10 May 2000

Text: U.S. to Increase Humanitarian Demining Aid to Mozambique

The United States will add $1 million to its humanitarian demining assistance program in Mozambique, bringing the total of such assistance in this fiscal year to $3.5 million, State Department Acting Spokesman Philip Reeker announced on May 10.

Mozambique is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. Many of the devices were displaced in widespread flooding of February and March which has left thousands of Mozambicans homeless, Reeker added in a brief statement.

Following is the text of Reeker's Statement:

U.S. Department of State
May 10, 2000

The United States will provide Mozambique with an additional $1 million for humanitarian demining assistance, bringing the total of such assistance for the fiscal year to $3.5 million.

The natural disasters which struck Mozambique in February and March created widespread flooding, leaving hundreds of thousands of Mozambicans homeless and displacing many landmines. At the request of Mozambique's National Demining Institute (IND), the Department of State is funding a U.S. contractor to conduct high priority demining under the National Demining Institute's direction. This forty-percent increase in humanitarian demining assistance demonstrates once again the United States' strong commitment to help Mozambique, one of the most heavily mine-affected countries in the world, become mine safe.

Since 1993, the United States has been the largest donor to Mozambique's humanitarian demining program, contributing over $25 million for mine awareness, detection, clearance, and victim assistance. U.S. humanitarian demining assistance is helping Mozambique reduce landmine casualties, restore to operation the Massingir Dam, a key to the country's overall economic strategy; open roads throughout Mozambique; allow refugees to return to their homes; and develop an indigenous demining capability using U.S.-provided training and equipment.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)