4 April 2007

 

Your Royal Highness, Prince Mired

Your Excellency, Mr. Haydar Mahmoud

Your Excellency, Mr. Khalid Awadalla

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Boys and Girls,

 

Today, on this 2^nd International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance to Mine Action, I am happy to say there is much to celebrate as Jordan is moving closer to completing the job that His Late Majesty, King Hussein, so boldly began some 13 years ago. 

 

This morning we are standing only a few kilometers from the last remaining major mine-belt in the Kingdom. Jordan should indeed be congratulated on working so tirelessly in trying to accelerate its efforts in reaching its 2009 Mine Ban Convention deadline. 

 

The country has shown a tremendous deal of leadership and commitment in trying to minimize the threat of mines to its citizens through the demining efforts of the Royal Engineers. This has allowed the return of scarce agricultural land to the communities that have had their primary sources of income blocked for far too long. 

ِِA Comprehensive survivor and victim assistance is being developed for those unfortunate enough to come in contact with these hidden killers. 

A focused mine risk education campaign with the aim to prevent any further victims is in the process of being launched. 

In addition, Jordan is the President Designate to the 8^th Meeting of States Parties, which will be held on the shores of the Dead Sea in November later this year.

These are just some of the examples of how Jordan sees its responsibilities as being far more complicated than simply lifting a mine from the ground. 

 

Indeed, Jordan is an example on so many levels. Although I only arrived in the country a short while ago, I was well aware of Jordan’s reputation for being a leader in the area of peace, security, and development in the Middle East. It was not too surprising therefore, to learn that King Hussein saw the humanitarian threat to his people so important that he began the demining process 4 years prior to the Ottawa Treaty.

 

The leadership shown by H. M. King Abdullah II continues in these footsteps. Based on his majesty’s directions the National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation (NCDR) was established. It became the primary national authority that provides the overall coordination to the work we today call ‘mine action’. NCDR’s activities include more than just demining, it provides victim assistance, mine awareness, and advocacy to further increase the number of countries to sign the Mine Ban Treaty.

 

However, from all I have seen and heard, the personification of the vision and drive of their Majesties, King Hussein and King Abdullah II, is found in  the energetic and unflagging commitment shown day-in and day-out by HRH Prince Mired. 

 

It is largely through your leadership, Your Royal Highness, that mine action in Jordan is seen as one of the outstanding examples of how the government, civil society, the international community, and the UN can join hands in solving a man-made problem that indiscriminately targets innocent people. 

 

Similar to the case of Jordan, landmines around the world affect the daily lives of rural communities who depend on the access to their land to make their living and to survive. 

 

Landmines severely reduce the ability of men and women to provide for their children, and in many cases, even the future of their children’s children. This is only one of the many tragedies caused by the presence – or even suspected – presence of one landmine, never-mind what 100s, 1000s, or millions of landmines spread throughout the world are doing to keeping some of our poorest communities poor. 

 

The UN sees the link between landmines and the broader development activities designed to help mine affected countries reach their Millennium Development Goals. 

 

The UN works hard at partnering with governments to prioritize their work based on reducing the human impact of mines and increasing opportunities to further poverty alleviation in mine affected communities. 

 

Looking around me, I suspect the impact of demining in Mafraq will unleash a great deal of potential for the local communities. 

 

Your Royal Highness, Prince Mired

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Boys and Girls,

 

One of the reasons the UN General Assembly declared the 4^th of April International Mine Action Awareness Day was to highlight the plight of people who are forced to live with landmines and those unfortunate enough to have had an accident. It is also a way to pay recognition to the deminers who risk their lives to help remove these hidden killers from the fields where our children play. 

 

As I look around, I also wish to pay tribute to the many people who work behind the scenes and do their part – be it a physiotherapist, community liaison officer, teacher, budding artist, or diplomat – we all have our role to play and I believe that together we can make a difference.    

 

In closing, I would like to reaffirm the support of the entire UN family in working with Jordan to meet its goal of clearing the remaining minefields from its territory by 2009. I believe if we and the international communities continue to partner together, as we have over the past several years, much can be accomplished for Jordan, its people, and indeed the global mine action community.

 

I very much look forward to the day that we can all reassemble again and declare Jordan a “Mine Free State.”