Statement by Ms. Christine McNab
UN Resident Coordinator in Jordan
Delivered by Ms. Mona K. Hider
UNDP Deputy Resident Representative
The International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action
Baptism Site – Jordan Valley
4 April 2006
Your Royal Highness Prince Ra’ad Bin Zeid,
Your Royal Highness Prince Mired Bin Ra’ad,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all on the occasion of the recently declared “International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action”, which falls on 4th of April of every year.
It is a particular honour for us that HRH Prince Ra’ad bin Zeid has graced us with his patronage and presence. Your Royal Highness, you have always inspired us with your dedication and commitment to improving the lives of all Jordanians, especially of those with disabilities.
Equally important, the commitment and concern of Your Royal Highness, Prince Mired. Your tireless efforts in working with the Hashemite Society for Disabled Soldiers, and now the National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation, are examples for us all, and they most importantly touch deeply people who look to you for your strong leadership and principles.
It is a special day today. Stemming from the recommendation made by the UN member states during the 2005 World Summit held in New York in September 2005, today has been declared by the UN General Assembly as a day to raise awareness on the fight against the misery caused by antipersonnel mines to eventually reach a world free from the threat.
The United Nations believe that the task of eliminating landmines can be completed in years, rather than decades if mine affected countries do everything in their power to become mine-free, and if donor countries and organizations maintain their interest and financial support.
Landmines injure people and destroy lives; they kill regular people doing every day things. It is usually not a soldier at war who dies from stepping on a landmine, but rather a child walking to school, or a farmer working in the field.
According to the Landmine Monitor Report 2005, 84 countries are affected to some extent by landmines and unexploded ordnance, which together kill or maim between 15,000 and 20,000 adults and children annually.
In addition to individual sufferings, landmines have had a significant negative impact on the socio-economic fabric of many communities. They deny people the access to large areas of extremely high potential agricultural lands, tourism sites, and as we see around us here today, important religious and cultural places.
They stop farmers from farming, people from using roads, children from going to school, that means countries remain impoverished. The mutilation of victims places a heavy burden on countries already struggling to meet the needs of their population. Thus, they impede economic recovery and development that makes the affected countries more dependant on the international community.
What better example other than the area where we are standing on, and the Baptism site of Christ which is only a few kilometres away from here. Few years ago, the area was a “Killing Field”, while now after being cleared of landmines, the area has been re-opened to allow people from around the world to visit this magnificent and important –place.
Your Royal Highnesses, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I wish to congratulate the Government of Jordan under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II and the National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation for being a leader in the field of Mine Action.
His Late Majesty, King Hussein, took the courageous step of instructing the Army to start demining in 1993! This was four years before the international convention banning landmines was signed in Ottawa in 1997. The work undertaken by H.M. Queen Noor in her capacity as a campaigner against landmines is well known throughout the world, as is the dedication and professionalism of the Jordan Royal Engineering Corps.
Equally important are the contributions made by the civil society, the Hashemite Society for Disabled Soldiers, the Jordan Red Crescent, the Royal Medical Services, the Landmine Survivors Network and the ICRC. To name but a few of the unsung heroes working to reduce the impact of mines in the country.
Although Jordan’s problem is not on the same scale as some of the affected neighbouring countries, the government has long understood that a well coordinated and effective planned national mine action programme is expected to accomplish much more than protecting local communities from the physical threat of landmines. The national mine action programme overall vision is to provide a Jordan free of the risk and impacts posed by the presence of these hidden killers.
The country’s activities in this field, through the NCDR and under the guidance of H.R.H. Prince Mired, contribute not only to removing landmines from the country, but also to national development and to creating a more stable environment in which local and national economic development projects can be undertaken. These efforts will eventually contribute to putting the country on track in achieving most of the Millennium Development Goals but especially to the 1st Goal of reducing poverty to half by the year 2015 and the 7th Goal of ensuring environmental sustainability.
The UN in Jordan through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has long been a core partner in the country’s fight against landmines. With funds from the governments of Canada, Denmark, Germany, Britain, Switzerland, and the European Union, UNDP works closely with NCDR to fulfil its obligations under the Ottawa Treaty for clearing all the mines from its territory by the year 2009. Through UNDP’s support, Jordan now has a national plan that covers all pillars of mine action including building national capacities in this field.
UNDP recently launched a project in partnership with the European Union that will help Jordan reclaim some of the richest agricultural land in North Shunah District. Through the project approximately 1.5 million m2 of some of the most fertile land, in one of the country’s most impoverished districts, will be cleared by the Royal Engineers by the end 2007. The impact will have both meaningful humanitarian and economic consequences for the people forced to live in the district for decades without access to this land.
I would like to take this opportunity to confirm the UN’s continued commitment to help promote the policies and activities that will help move Jordan towards reaching its Millennium Development Goals, and I hope that more partners will join us in supporting the country’s battle against landmines.
Finally, I wish to express our gratitude and appreciation to all the NCDR staff for their great efforts in organizing this event.
Thank you