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<title>AXWORTHY MEETS WITH SCHOOLCHILDRENAT LAUNCH OF UNICEF LANDMINE VIDEO</title>
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<p><font face="Courier"></font><font face="Univers" size="+2"></font><font face="Univers" size="+2">November 20, 1997 No. 193</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Univers" size="+2">AXWORTHY MEETS WITH SCHOOLCHILDREN</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Univers" size="+2">AT LAUNCH OF UNICEF LANDMINE VIDEO</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy spoke with students from Ancaster Public
School in Toronto today at an event hosted by the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF) Canada, to launch UNICEF's new video, <em>The Silent Shout: helping children
learn about landmines.</em> The Minister was joined by Janet Zukowsky, Vice-President,
Partnership Branch, at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), who
was representing the Minister for International Co-operation and Minister
Responsible for La Francophonie, Diane Marleau, and by Secretary of State for
Children and Youth, Ethel Blondin-Andrew.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">"Every month, over 2000 people are killed or injured by mines and about one third
are children," said Mr. Axworthy. "But many people around the world have agreed
that enough is enough, and we must stop making, selling or spreading new mines. We
must work together to remove the millions of mines that are already in the ground,
and we must help those, like the children in this video, who have been injured by
mines."</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">"I want to thank UNICEF for producing this video, and to recognize the work that
they have done in supporting a ban on landmines and helping children who have been
injured by them," he added.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">The video, which will be distributed to all elementary schools across the country,
will help Canadian children to understand the damage that landmines do to people's
lives, particularly those of children, in dozens of mine-affected countries around
the world.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">It will also be used worldwide, and particularly in mine-affected countries, to
help save children's lives by teaching them how to protect themselves from danger
and how to cope with the impact of landmines.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">"Raising awareness of the landmine issue is an important part of CIDA's commitment
to development education," said Madame Marleau. "At the same time, Canada must
continue to help rehabilitate victims and clear mined areas, so that children
around the world can grow up in safety and security."</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">"When you consider that approximately 8000 children are killed or injured by mines
annually, you realize that the human costs alone are felt for generations," said
Ms. Blondin-Andrew. "That is why this landmine treaty is so important, and why
ongoing public education is vital. This video project will play an important role
in accomplishing that goal."</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">The children attending the event presented their own version of a landmine
"treaty," which expressed their concern and support for those children who live
daily with the reality of landmines and who are affected emotionally and
physically by them. The children's treaty can be viewed by visiting the Youth Page
of the Government of Canada's landmines Web site at www.mines.gc.ca.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">This event takes place less than two weeks before more than 100 countries are
expected to attend an international conference in Ottawa to sign a treaty banning
landmines. It also coincides with National Child Day in Canada, and marks the
eighth anniversary of the United Nations' adoption of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and CIDA each
contributed $75 000 for the translation and reproduction costs of this video.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Funding for this initiative was provided for in the February 1997 federal budget,
and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Courier">- 30 -</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">For further information, media representatives may contact:</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Debora Brown</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">(613) 995-1851</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Media Relations Office</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">(613) 995-1874</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Media Relations Office</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Canadian International Development Agency</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">(819) 953-6534</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">This document is also available on the Department's Internet site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca</font></p>
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