November 20, 1997 No. 193

AXWORTHY MEETS WITH SCHOOLCHILDREN

AT LAUNCH OF UNICEF LANDMINE VIDEO

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, The Silent Shout: helping children learn about landmines. 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.

"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."

"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.

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.

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.

"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."

"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."

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.

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.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and CIDA each contributed $75 000 for the translation and reproduction costs of this video.

Funding for this initiative was provided for in the February 1997 federal budget, and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.

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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

Media Relations Office

Canadian International Development Agency

(819) 953-6534

This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca