03 July 2003
Fact Sheet: U.S. Demining Program Seeks to Relieve Human Suffering
(July 2 State Department fact sheet on demining in Southeast Asia)
(510)
Following is the text of a July 2 State Department fact sheet on the
U.S. Government's Humanitarian Demining Program (HDP) in Southeast
Asia:
(begin fact sheet)
Fact Sheet
Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
Office of Humanitarian Demining Programs
Washington, DC
July 2, 2003
United States Humanitarian Demining Programs in Southeast Asia
The U.S. Government's Humanitarian Demining Program (HDP) seeks to
relieve human suffering while promoting U.S. interests. The Program's
objectives are to reduce civilian casualties; create conditions for
the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes; reinforce
an affected country's stability; and encourage international
cooperation and participation. The Program seeks to accomplish these
objectives by supporting a wide range of mine action initiatives
including mine risk education (MRE); training and equipping indigenous
personnel; landmine survey; and mine/unexploded ordnance (UXO)
clearance operations in mine-affected nations. Since FY 1993, the
United States has committed over $700 million to global mine action
initiatives, including research and development.
The United States provides demining assistance to four mine-affected
nations in Southeast Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Since FY 1993, the United States has committed $86,147,000 for
humanitarian mine action in Southeast Asia.
This funding has provided mine and UXO detectors, individual
protective gear, vehicles, computer support, mine detection dogs
(MDDs), training of manual demining teams, necessary support to build
national mine action centers, landmine impact surveys, technical
assistance, and medical care for landmine victims.
Mine awareness programs have been established in all four countries
(including a very successful mine awareness program in Quang Tri
province, Vietnam) through the implementation of mine awareness
training courses and the distribution of many types of mine awareness
materials.
U.S. Special Operation Forces have trained nearly 4,000 deminers, who
have helped to destroy hundreds of thousands of landmines/UXO in
Southeast Asia, including 1,200 deminers in Cambodia and 1,000
deminers in Laos.
Several hundred million square meters of land have been cleared
through 2002, resulting in reduced casualty rates and millions of
refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) returning to their
homes. The number includes approximately 122,000,000 square meters
cleared in Cambodia, approximately 41,000,000 square meters cleared in
Laos, and 6,500,000 square meters cleared in Thailand.
In FY 2000, the United States allocated $1.4 million of NADR
[Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining, and Related Programs]
funds to Vietnam in order to initiate a level-one survey, one of the
most critical steps in establishing an effective humanitarian demining
program.
A focus on casualty rates and assistance plans to victims has resulted
in significant achievements in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam, more than
3,000 rehabilitated personnel have received training, and more than
52,000 people have been provided with mobility assistance. Over 2,400
villages in Laos received mine awareness visits. In Cambodia, between
1996 and 2001, the casuality rate reduced by nearly 70% and over
10,000 victims have been provided with mobility assistance.
(end fact sheet)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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