NEWS RELEASES
CANADA CONTRIBUTES TO MINE ACTION IN CYPRUS
December 2, 2003 (9:15 a.m. EST) No. 187
CANADA CONTRIBUTES TO MINE ACTION IN CYPRUS
Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham today announced a contribution of $330,000 toward mine clearance in Cyprus's
United Nations-controlled buffer zone. The project will be carried out by the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus
(UNFICYP), which is working under the auspices of the UN Mine Action Service. Today's announcement coincides with
Cyprus's hosting of the first preparatory meeting for next year's Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World.
"By agreeing to remove anti-personnel mines from the UN buffer zone, Cypriots are sending a strong message to the
international community that they are confident in their ability to coexist peacefully," said Mr. Graham. "This important
step will also benefit the Cypriot economy by freeing scarce farmland."
The Minister also welcomed a matching donation from the Slovenia-based International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine
Victims Assistance, which has enabled work to start on the project.
For almost three decades, Canada has been actively involved in efforts to resolve the Cyprus dispute. Canada was a major
contributor to the UNFICYP for 29 years and has also sponsored several seminars to promote dialogue between the two
Cypriot communities. In addition, former prime minister Joe Clark was the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative
for Cyprus from 1993 to 1994.
Government and civil society representatives from around the world taking part in the Cyprus meeting (December 2 and 3,
2003), including Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos, Jody Williams, Nobel Laureate and Ambassador of the
International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and Ross Hynes, Canada's Ambassador for Mine Action, will launch global
preparations for the Nairobi Summit. The Summit, to take place from November 29 to December 3, 2004, will be the first
Review Conference of the Ottawa Convention and will assess progress to date and the challenges that remain.
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their
Destruction, known as the Ottawa Convention, opened for signature in December 1997, and has become the most rapidly
ratified disarmament treaty in history, with 141 states now having formally accepted its obligations through ratification or
accession. Since the Convention was established, the global use and production of anti-personnel mines have dropped
significantly; the transfer of mines has virtually ceased; 34 million stockpiled mines have been destroyed; victim assistance
programs and mine risk education have increased worldwide; and global resources for mine action have dramatically
increased. December 3, 2003, marks the Convention's sixth anniversary.
Funding for this initiative was provided for in the February 2003 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal
framework.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Isabelle Savard
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
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