Jordan will celebrate tomorrow Wednesday, 4 April 2007, the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance to Mine Action in Um Al-Jmal in Mafraq, just few kilometers from one of the most pressing demining tasks for Jordan.
By removing the mines that are within the lands of Mafraq governorate, Jordan will be able to meet its Mine Ban Treaty commitment to clear all anti-personnel landmines by the year 2009 and will remove the risk of mine accidents for the Mafraq’s local population of around 50,000.
Tomorrow’s event will include statements by H.R.H. Prince Mired Bin Raad the Chairman of the Board of Directors, NCDR, Mr. Luc Stevens the UN Resident Coordinator and the Governor of Mafraq, Mr. Khalid Awadalla.
In order to raise awareness on the risks of landmines among the local communities of Mafraq, the winners of the recently announced drawing competition by NCDR in all Mafraq schools, will be receiving prizes by H.R.H Prince Mired and their drawings will be included in the exhibition at the side of the event. In addition to many other activities, the event will include a song about landmines sung by students from the Mafraq governorate, a statement by a mine victim and a 10-minute volley ball game by the Landmine Survivors Network disabled team.
In Jordan, the NCDR and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the lead UN agency in Jordan in mine action together with several international partners, had geared their activities towards addressing the problems faced by populations as a result of landmine contamination. Their work is not only about mines as it is about people and their interactions with a mine-infested environment. The aim is not only technical – to survey, mark and eradicate landmines – but also humanitarian and developmental – to recreate an environment in which people can live safely, in which economic, social and health development can occur free from the constraints imposed by landmine contamination, and in which victims – needs are addressed.
4 April was declared The International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on 8 December 2005 by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The day calls for continued efforts by States, with the assistance of the United Nations and relevant organizations, to foster the establishment and development of national mine-action capacities in countries where mines and explosive remnants of war constitute a serious threat to the safety, health and lives of the civilian population, or an impediment to social and economic development at the national and local levels.