TEXT: STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL DISCUSSES LANDMINE ERADICATION
(Colonel Cunningham says mine clearance is a matter of "years, not decades")
Washington -- "It is a time for optimism" about landmine clearance, says a State Department expert on humanitarian demining.
Marine Corps Colonel G.K. Cunningham said the international community agrees that "at least in high priority areas," it is "a matter of years, not decades" until landmines are cleared.
Addressing a one-day conference on Mines and Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) sponsored by Jane's Information Group June 17, however, he warned against euphoria, pointing out "In many countries, the landmine problem has not even begun to be addressed." The Marine Corps officer reminded the audience of approximately 100 executives from military hardware manufacturers and related industries, scientists, and front-line deminers, that the United States is committed to the goal of eliminating the threat of landmines to civilians by the year 2010. Cunningham is deputy director of the Humanitarian Demining Programs Office at the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.
He said total U.S. funding -- nearly 92 million dollars in Fiscal Year 1998 -- is nearly half of the world's annual contribution to mine action, but that it is targeted for various purposes with different legislative parameters.
Within the Department of State, most money for demining -- the "modest" amount of 20 million dollars targeted for 21 countries this year -- cannot be used for victim assistance, for example. That falls to the Leahy War Victims Fund administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Cunningham noted the plethora of existing agencies willing to address the humanitarian demining challenge, but said a central coordinating body acting as a single point of contact is needed within a country. "This enables supportive organizations to focus on key problems...and maximize the payoff for the limited resources available to invest in clearance," he said.
"A mine action center of this type can assist nongovernmental and international organizations in avoiding duplicative effort, eliminating waste and saving time and saving lives," Cunningham added.
The following is the text of Cunningham's prepared remarks:
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Over the past year, we have seen many new mine action initiatives. The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction was negotiated and signed. The United States introduced and implemented its Demining 2010 Initiative. The United Nations has restructured its organizational approach to humanitarian mine action, establishing the UN Mine Action Service. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have established a contact group to coordinate general surveys of mine-affected countries. And Jane's has published its comprehensive reference document, Jane's Mines and Mine Clearance.
It is a time for optimism. The international community now agrees that mine clearance, at least of high priority areas, is a matter of years, not decades. Public and private partnerships are increasingly viewed as a productive means to channel resources into mine action. And use of and trafficking in these indiscriminate munitions has become openly stigmatized.
But it is not a time for euphoria. There remains much to be done, and in many countries the landmine problem has not even begun to be addressed. In our united aim of ridding the world of these hidden killers, we would do well to reflect carefully on our objectives, motives, and resources to ensure that 2010 will be a valid target date for resolution of this international issue.
A VIEW OF MINE ACTION: DETERMINATION TO DEMINE
The U.S. is committed to promoting national and regional security, political stability, and economic development worldwide by reducing civilian landmine casualties through mine awareness, mine clearance training, and development of demining technology. Our goal is to establish indigenous, sustainable humanitarian demining capabilities that will continue after direct U.S. involvement is complete. We also continue to support established demining programs through sustainment funding and periodic training.
The U.S. Demining 2010 Initiative seeks to accelerate global humanitarian demining operations, as we landmine survivor assistance, to eliminate the threat of landmines to civilians by the year 2010. Expanding on proposals first developed at the Ottawa Mine Action Workshop 24-25 March 1998, a U.S.-hosted conference on mine action was completed on 22 May 1998 that furthered commitment to international cooperation from all parties in this effort. The goal should be "Zero Victims," and with an effective international campaign, this can indeed be accomplished in years, not decades.
But let us not delude ourselves into thinking that this is an easy process. It will take a lot of work over a long time to control and eradicate landmine contamination. What is needed is a focus on the long-term aim of eliminating this threat, world-wide, in a cooperative way, overcoming rivalries, mismatched objectives, and scarcity of resources.
