NEWS RELEASES

May 22, 1998 No. 129

AXWORTHY APPOINTS AMBASSADOR FOR MINE ACTION

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today announced the appointment of Jill E. Sinclair as Ambassador for Mine Action. Ms. Sinclair will be supported by the newly created Mine Action Team within the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

"The appointment of an Ambassador for Mine Action and the creation of the Mine Action Team are positive steps in meeting our commitment to the Agenda for Mine Action," said Mr. Axworthy. "Canada is maintaining the momentum of Ottawa Process II and we are continually renewing our efforts in this important humanitarian initiative."

The post of Ambassador for Mine Action has been created to ensure that the Ottawa Convention is effectively implemented and that it makes a real difference in the lives of mine-affected communities worldwide. The Mine Action Team will be responsible for entry into force of the Convention, universalization, and full implementation of its provisions.

Ambassador Sinclair will also be reaching out to engage the support and interest of the Canadian public, and ensuring that Canada is able to continue to provide international leadership on the landmines issue.

Ambassador Sinclair will be a key advisor to Minister Axworthy in working toward a co-ordinated Canadian mine action strategy. Minister Axworthy and his colleagues from the Canadian International Development Agency, National Defence and Industry Canada are jointly managing the $100 million Landmine Treaty Implementation Fund, which was established at the time of the signing of 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), December 2 to 4, 1997, in Ottawa.

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A biographical note on Jill E. Sinclair is attached.

For further information, media representatives may contact:

Debora Brown

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

Biographical Note

As Director of the Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Jill E. Sinclair played a crucial role in the Ottawa Process from its inception through the October 1996 Ottawa meeting, where Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy challenged the world to conclude, within a year, a comprehensive, global ban on anti-personnel mines, to the signature of the Convention in December 1997. She was the Chair of the recent "Ottawa Process II -- Mine Action Forum," which took place in Ottawa in March 1998. It brought together participants from mine-affected and donor countries, the community of Canadian and international non-governmental organizations, the United Nations and regional organizations. The goal of the Forum was to establish a co-ordinated global approach to ensure the effective and early implementation of the Convention and an integrated approach to global efforts to clear mines and assist victims.

Ms. Sinclair joined the Department of External Affairs in 1981 and has had diplomatic postings in Prague and Havana, as well as a secondment to the Department of Communications as Special Advisor to the Assistant Deputy Minister, Culture and Broadcasting. She has worked extensively on issues of international peace and security as Departmental Assistant to Canada's Ambassador for Disarmament, as Deputy Director responsible for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Organization of American States Hemispheric Security Committee and, since 1994, as Director of the Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament Division, with responsibilities including nuclear, chemical, biological and conventional arms control and disarmament, missile proliferation and regional confidence and security-building mechanisms and dialogue within the Middle East Peace Process. She is a graduate of York University (Glendon College), Toronto, and undertook postgraduate work at Dalhousie University, Halifax.