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"Concept Greatly accelerate global humanitarian demining operations and assistance efforts to end the plague of landmines posing threats to civilians through a US-led initiative to develop, marshal and commit the resources necessary to accomplish this goal by the year 2010.
Situation
An estimated 100 million landmines in over 64 countries cause about 26,000 casualties each year. The United States has committed over $153 million in humanitarian demining programs since 1993 (leading the world in this respect) and will spend nearly $80 million in FY 1998. However, at present levels of international effort, it will take at least several decades to remove these non-self destructing landmines from the mine-affected countries of the world, further hampering economic development and extending mine casualties long into the next century. To respond to this global humanitarian catastrophe, the United States is calling for and will lead a global campaign, the 'Demining 2010 Initiative,' to eradicate all landmines which threaten civilian populations by the year 2010. This Presidential initiative does not compete with, but complements, ongoing international efforts to assist landmine victims.
Mission Statement
The objective is to accelerate global humanitarian demining efforts and our goal is to increase roughly by a factor of five - to $1 billion a year - the public and private resources devoted worldwide to identifying and clearing landmines posing threats to civilians by the year 2010. The Demining 2010 Initiative, through US leadership, will seek to coordinate these efforts. ...
Approach
Special Representative
The Clinton Administration has asked Ambassador Karl F. Inderfurth to serve as the US Special Representative of the President and the Secretary of State for Global Humanitarian Demining to lead the 'Demining 2010 Initiative.' ... The Special Representative will provide leadership and a locus of coordination for the global demining effort. He will not manage a global program - responsibility for managing each demining program falls properly to those closest to the problem in each country.
Advisory Board
The Administration will appoint a panel of distinguished American leaders to provide policy advice and help to garner national and international support, including financial support, for the initiative.
Consultations
The Special Representative will begin immediately to consult with other donor countries, mine-affected countries, international organizations, involved non-governmental organizations and the private sector...
Washington Conference
The United States will host a Washington Conference on the 'Demining 2010 Initiative' to bring together donors, recipient nations, international demining organizations, and NGO's. At this meeting the participants will: make firm commitments for additional demining support; develop mechanisms to better coordinate demining operations; and develop a global strategy to remove all landmines that pose threats to civilians by 2010. ...
US National Program
The United States will continue to expand and enhance the US Humanitarian Demining Program. Current plans are to increase funding from the previously budgeted level of $68 million to $77 million in Fiscal Year 1998. We will seek to further expand our commitment in 1999 and beyond."
© 1998 The Acronym Institute.