Mine action is a range of activities, some of which cause a lot of friction at the edges. Most of these activities need to be done concurrently, not consecutively, which generates competition for resources. There are many claimants to the resource pie. Nongovernmental organizations remain active in advocacy, victims assistance programs, and mine awareness education. The number of NGOs involved in actual mine clearance operations is, however, small. Commercial contractors have developed impressive capabilities, especially in area and route clearance, in some cases transforming weapons of war into tools for humanitarian action. Governments have made significant contributions as donor nations, applying both civilian and military resources. international organizations, whether the United Nations or regional entities such as the Organization of American States, have a key role in initiating programs and channeling resources. Individually, consultants and experts have emerged -- James Madison University will soon accredit its first graduate degree in the area of humanitarian demining. Private donors, whether individually or through foundations, have the potential to greatly increase available funding for mine action.
Each of these entities or groups have different goals and objectives, however, that are not necessarily inclusive of each other. There remains disharmony that must be overcome. Each can potentially view another as a rival or competitor. This misconception works against coordinated mine action.
It is ultimately a question of looking for common ground in the fight against landmines, raising support instead of objections. Despite rhetorical and philosophical differences, each of these groups is, understandably, motivated by self-interest to one degree or another. They are looking for benefits that accrue from their efforts. This is not a bad thing -- it is most often a beneficial factor that, in actuality, supports many constituencies. The United States seeks to support democratic governments and enhance regional and national development, under the expectation that a rising global tide of prosperity will raise the U.S. ship of state too. Commercial firms seek a reasonable profit for goods provided and services performed. Nongovernmental organizations seek a form of profit, too -- they properly seek recognition for their efforts and longevity for their humanitarian programs. All these definitions of "profitability" differ, but can be accommodated, so long as altruism does not degenerate into hubris, and profit does not evolve into greed.
Cooperation is essential, because the resources for mine action are not great and must be shared, not fought over. When looked at in aggregate, the amount of global investment in mine action seems large. It is, but it is divided into many small wallets. The U.S. situation may be illustrative in this regard. The total U.S. funding, nearly $92 million in FY 98, makes up nearly half of the world's annual contribution to mine action. But that total is administered by different agencies for different purposes. It is neither evenly nor broadly distributed. Moreover, the money is allocated based on differing funding authorities with different legislative parameters.
Within the Department of State, most money for demining comes from the NADR account, a general category of funding for Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related Programs. This is itself a modest amount of money, and it is not without constraints. For example, it cannot be used to assist landmine survivors, as that effort is funneled through the Leahy War Victims Fund administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development. It must be rationally distributed in a rapidly expanding program -- the number of countries involved in these programs will grow from 14 to 21 in the last year alone. Moreover, it is a new category of funding with unique legislative authority, and the mechanisms for disbursing the funds are not fully mature yet.
Yet, even cooperative ventures have limitations and can become bloated bureaucracies -- centralized, inflexible, and sluggish. We must coordinate rationally and centralize only to the degree that it makes sense and provides value. We often talk about the need for a universal database. The U.S., as a major donor nation, is solidly supportive of this idea, but with the understanding that it is not an end in itself and is not a panacea to the problem. It is only at the local level that data really translates into work. However, a local level of detail in a centralized international repository will quickly become cumbersome and likely dated. Conversely, the broad statistics that the U.S., as a donor nation, would find beneficial to its decisionmaking won't help a local deminer much. The reporting requirements can themselves become an onerous administrative burden that interferes with the work at hand.
Therefore, storage of information and statistics must not be undertaken for its own sake. Unless, the statistics are analyzed and used for beneficial purposes, they are just so much numerical clutter.
The NGO community recently has made remarkable efforts in establishing a contact group for Level I, or general, surveys of mine-affected countries. This is a laudable accomplishment, but even successful surveys will not be considered effective efforts unless something comes of them in terms of mine clearance. Otherwise, the survey effort will have raised local expectations only to disappoint them later. It must, instead, become an engine for change. We should support the effort of this Survey Contact Group. We must also be prepared to take action on the information gained, without delay.
