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29 April 2003

U.S. to Implement Three-Year Mine Action Program in Iraq

(Humanitarian program will be expanded from north to whole country) (320)
The United States is implementing a three-year, $25 million
humanitarian mine action program for Iraq, the State Department
announced in a media note April 29. The program will include mine risk
education and the deployment of a quick reaction demining force.
To start, the program will be coordinated by the Defense Department's
Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, through an
emergency mine action team composed of State and Defense Department
personnel. The text of the media note follows:
(begin text)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
April 29, 2003
Media Note
United States Plans Robust Humanitarian Mine Action Program in Iraq
The United States is implementing a planned three-year, $25 million
humanitarian mine action assistance program in Iraq. This five-point
program will include:
-- Emergency mine risk education for refugees and internally displaced
persons to be provided through the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF) and the Mines Advisory Group, a non-governmental organization
based in the United Kingdom.
-- Deployment of a quick reaction demining force to conduct emergency
mine clearance for the safety of Iraqi citizens, humanitarian
assistance providers, and the restoration of critical infrastructure.
-- Development of an indigenous humanitarian mine action capability
through the establishment of a national mine action coordination
infrastructure.
-- Training and equipping of Iraqis to clear landmines and unexploded
ordnance.
-- Expansion of the Mine Advisory Group's current efforts in Northern
Iraq to areas in South and Central Iraq.
Initially, the Pentagon's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian
Assistance will coordinate mine action projects through an emergency
mine action team. Composed initially of Department of State and
Department of Defense personnel, the team will seek to identify and
train Iraqis to assume mine action policy and oversight
responsibilities throughout the country.
For further information, contact Mr. Donald F. Patierno at (202)
647-1110.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)