HONOURABLE MEMBERS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
GOOD MORNING,

PLEASE ALLOW ME TO THANK MINES ACTION CANADA FOR EXTENDING THIS INVITATION TO TALK TO YOU TODAY ABOUT AN ISSUE THAT IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO MY COUNTRY.

I ALSO WANT TO EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION FOR CANADA’S LEADERSHIP IN PUTTING TOGETHER THE INTERNATIONAL LANDMINE TREATY, ALSO KNOWN AS THE OTTAWA TREATY

WE ARE HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT LANDMINES AND CLUSTER MUNITIONS. MY COUNTRY HAS BEEN A VICTIM OF BOTH DEVICES AS FAR BACK AS THE EARLY 1980s WHEN SOVIET FORCES INDISCRIMINATELY USED A VARIETY OF MUNITIONS AND WEAPONS AGAINST AFGHANS. I REMEMBER REPORTS OF CLUSTER BOMBS THAT WERE SHAPED LIKE BUTTERFLIES AND TOYS, ATTRACTING CHILDREN, SCATTERED AROUND THE COUNTRY.

AS A RESULT OF SEVERAL ROUNDS OF CONFLICT IMPOSED ON AFGHANISTAN OVER THE PAST 25 YEARS UNTIL THE OUSTER OF THE TALIBAN, THOUSANDS LOST THEIR LIVES AND MANY OTHERS WERE MAIMED, AND CONTINUE TO BE MAIMED BY THESE DEVICES.

ALTHOUGH STILL HIGH AND TRAGIC, BUT NUMBER OF DEATHS AND INJURIES TODAY ARE 1/10 TH WHAT THEY WERE 10 YEARS AGO.

REAL APPRECIATION GOES TO THE MEN AND WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD WHO WORK IN THIS FIELD, ESPECIALLY IN THE MINEFIEL, TO THOSE WHOSE LIVES ARE ENDANGERED EVERY DAY AS A RESULT OF PAINSTAKING DEMINING WORK. I HAVE SEEN THAT IN MY OWN COUNTRY, WHERE WITH VERY LOW TECHNOLOGIES, DEMINERS TAKE HUGE RISKS TO PREVENT HUMAN CASUALTIES AND SPEND COUNTLESS HOURS ON THEIR KNEES TO NEUTRALIZE THESE MENACING DEVICES. WE PAY TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO HAVE LOST LIFE OR LIMB, AND TO THOSE WHO CARRY ON WITH THIS RISKY JOB.

WE ALSO THANK THE COUNTRIES THAT HAVE FUNDED THE DEMINING OPERATIONS AND THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE CARRIED THEM OUT. HOWEVER, IT IS ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT WITHOUT CONTINUED FUNDING AND ACTIVITY, WE WOULD LEAVE A LEGACY OF FEAR, PAIN AND SHATTERED LIVES ACROSS SEVERAL CONTINENTS.

CANADIANS AND OTHER DONORS SHOULD BE PROUD OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS AND THE TREATY OUTCOME THAT HAVE SAVED LIVES AND DISPOSED OF THOUSANDS OF LANDMINES.

WITH AN ESTIMATED 100 MILLION LANDMINES IN MORE THAN 70 COUNTRIES STILL POSING A REAL AND SERIOUS DANGER TO HUMANS AND OTHER SPECIES, WE CANNOT AFFORD TO SHIFT PRIORITIES OR DE-EMPHASIZE THE ISSUE.

YES, THE SIGNATORIES TO THE OTTAWA TREATY HAVE DONE WELL TO DECREASE THE STOCKPILES AND REDUCE THE CASUALTY COUNTS, AND WE SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED BY THIS TREND, BUT WE SHOULD ALSO BE MINDFUL OF THE REMAINING CHALLENGES AND THE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT PREVIOUS TRAGEDIES STILL ENGENDER.