The landmines are not in New York City, nor in Brussels, nor in Washington, D.C. They are usually found in countries in transition, countries recovering from years of strife, or countries with very limited national resources. That is where the problems are; that is where the problems must be solved. Neither the UN, nor any donor nation, nor any other outside agent should patronizingly think to address the problem satisfactorily outside of local developmental priorities, local cultural or historical sensitivities, or local resource capacities.
The UN seems the most suitable organization to set international standards, channel some resources into mine action programs, and help prioritize international efforts. The UN has played vital roles in a number of countries in helping establish mine action centers and initiating comprehensive mine action programs. But the UN cannot single-handedly demine the world. The UN must join with major donor nations to focus international attention and efforts of national development and capacity building. The responsibility for mine action must rest within the host mine-affected nation, if UN action or other donor contributions will result in success.
A plethora of agencies and entities exist that are willing to address the humanitarian demining challenge in all its many aspects. However, within a specific country, assisting agencies can more effectively function with a central coordinating body acting as a single point of contact. This enables supportive organizations to focus on key problems, identify locations for the most productive operations, and maximize the payoff for the limited resources available to invest in clearance. A mine action center of this type can assist nongovernmental and international organizations in avoiding duplicative effort, eliminating waste, and saving time and saving lives.
Every situation is different. The type of unexploded ordnance or landmine encountered varies across mine-affected nations. Country by country differences also exist in terms of the severity of the problem, the ratio of "wild" mines to deliberately emplaced minefields, the diligence with which records were kept, and the amount and types of national and international resource support available. The location and types of features mined, weather patterns, vegetation and trafficability of terrain also play a significant role: some areas may be suitable for large-scale mechanical demining; others are more suited to manual probing, no matter how time-consuming and laborious that may seem.
Because humanitarian demining resources also vary and are limited, a mine action center should effectively control the priority of demining effort, directing clearance operations to the locations and situations that have the quickest social and economic payoffs. It can identify key goals, strategically important objectives, and the scope of work required to employ demining teams in an effective and collaborative way. Such a center can clarify host nation policy decisions, aims, and measures of success, all tailored to local requirements.
This multiplicity of factors must be taken into account whenever a strategic plan is devised for clearance operations. The whole social, political, geographical, and economic fabric of a country determines its unique national identity. The establishment and maintenance of a national demining center, staffed and managed by indigenous personnel, is essential to addressing that individual country's specific mine or unexploded ordnance challenge.
This development of this indigenous capacity is a foremost consideration. Where effective mine action centers are in place, effective demining takes place. Progress is imperative for international sustainment. Donors are willing to fund demining efforts, even over extended periods, but resources and patience are not inexhaustible. Donors want to help; they also want results.
THE WAY AHEAD
The world turns every day, and world attention seldom remains static. While mine action enjoys great visibility now, such a focus may not be a long-term thing. The international community, private and public, political and nongovernmental, must not falter in advancing the humanitarian aims of mine action. We all must look for ways to collaborate in ridding the world of the threat to civilians from anti-personnel landmines. This may mean compromise of cherished positions for the sake of a greater good. Such is the nature of cooperation.
Let us not lose sight of who we are trying to assist in this process -- the people of these mine-affected nations. Mine action is not a matter of numbers of landmines, nor real estate, nor roads and dams, but rather a matter of keeping our fellow human beings from harm and death. Let us undertake this effort with their betterment in mind, not our own profitability -- whatever form that profitability might take.
Let us also muster the will power essential to sustain this effort. The spirit of international cooperation that generated the mine action milestones of the past year must be harnessed and channeled into effective mine action. If we are persistent and prudent, we can transform the world into a better place for millions. If we do not let this momentum slacken, perhaps the global landmine crisis will indeed come to an end by the year 2010.
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