17 July 2000

The United States joined six other nations and the European Commission on July 17 in signing an agreement to advance the application of cutting-edge technologies that will improve demining equipment so as to speed the task of removing hidden landmines and promote deminers' safety.

Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the European Commission and the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels to establish the International Test and Evaluation Program (ITEP) for Humanitarian Demining Equipment, Processes and Methods.

Humanitarian demining has been a risky and expensive task facing many nations around the world long after conflicts have been quelled. Since 1998, the United States alone has spent more than $400 million to support a variety of humanitarian demining activities including research and development for mine detection and clearance. Once established, ITEP will work closely with the United Nations and will locate its Secretariat initially in Ispra, Italy.

The State Department says the new program will "promote the development and sharing of information on new technologies for humanitarian demining and link existing and potential testing and evaluation sites around the world to provide an independent, standardized means of testing those new technologies."

Following is the text of the State Department announcement:

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of the Spokesman

July 17, 2000

U.S. SIGNS AGREEMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL TEST AND EVALUATION PROGRAM FOR HUMANITARIAN DEMINING

Today (July 17) the United States joins the European Commission, Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Sweden in signing a Memorandum of Understanding for the International Test and Evaluation Program (ITEP) for Humanitarian Demining Equipment, Processes and Methods. The signing ceremony takes place this afternoon at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Belgium.

Ambassador Richard L. Morningstar, the U.S. Representative to the European Union, will represent the United States, along with Mr. Robert Doheny, Mr. Ron Neubauer, and Mr. Barry DeRoze, all from the U.S. Department of Defense.

ITEP will serve as a center to promote the development and sharing of information on new technologies for humanitarian demining, and link existing and potential testing and evaluation sites around the world to provide an independent, standardized means of testing those new technologies. ITEP will work closely with the United Nations.

Following the activation of the Memorandum, a Secretariat comprised of personnel seconded from signatory nations will be established. The Secretariat will be initially located at the European Commission's Joint Research Center for demining in Ispra, Italy. A Board of Directors and Executive Committee will also be set up, to be composed of representatives from the Commission and participating nations.

Humanitarian demining, as opposed to military demining, aims to thoroughly clear landmines laid during wars and other forms of conflict from all areas, to include homes and other civilian structures, schools, places of worship, factories, roads, railways, and arable land. Demining is risky as well as expensive. ITEP will accelerate the pace at which new, cutting edge technologies as well as more conventional equipment can be successfully introduced to deminers in the field, thereby lessening the dangers to them while speeding their work.

Since 1998, when the U.S. formally established the Office of Humanitarian Demining Programs (HDP), it has spent more than $400 million in all aspects of humanitarian demining activity, including a substantial amount on research and development for mine detection and mine clearance. Currently, HDP manages U.S. humanitarian demining assistance to 37 countries as well as Kosovo and Northern Somalia.

To further the pace of removing the estimated 60million to 70 million landmines that threaten innocent civilians in approximately one third of the world's nations, in 1997 the U.S. also established the Office of the Special Representative of the President and Secretary of State for Global Humanitarian Demining (GHD), which is charged with overseeing the Demining 2010 Initiative. This Initiative seeks to harness additional assets to hasten the removal of all landmines that threaten civilians.

Together with its bilateral Humanitarian Demining Program, its Demining 2010 Initiative, and its work on landmine threat reduction within the Convention on Conventional Weapons, U.S. participation in ITEP and the activation of that body will markedly increase the rate at which these "hidden killers" are detected and neutralized.

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