Foreign Affairs Minister Launches Destroy-a-minefield Campaign

MEDIA RELEASE

Released By:
Downer

I have today launched a major Australian Government initiative, Destroy-A-Minefield, which will enable all Australians to participate directly in helping to clear minefields in Cambodia.

Landmines continue to cause an estimated 2000 casualties per month around the world, with women and children accounting for almost half the victims. In Cambodia alone, one in every 245 people is an amputee due to landmine injuries, about 100 times the average in countries like Australia.

The Destroy-A-Minefield campaign gives individuals, community groups and businesses the opportunity to destroy specifically named minefields in the worst affected provinces of Cambodia, where recent statistics continue to show severe mine casualties.

There remain five million mines in the ground in Cambodia, a country now treading the hard road of recovery after many years of war and internal strife. Landmines do not discriminate between victims, so that children playing football are as much at risk of stepping on a mine as soldiers on patrol.

Already this year there have been 214 casualties caused by mine explosions in just one province, Battambang, in the north west of the country. Large tracts of land are also rendered useless by the presence of landmines, and many villages are unable to grow enough food for their own subsistence.

For every $2 raised by the Australian public towards this initiative, the Government will contribute $1 from sales tax revenue from sales of the 'Candle in the Wind' tribute CD in memory of the Princess of Wales. This has the potential to raise $1.2 million for the clearing of mines in Cambodia.

Australia has a very proud record of helping to create a world without landmines. On 3 December 1997 I signed, on behalf of the Australian Government, the Ottawa landmines ban treaty, which lays the foundation for a future without these terrible weapons. Australia was one of the original parties to the treaty, now signed by over 135 countries, more than half the community of nations.

Since then, the Australian Parliament has ratified the treaty, and just last month Australia's Defence Forces destroyed their stockpile of landmines under our obligations to the comprehensive ban - four years ahead of deadline.

These are great steps forward. However, much more is needed to solve this humanitarian crisis. With the help of sponsors in the Australian community, a great deal can be achieved. We can join together to make a difference in this area.