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Updated: 13-Sep-2002 Notes for Remarks


13 Sep. 2002

Speaking notes


by
Assistant Secretary General
For Defence Planning and Operations
Dr. Edgar Buckley

  • On behalf of the Secretary General, I would like to confirm our welcome to you all today and say how pleased we are in NATO to be able to provide the venue for the launch of the Landmine Monitor Report 2002.

  • NATO is very proud to be associated with global demining efforts. Although normally NATO forces only undertake demining where that is essential for our own missions, as you know NATO forces provide a secure environment for demining in areas where they operate and NATO and Partner nations sponsor destruction of mines by contractors under PfP Trust Fund arrangements.

  • 1.6 million out of 7 million landmines destroyed in the reporting period were destroyed under NATO PfP initiatives.

  • Global Humanitarian Action is also one of the areas of multinational cooperation in PfP. This includes both mine awareness training and destruction, one of the most successful cooperation activities under PfP.

  • Under our successful Trust Fund arrangements, supported by NATO Allies and Partners, we have so far destroyed:

    - 1.6 million APLs in Albania, with Canada as the lead NATO sponsor with donations from Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Norway, Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom;
    - launched a project to destroy 400,000 APLs in Ukraine, with Canada again as a lead sponsor with donations from Netherlands, Hungary and Poland;
    - launched a similar project with Moldova, with the Netherlands as a lead sponsor with donations from Canada, Germany, Hungary, Poland, United Kingdom and the United States.

  • In each case, these projects are conducted fully in line with international standards. And as far as possible, the materials are recycled.

  • We believe there is significant hope to expand this activity and we have a number of other projects in mind. So watch this space.

  • This sample of toys for children into which Ukrainian landmines are recycled under one of our PfP Trust Funds projects is symbolic of our successful policy on landmine destruction. Thank you.

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