Clearing Landmines Imperative for Economic Recovery
17 October 2005
Private-public partnerships can help, Secretary of State Rice says
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is drawing attention to the fact that landmines and other abandoned weapons impede the efforts of nations trying to recover from years of conflict.
Speaking in a videotaped address to the National Conference for Landmine Action in Chicago, Rice said landmines and other abandoned weapons “kill or maim thousands of innocent men, women and children each year.” The existence of such weapons, she said impede recovery efforts in places like Angola.
But the situation in Angola, and elsewhere, is improving, Rice said, as a result of organizations such as the Chicago Coalition for Landmine Action. The coalition, along with the State Department’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, sponsored the October 6-7 conference designed to show organizations how to raise funds effectively for clearing and reclaiming land that was previously mined.
More than 150 organizations attended the conference. A full list of attendees is available on the State Department Web site.
More information about U.S. policy on removing landmines is highlighted in the U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda electronic journal, Protecting Lives, Restoring Livelihoods: The U.S. Program to Remove Landmines.
For information about U.S. arms control policy see Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
The following is the transcript of Rice’s remarks as released by the State Department on October 17:
(begin transcript)
U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
October 17, 2005
REMARKS
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
for the National Conference for Landmine Action in Chicago, Illinois
October 6, 2005
Washington, DC
SECRETARY RICE: Welcome to the National Conference for Land Mine Action. On behalf of President Bush, I thank you for your deep commitment to the noble cause of making the world safe from landmines. And I wish to express my special appreciation to the Chicago Coalition for Landmine Action for co-hosting this event with the Department of State.
Landmines and other abandoned weapons kill or maim thousands of innocent men, women and children each year. They also impede a nation's ability to recover from conflict.
Angola is a case in point. At the end of the civil war in 2002, over 70 percent of the roads were blocked by anti-tank landmines. These arteries are the country's economic lifeline. They are also the routes Angolans will take to vote in the elections next year. We are working hard with our NGO [Non-Governmental Organizations] partners and the international community to ensure that the roads are cleared so that Angolan citizens need not risk life and limb to cast their ballots and build their democratic future.
Fortunately, the situation in Angola and many other countries is improving through the combined efforts of governments and private citizens like you. In recent years, the number of civilian casualties from landmine accidents has been cut in half and valuable land has been cleared, allowing people to live normal, productive lives.
But there is still much to be done.
The American people can be proud that the United States remains the world's largest donor to mine action. Fulfilling his pledge, President Bush increased the State Department's Fiscal Year 2005 funding for humanitarian mine action by 50 percent above the Fiscal Year 2003 level.
The Department of State looks forward to working closely with all of you. You exemplify the generosity and compassion of the American people. The public-private partnership we are forging will bring new energy, ideas, and resources to global mine action. I have no doubt that this conference will prove to be an outstanding example of how governments and private citizens can work together to save lives and livelihoods from the devastating effects of landmines and other deadly remnants of war.
Thank you for your humanitarian service.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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