18 December 2001
U.S. Sponsors Extensive De-mining Program in Afghanistan
(Special representative outlines four-step plan) (460)
By Stephen Kaufman
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Funds from the United States are playing a substantial
role in the effort to clear Afghanistan of land mines left over from
two decades of conflict.
"Of the $500 million provided by the United States for humanitarian
mine action worldwide since 1993, nearly $28 million has gone to mine
action efforts in Afghanistan," said Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr., the
newly appointed Special Representative of the President and Secretary
of State for Mine Action.
Speaking December 18 at the Foreign Press Center in Washington,
Bloomfield said the U.S. is contributing $7.03 million for the current
fiscal year to help with de-mining in Afghanistan.
These funds will be used in a four-step plan that would involve the
training of personnel to perform mine clearance, technical program
planning and managerial support to de-mining organizations, land mine
and unexploded ordnance removal, and mine risk education initiatives.
The funds are distributed to the United Nations Office for
Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan (UNOCHA) and
the Hazardous Area Life-Support Organization (HALO) Trust, which
together conduct the mine clearance operation on the ground.
Both organizations train and employ Afghan citizens to help them with
the de-mining effort, most of which is done manually. With an
estimated 4,500 Afghan personnel currently employed, Bloomfield
reported that de-mining has become the largest industry in the
country.
"The Afghan de-miners themselves know what they're doing, and they're
quite renowned," said Bloomfield.
Bloomfield estimated that there are between 500,000 and 10 to 12
million landmines within Afghanistan, mostly concentrated in its
provinces bordering Pakistan and Iran.
According to Bloomfield, efforts thus far have yielded encouraging
results since, despite its rough terrain. Afghanistan has the highest
rate of land reclamation from landmines in the world, he said.
However, he said that the ultimate goal of clearing the country
entirely of mines was still far off. Two hundred Afghan civilians are
killed or wounded by land mines each month. But that figure, though
tragic, is down approximately 50 percent from 1998, said Bloomfield.
"It's a big effort, and the experts say it is going to take many years
to get the number of civilian casualties anywhere down to zero, which
is our goal," said Bloomfield.
Bloomfield said that the current fighting in Afghanistan did not
exacerbate the mine problem, but acknowledged that unexploded ordnance
from recent allied military actions presented a hazard similar to
landmines. As a result, said Bloomfield, U.S. military personnel are
currently involved in clearing unexploded ordnance, as well as any
mines they find in the former battlegrounds.
"We are there already, in some capacity, trying to educate and address
the problem directly," said Bloomfield.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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