Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the occasion of the International day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on April 4 2007

On the occasion of the “International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action” proclaimed by the United Nations, the European Union welcomes the important progress made in the fight against the suffering caused by anti-personnel mines.

Over the last ten years, the European Union and its Member States have consistently provided major political, financial and scientific support to mine action worldwide, amounting to a total of around 1.5 billion Euros.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. More than 150 countries have already acceded to this major international instrument, which embodies humanitarian as well as disarmament objectives.

The European Union welcomes the progress made so far in destroying stockpiles of anti-personnel mines, clearing mined areas and assisting mine victims. We realize that in the future particular emphasis will need to be placed on victim assistance in the longer term, including from a socio-economic perspective, as well as on mine clearance. We will also pursue our efforts in order to encourage the ratification of the Convention by all States that are not yet party to the Convention.

The overall goal of the European Union is that there should be no more anti-personnel mine victims. This target is ambitious, but can be achieved if all states demonstrate the necessary determination and combine their efforts towards this end.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Liechtenstein, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

*Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilization and Association Process.

April 3, 2007

Links

German Funding for Landmine Impact Survey
(May 12, 2006)

Humanitarian mine action – aid projects promoted by the Federal Foreign Office

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