Landmine conference highlights need for clearance

A conference on landmine clearance in Cairo called for banning the use of them, production and storage in Egypt and in other countries in the region. “The problem of landmines in Egypt is a major one, and has led to infringements on the peace and security of citizens,” Gamal Barakat, member of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), said. Government figures and representatives of international development organisations discussed ways of making the country free of such explosives. “This conference focused on ways of solving the problem, both in Egypt and in the region,” added Barakat, who attended the two-day event. The discussion was devoted particularly to the issue of unexploded landmines in Egypt’s Western Desert region, the Sinai Peninsula and in areas near the Suez Canal and Red Sea coast. The numbers of unexploded ordnance (UXOs) in these areas, largely holdovers from combat operations during World War II and past Egypt-Israel conflicts, is estimated at more than 20 million. The conference was attended by NCHR Chairman and former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, as well as the ministers of water resources and irrigation, electricity, international cooperation, planning, health, environment and tourism. Foreign experts on the subject were also in attendance, as well as delegations from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the UNDP and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian De-mining. According to the state press, Ghali, in the opening session, urged other countries to join an agreement banning the use, storage and production of anti-personnel mines, to which Cairo has been signatory since 1977. Egypt is one of the most mine-laden countries in the world. According to government statistics, approximately 23 million of the roughly 110 million landmines planted worldwide are in the country. Over the last quarter century, almost 8,000 people have been the victims of landmines, including 3,200 fatalities. State sources further suggest that some 10 percent of the country’s total cultivatable area is rendered useless by the existence of UXOs. “Besides being a threat to the life and safety of individuals, landmines in Egypt pose a severe challenge to economic development efforts,” according to the government-run State Information Service. Conference participants are scheduled to make trips to affected areas in Egypt on Saturday, said Barakat. A final statement, detailing the findings and recommendations of the conference, is expected to be issued next week.