Statement on the United States Demining Initiative in Bosnia

I am pleased to announce a new U.S. initiative to develop an indigenous demining capability in Bosnia. Using about $15 million in U.S. funds, we will train demobilized soldiers and fund new demining programs for former soldiers. U.S. Special Operations Forces will train and equip deminers from the former warring factions. Training by U.S. military personnel will be completed by the time IFOR leaves. No U.S. personnel will participate directly in mine clearance operations nor will U.S. forces enter active minefields.

Achieving rapid progress on demining is vital to the success of rebuilding Bosnia. Demining supports IFOR's mission, ensures that humanitarian assistance gets to places it is needed, helps create conditions for refugees to return, and enables the rapid reconstruction of infrastructure and the country's basic economy.

The United States has taken the lead in establishing the Mine Action Center (MAC) in Sarajevo, which coordinates all landmine-related activities, including collecting and disseminating landmine data, coordinating mine awareness campaigns, conducting mine surveys, and overseeing mine clearance operations. The new initiative I am announcing today builds on what we have accomplished so far.

With an estimated 3 million landmines, Bosnia is one of the five most heavily mined countries in the world. The landmine problem in Bosnia is typical of a post-conflict state: inadequate and inaccurate minefield records, little institutional memory of where mines were laid, no experience in clearing mines to humanitarian standards, and a growing need for large numbers of people to move about.

Returning refugees and displaced persons are vulnerable and the risks to children are enormous. Children often "play war," but in Bosnia the toys available to them are real; bunkers and fighting positions are often stocked with weapons caches, landmines, grenades, and other forms of dangerous materials found in a battlefield.

We must all work together to accelerate demining activity in Bosnia so that economic reconstruction can proceed, assistance reaches those most in need, our soldiers in IFOR can go about their job without fear of accident, and above all, the people of Bosnia can get on with their daily lives.