New York -- The U.S. Special Representative for Global Humanitarian Demining pledged $140,000 to support the "Adopt-A-Minefield" program, which is sponsored by two private organizations: the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA/USA) and the Humpty Dumpty Institute.

Speaking at the 1999 National Convention of the UNA/USA on March 9, Ambassador Donald Steinberg said the United States urges "corporations, civic organizations, and governments around the world to follow suit."

Not only are individuals responding to their humanitarian instincts with respect to demining needs, he said, "but school administrators, religious leaders, and even corporate executives are understanding the capacity of the landmine issue to draw Americans into deeper appreciation of (the) reality of international affairs."

During the official roll-out for the Adopt-a-Minefield program, Steinberg stressed that "No program could be more important." The program seeks sponsors -- including community groups, businesses, and governments -- to adopt active minefields and raise money to clear them and return the land to productive use.

Steinberg said school superintendents in Los Angeles see programs such as Adopt-A-Minefield "as a link between Los Angeles school children and those in mined countries, especially in Central America and Southeast Asia, areas of origin of many Los Angeles residents." This California effort "is an important first step," he said, which the United States hopes will be replicated elsewhere.

Following is the text of Steinberg's remarks as prepared for delivery:

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I'm honored to have the opportunity to speak here today at the official roll-out of the Adopt-a-Minefield program. As a card-carrying member of UNA/USA, I'm pleased to see the Association step forward once again in conjunction with the Humpty Dumpty Institute to take practical actions to address a global tragedy: the presence of 60 million or more landmines in some 70 countries around the world.

UNA/USA has recognized that landmines represent not only a humanitarian disaster to the 26,000 individuals involved in accidents each year, but a real and present barrier to national reconciliation and peace-building in countries emerging from conflict; an obstacle to the return of displaced persons and refugees to their homes; and a challenge to economic recovery and sustainable development.

Landmines have been an everyday part of my life for the better part of a decade. During my tenure as American Ambassador to Angola from 1995 to 1998, I witnessed a country with 80,000 amputees from landmine accidents, hundreds of thousands of people driven from their homes and farmlands by these weapons, and literally millions suffering economic, environmental, and psychological degradation as a result of some 5 million landmines planted by 12 different armies during three decades of conflict.

One year ago, I was honored to receive in Angola a delegation of two dozen dedicated Americans under the auspices of the UNA/USA to investigate the problems of landmines. In keeping with UNA/USA's activist approach, the delegation didn't just stay in the capital and talk theory -- we went out to minefields and stood just yards away from deminers doing their jobs; we sat on the floor with children who were being taught to identify and avoid landmines; we visited survivor rehabilitation centers where men and women were being helped to put their lives back together after landmine accidents.

I hope that this visit reinforced UNA/USA's commitment to the fight against landmines and helped motivate the work that has taken place since then to get the Adopt-a-Minefield program up and running. No program could be more important. In my current role as President Clinton's Special Representative for Global Humanitarian Demining, I am helping implement the "Demining 2010 Initiative," under which our government is working to eliminate the threat of landmines to civilians around the world within the next decade. In promoting this initiative around the United States, I have found a universal resonance to the Adopt-a-Minefield approach. Not only are individuals responding with humanitarian instincts, but school administrators, religious leaders, and even corporate executives are understanding the capacity of the landmine issue to draw Americans into deeper appreciation of reality of international affairs.

I was recently in Los Angeles, for example, where the superintendents of the school system are viewing such programs as Adopt-a-Minefield as a link between Los Angeles school children and those in mined countries, especially in Central America and Southeast Asia, areas of origin of many LA residents. This is an important first step, which we hope to replicate elsewhere.

It is rare for U.S. government officials to have the chance to put our money where our mouths are. For this reason, I am delighted to be able to announce here today that the United States government is providing $140,000 this year to support the Adopt-a-Minefield program, and we are urging corporations, civic organizations, and governments around the world to follow suit.

Again, my deepest congratulations to the UNA/USA for this important initiative. Working together, we can transform the dream of a mine-safe world into a reality by the end of the next decade. I'm honored to have the opportunity to speak here today at the official roll-out of the Adopt-a-Minefield program.

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