open nature of the
committee.
At today's meetings briefings were given on the current
state of medical opinion on the health risks of Depleted
Uranium. It was emphasised there is no evidence of a link
between Depleted Uranium and Leukaemia, or any evidence
of unusual levels of ill-health among personnel who have
served in the Balkans.
Nevertheless there is no room for complacency, and the
committee has a valuable role in sharing existing and
new information on the issue. At today's meeting Portugal,
which has sent a scientific team to the region to investigate
Depleted Uranium, committed itself to providing the full
results of its study to the CDU.
NATO has provided the United Nations with details of
the 112 locations where DU was used and the Portuguese
team had investigated the 50 sites closest to where Portuguese
troops are based. An official said that early analysis
showed that the overall natural levels of uranium are
actually lower than in Portugal itself, and that the idea
of a general risk of contamination was false.
The team is now assessing 18 boxes of soil, food and
samples taken from personnel, and expects results in two
weeks, which will be sent to the CDU group. It is just
one example of the potential value of the committee in
ensuring that debate on the issue is based on sound and
reliable information.
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