UNAMA-Kabul, April 4, 2006

A windswept, dusty and sunny day on the vast plains of Shiberghan in Jawzjan province provided the backdrop for the first Mine Awareness Day ceremony in Afghanistan.

Joined by dignitaries that included Canada’s Deputy Ambassador, Elizabeth Baldwyn-Jones, Jawzjan Governor Juma Khan Hamdard, the acting head of Junbish-e Milli party, Sayed Noorullah, and ISAF Deputy Commander Major General Hans Werner Ahrens, SRSG Tom Koenigs delivered a no-nonsense speech asking for an end to the scourge of landmines.

Part of the day’s activities included the destruction of scores of anti-personnel landmines, which on average kill or maim 100 people a month in Afghanistan.

Koenigs and five other dignitaries simultaneously activated the charge which destroyed the mines.

It is estimated that up to 100,000 tons of illegal munitions are littering the country, much of it lying in unguarded locations or stored in populated areas. Millions of peoples’ lives are at risk by living or working in these areas.

As a signatory to the Ottawa Convention signed on March 1, 2003, Afghanistan is committed to a ban on anti-personnel mines and must destroy all of its mine stockpiles before March 2007.

Following is Mr. Koenigs’ speech:

Governor Hamdard, respected elders, clergy and other dignitaries of Shiberghan, I am honored to be your guest on the important occasion of International Mine Awareness Day, an event that is of signal importance to the UN in Afghanistan and worldwide.

The eradication of landmines and the promotion of mine awareness have been cornerstones of the UN’s mission in Afghanistan, linking the work of different UN agencies and integrating our efforts to improve security and foster development in the country.

The Afghan government and the United Nations Development Programme have jointly located hundreds of ammunitions and mines caches around the country, and to date destroyed over 34,000 anti-personnel mines and over 4,000 anti-tank mines.

In the space of just twelve months the surface area contaminated by landmines in Afghanistan was reduced by one-half, and it continues to fall. And last year, over two million Afghans received mine awareness education. These steps have together resulted in a significant drop in landmine casualties.

But the efforts that we are making together with our Afghan and international partners in this area are part of a much larger effort to bring about an end to the trade and development of landmines worldwide. Since its adoption in 1997, the international mine ban treaty has been ratified by 150 states, including Afghanistan. The treaty represents an agreement by the countries that have signed it to forswear the use of landmines by the armed forces and to prohibit the manufacture of and trade in landmines, to assist their victims, and to support mine clearance and stockpile destruction.

Governments, donor countries, NGOs, and the UN are collaborating in more than 30 countries to implement these measures.

The message is clear and must be heard: Landmines have no place in any civilized country.

In its short existence, this treaty has been marked by real achievements. Both the production and laying of mines are in decline, the global trade in mines has virtually ended, and clearance operations and mine awareness have increased in mine affected countries. The struggle against landmines is only one element in a series of efforts being undertaken by the government of Afghanistan, with the support of the UN and other international countries to improve security here in Afghanistan.

Through the Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG) the Afghan government will give militia commanders a time-bound opportunity to hand over their arms, disband their groups, and end their involvement in illegal activities

Those who resist will face law enforcement action by the government. DIAG aims to ensure that the official Afghan security agencies will be the only Afghan armed forces and that they are able to protect the security of the country and its people.

The ongoing reform process is gradually improving the professionalism of the security agencies. The police training programs, supported by Germany and the United States, are introducing international standards of policing to existing police and recruits.

These and other efforts to improve rule of law and increase access to development represent the core of the Afghan Compact. The goals of the compact are ambitious and will span a period of years, but the government of Afghanistan and the international community are committed to realizing them.

My thanks to you, Governor Hamdard, for organizing and hosting this event. I am very sorry that General Dostum was unable to be present due to health reasons, I wish him all the best for his health. He has been instrumental to delivering so many weapons and mines in making this event possible.

I thank the Afghanistan New Beginnings for organizing this event and ISAF for its support.

As we mark this occasion with the destruction of the mines that have been collected here, let us pay tribute to the vast numbers of Afghans who have lost their lives to mines and those who bravely struggle through life with the injuries that they have sustained. And let us resolve to continue making progress together toward a mine-free and secure Afghanistan.