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<title>CANADA ANNOUNCES CONTRIBUTION TO LANDMINE CLEARANCE EFFORTS IN MOZAMBIQUE</title>
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<p><font face="Courier"></font><font face="Univers" size="+2"></font><font face="Univers" size="+2">June 9, 1998 No. 151</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Univers" size="+2">CANADA ANNOUNCES CONTRIBUTION TO </font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Univers" size="+2">LANDMINE CLEARANCE EFFORTS IN MOZAMBIQUE</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Minister for International
Cooperation and Minister responsible for La Francophonie Diane Marleau today
announced Canadian support to strengthen the Mine Action Program in Mozambique --
one of the world's most heavily-mined countries, with an estimated 1 to</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">2 million landmines.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">"Canada continues to urge countries to sign and ratify the Ottawa Convention
banning landmines, but at the same time we need to help countries like Mozambique
alleviate the social and economic burden that landmines pose," said Minister
Axworthy, speaking at the Organization of African Unity Summit in Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso. "Mozambique achieved peace in 1992, but sustained peace depends on
reconstruction, the resettlement of displaced people and economic development.
Mine clearance is an essential part of that equation."</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">The Canadian International Development Agency will manage this $10.5 million
three-year project. It will include the gathering of information on the location
of mines and how to establish priority areas for mine clearance. Canadian
technical specialists will help train local personnel to survey and manage a
national computer database on mine location and clearance activities. They will
also provide support for mine surveying and digitized mapping using Canadian
technology. The training component of Canada's contribution is particularly
critical to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the mine action program.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">"Landmines are not only a serious threat to human life, but they also derail
economic and social development," said Madame Marleau. "People who no longer
venture into the fields to grow crops go hungry. People who fear travelling on
mined roads are cut off from markets. By providing assistance for mine location
and clearance in Mozambique, Canada is helping restore people's lives and
livelihoods."</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Canadian experts will join the United Nations Development Program's (UNDP)
Accelerated Demining Program; the UNDP has assumed the lead role for UN mine
action in Mozambique. The provision of Canadian technical assistance and training
will strengthen existing mine action activities through an improved definition of
the problem and can help lead to minefields being cleared in years rather than
decades.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world. Landmines were deployed
by all parties during three decades of war, often in a random and indiscriminate
manner, and few accurate records were kept. The expense of medical care and
rehabilitation for mine victims adds further burden to the economy. Women and
children are most vulnerable, since they are most often responsible for
agriculture, fuel and water gathering.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Canada's financial contribution is part of its commitment to implementing Ottawa
Process II and comes from the $100 million landmine fund announced by the Prime
Minister at the Ottawa Treaty Signing Conference in December 1997.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Funding for the projects announced today was provided for in the February 1998
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">André Doren</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Office of the Minister for International Cooperation and</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Minister responsible for La Francophonie</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">(819) 997-6919</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 of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca</font></p>
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