Den britiske skuespiller, Daniel Craig, er udnævnt til FN’s første globale ambassadør i kampen mod landminerne. Craig er bedst kendt for sin rolle som den britiske superagent James Bond alias 007 og ved at indspille nok en 007-film, der ventes få premiere til efteråret.
“Som James Bond har du licens til at dræbe. I dag giver jeg dig licens til at redde”, sagde generalsekretær Ban Ki-moon., da han udnævnte skuespilleren til posten.
Craig har nu ambassadørposten i tre år. Han skal arbejde for at skabe opmærksomhed om truslen fra ueksploderede landminer og andet sprængstof, der er efterladt på slagmarker.
Kampen mod landminerne har altid haft en fremtrædende plads i dansk udenrigspolitik og vi har været en af drivkræfterne for at få internationale forbud indført.
Også bistand til rydning af minerne ude i felten er led i den danske indsats for u-landene.
“Jeg var nervøs – men tænk på de stakkels forældre”
The designation is one of a number of events organized to observe the 10th anniversary of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, the UN News service writes from New York.
The UN News Centre caught up with Mr. Craig after the ceremony to hear him describe how his experiences filming in a heavily mined area of northern Cambodia some years ago motivated him to get involved with the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS).
“I was nervous – I don’t mind admitting that – but I just cannot imagine what it was like for the parents of those children,” he said.
“I think that is what struck me most, the fear of unexploded ordnance (effekter) that is just littered around after conflict. And what that does to a local population. It stops them being normal, having a normal life, getting on and rebuilding, and getting back their lives again.”
“I don’t have a lot of experience in warzones and minefields,” he said. “Hopefully I will get to visit somewhere this year where UNMAS are doing their incredible work and with that I will be able to get the message out there.”
Nye djævelske instrumenter dukket op
Part of that message, as UNMAS marked the 10th anniversary of the International Day, is that anti-personnel landmines are no longer the only threat posed to civilians after conflicts end.
“IEDs [Improvised Explosive Devices] are one of the biggest problems, as well as unexploded ordnance. You know, it’s no longer just mines,” said Mr. Craig. “There is a terrible clean-up that needs to happen after armed conflict. I think the world is aware of that but they need to be more aware.”
Also, today’s ceremony included a meeting between the new Global Advocate and, Stephen Pritchard, a man who had recently returned from de-mining operations in the field with UNMAS.
“He was not so long ago de-mining. And so when you talk about how brave people are, that really sums it up,” said Mr. Craig.
“I suppose it’s the scale of the job that’s difficult to take in but also how important it is to train people because there will always be, unfortunately, these remnants of war lying around, and the more people know and the more knowledge they have, the better they’ll be able to deal with it.”
The Secretary-General paid tribute to Mr. Craig’s work and that of the Mine Action Service, which has been working to clear mines, educate people on risks, assist victims, destroy stockpiles and advocate for the elimination of landmines and explosive hazards since 1997.
Craigs britiske forgænger – prinsesse Diana
Før sin voldsomme død i Paris d. 31. august 1997 drømte prinsesse Diana om en verden uden landminer, og selv om hun sparkede kampen i gang, er den endnu ikke færdig
I en central scene i en film om hende i 2013 krydser prinsessen et stykke jord, der er blevet ryddet for landminer, i Angola.
Det gjorde virkelighedens Diana også i 1997 – kort før sin død – til ære for journalister og fotografer for at skabe opmærksomhed om de uhyggelige dødsmaskiner, der dræber eller lemlæster folk.
18 år senere lider civilbefolkningen i Angola og mange andre lande dog stadig under farerne med landminer.
”Vi er kommet rigtig langt. Bl.a. er dødsfaldene på verdensplan faldet med omkring 70 procent, og takket være nye teknikker bliver rydningen hurtigere, og langt billigere. Så det kan godt lade sig gøre. Men vi rydder jo stadig miner i Angola”, som Richard MacCormac sagde i 2012. Han leder minerydningsafdelingen i Folkekirkens Nødhjælp.
MacCormac er ikke i tvivl om, at Prinsesse Diana med sin indsats for alvor satte fokus på den globale kamp mod landminer.
Syv måneder efter hun døde, blev Ottawa Konventionen en realitet, og senere har 161 stater skrevet under på konventionen og dermed forpligtet sig til ikke at besidde, producere eller benytte landminer.
Folkekirkens Nødhjælp er eksempelvis engageret i minerydning i Angola, DR Congo og Libanon.
Se også om kampen mod minerne på
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50482#.VTGv6GVqr4s
