NEWS RELEASES
AXWORTHY TO OPEN NATIONAL CONFERENCEON ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES
January 29, 1997 No. 12
AXWORTHY TO OPEN NATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy will open the one-day Canadian Conference
on Humanitarian Demining and Landmine Victim Assistance in Winnipeg on January 31.
This is the first national meeting to address these related issues and is one in a
series of national and international meetings following on the International
Strategy Conference held in Ottawa in October 1996, which dealt with the ban, AP
mine clearance and victim assistance as integrated issues.
"Canada's hosting of the Ottawa Conference last October placed us at the forefront
of international efforts to ban anti-personnel (AP) mines," said Mr. Axworthy.
"The time is right for us to focus on two important aspects of the AP mine issue:
demining and rehabilitation assistance to AP mine victims. We need to review our
national expertise in these areas as part of our wider efforts to deal with the
appalling impact of AP mines on thousands of lives each year," he added.
The Conference is expected to attract more than 120 participants, including
representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Canadian
disability advocacy groups and Canadian universities with international programs
for disabled rehabilitation. Companies that provide goods or services related to
demining will also be represented.
Mines Action Canada, a coalition representing 37 international development, peace,
public health, human rights and faith NGOs, is the major non-governmental
participant at the Winnipeg Conference.
The Winnipeg Conference's objectives are to generate increased Canadian private
sector and NGO interest, capacity and involvement in AP mine issues and to assist
the government in preparing for the March 1997 Tokyo Conference, which will also
deal with demining and victim assistance. The Conference is also designed to
contribute to the increased momentum of the "Ottawa Process," whose objective is
to conclude a treaty banning AP mines and have it signed in Canada in December
1997. Other upcoming meetings include a treaty-drafting meeting next month in
Vienna and the Second International Strategy Conference in Brussels in June.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Catherine Lappe
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
This document is also available on the Department's Internet site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
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