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UN / INTERNATIONAL DAY OF MINE AWARENESS
STORY: UN / INTERNATIONAL DAY OF MINE AWARENESS
TRT: 1.38
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 4 APRIL 2013, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters
4 APRIL 2013, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, dais
3. Med shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Paul Heslop, Chief of Programmes, UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS):
“The battle against mines is being won. We are clearing far more mines every year than are being laid and we are making significant progress. A number of countries have declared themselves mine free in the last year, Uganda being one, and there a number of countries that are getting close to that. With sustained commitment from the international community and the donors in particular, a lot of countries will become also in compliance in the next three to five years.”
5. Med shot, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Paul Heslop, Chief of Programmes, UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS):
“There have been reports of over 50 people injured by explosive devices in Mali in the last nine months, and there’s obviously been a large number of people killed and injured by explosive weaponry in Syria. But we have not been able to put teams on the ground in either place and substantiate if they were actually injured by mines, and if so were they new mines or were they just legacy mines form previous conflict.”
7. Med shot, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dmitry Titov, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for the Rule of Law :
“Eliminating the threat of mines and explosive remnants of war is a crucially important endeavour that advances peace, enables development, support nations in transition, and saves lives. THE United Nations continues to provide wide-ranging assistance to millions of people in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Colombia, Laos, Lebanon, South Sudan, and elsewhere.”
9. Med shot, journalists
10. Wide shot, end of press conference.
Paul Heslop of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said today (4 April) that “the battle against mines is being won.”
Speaking at a press conference marking the International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, Heslop said UNMAS is clearing “far more mines every year than are being laid” and “a number of countries have declared themselves mine free in the last year.”
Heslop nevertheless noted that there have been unverified reports of “over 50 people injured by explosive devices in Mali in the last nine months, and there’s obviously been a large number of people killed and injured by explosive weaponry in Syria.”
Between May 2011 and May 2012, at least 4,286 people were killed or injured in incidents related to mines and explosive remnants of war, according to UNMAS.
Speaking at the same press conference, the Assistant Secretary-General for the Rule of Law, Dmitry Titov, read a statement from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon marking the Day.
The statement said that “eliminating the threat of mines and explosive remnants of war is a crucially important endeavour that advances peace, enables development, support nations in transition, and saves lives.”
As highlighted by the Secretary-General, the UN continues to provide wide-ranging assistance to millions of people in 59 States and six other areas contaminated by landmines, including Afghanistan, Cambodia, Colombia, Laos, Lebanon and South Sudan.
He warned that more progress is needed, most notably in Syria and Mali, where the devastating humanitarian impact of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas is growing.
To mark the Day and highlight 20 years of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a multi-media exhibit, entitled ‘For a Mine-Free World’, opens today at UN Headquarters in New York and in parallel in Geneva. The exhibits include a miniature mine field and UN partner, Handicap International, will provide demining demonstrations throughout the day in New York.
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