WE CANNOT DISCOUNT THE IMPORTANCE OF LANDMINE EDUCATION, TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION IN AFFECTED NATIONS. IN MY OWN COUNTRY, THERE IS A NEED TO ADD MINE EDUCATION TO SCHOOL CURRICULA IN AFFECTED REGIONS AS A PREVENTIVE MEASURE. UNFORTUNATELY CHILDREN STILL CONSTITUTE THE LARGEST GROUP OF LANDMINE VICTIMS.

THOSE PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES HAVE BEEN SHATTERED BY THESE TERRIFYING WEAPONS OF LIFE DESTRUCTION, EXPECT THE MINIMUM OF CARE AND REHABILITATION TO GIVE THEM RENEWED HOPE AND THE MINIMAL MEANS FOR SUSTENANCE. WE SHOULD NOT WAVER FORM THAT RESONSIBILITY.

THE CORRELATION BETWEEN DEMINING AND DEVELOPMENT IN COUNTRIES THAT HAVE COME OUT OF CONFLICT OR ARE FRAGILE STATES, SUCH AS MINE, IS STRONG AND AN INTEGRAL PART OF ECONOMIC WELLBEING.

AFTER ALMOST 25 YEARS, AFGHANISTAN STILL HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST CASUALTY RATES IN THE WORLD TODAY. STATES AND NONSTATE ENTITIES HAVE USED THEM AT VARIOUS STAGES FOR VARIOUS REASONS. AS A RESULT, THOUSANDS HAVE DIED AND TENS OF THOUSANDS ARE MAIMED. WE HAVE BEEN OF THE LARGEST RECIPIENTS OF AID AS WELL, AND WE ARE GREATFUL FOR THAT, BUT WE STILL FACE A DAUNTING TASK, WHILE 35% OF OUR LAND IS UNUSABLE AND THE THREAT TO RECONSTRUCTION IS REAL.

RECENT ESTIMATES SHOW THAT DE-MINING PROGRAMMES IN AFGHANISTAN WILL REQUIRE MORE THAN $92 MILLION DURING THE COMING YEAR.

ONLY LAST WEEK, PRESIDENT KARZAI REMINDED THE WORLD OF THE DANGERS THAT AFGHANISTAN FACES AS RESULT OF LANDMINES. AS NEW LAWS COME INTO FORCE CALLED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TREATY LAWS AND SAID: “THE PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN HAVE SUFFERED TREMENDOUSLY IN THE PAST THREE DECADES… THE MINE CLEARANCE TEAMS HAVE WORKED HARD IN THE PAST 15 YEARS TO ENSURE THE SAFE RETURN OF REFUGEES, FARMERS AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS TO THEIR HOUSES. THOUGH THE CONTINUATION OF SECURITY PROBLEMS IN SOME PARTS OF AFGHANISTAN HAMPERS THE PROGRESSD OF MINE CLEARANCE WORK IN THE COUNTRY, BUT THE GOVERNMENT FULLY BACKS THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AGAINST LANDMINES AND UNEXPLODED ORDNANCES.”

THE PRESIDENT MADE AN APPEAL TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO INCREASE THEIR ASSISTANCE TO THE MINE EFFORT IN AFGHANISTAN AND SAID “I HOPE AFGHANISTAN WILL BECOME A MINE-FREE COUNTRY IN THE NEAR FUTURE.”

AS AFGHANISTAN AND OTHER COUNTRIES IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS STRUGGLE TO OVERCOME YEARS OF WAR, POVERTY, DESTRUCTION AND TERRORISM, IT IS ALSO AWARE OF THE FACT THAT LANDMINES AND UNEXPLDED ORDNANCES LIKE SUICIDE BOMBERS AND IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES (IEDs) ALSO POSE A REAL THEAT TO THE SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY.

THIS IS WHY WE CALL ON ALL DONORS TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THE NECESSARY ASSISTANCE IN TERMS OF SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT, AS WELL AS HUMAN PROTECTION, SO THAT WE CAN OVERCOME THIS THREAT SOONER RATHER THAN LATER, WITH FEWER VICTIMS, RATHER THAN MORE.

THANK YOU AND I WISH YOU GOOD LUCK AND SUCCESS WITH YOUR NEW EFFORTS IN RELATION TO CLUSTER MUNITIONS.