By Tormod Nuland, Norsk Folkehjelp
Ethiopia has signed the Ottawa Convention banning Anti-Personnel Mines(APs). Production, use, deployment and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines are all prohibited according to the Convention.
In a statement opening the International Mine-Action Day on April 2nd at Ghion Hotel in Addis Abeba, Director General Desalegn Alemu from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, revealed that Ethiopia had completed the destruction of stockpiled anti-personnel-mines. Altogether, Ethiopia has stored 55,569 anti-personnel-mines. A number of 1,114 APs will be kept for training-purposes, such as detection and land-mine destruction.
The International Mine-Action Day was a joint-arrangement between UNDP and the Ethiopian Mine Action Office. (EMAO). Norwegian People’s Aid has a partnership with EMAO aimed at building competence in the use of Mine-Detection Dogs.
On a global level, Norwegian People’s Aid (Norsk Folkehjelp) is working to follow up the implementation of the Mine-Ban Convention. Norwegian People’s Aid wishes to congratulate Ethiopia with their achievement of destructing the stockpiled anti-personnel-mines before the deadline.
Kilde: http://www.npaid.org/?module=Articles;action=Article.publicShow;ID=7996
