Jordan Times
Friday, September 3, 2004
NCDR headquarters officially launched
AMMAN (JT) — With the aim of making Jordan free
of landmines and their impact, the National Committee for Demining and
Rehabilitation (NCDR) headquarters was officially launched on Thursday by HRH
Prince Mired Ben Raed.
Chairman of the NCDR Mohammad Malkawi said in his opening speech that the
committee was established by a Royal Decree in 2000 for the purpose of
synchronising national mine action efforts.
“The committee is expected to carry out all duties to eliminate the impact of
mines, rehabilitate mine victims and enhance international partnerships to
achieve its mandate,” he said.
Malkawi said the Kingdom was one of the first countries to understand the
dangerous legacy of landmines and their serious impact on humanity.
“Jordan stopped planting landmines in the 1970s and started its own efforts to
demine in the early 1980s, long before there was an international campaign
against these hidden killers,” Malkawi, former chairman of the joint chiefs of
staff, told the gathering.
Malkawi, also His Majesty King Abdullah's advisor, said Jordan has always stood
side by side with the international community in calling for a total ban on
landmines.
It was also one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Ottawa Convention
in 1998, Malkawi added.
“Jordan destroyed its anti-personnel landmine stockpiles in April 2003 and
continues to invest financial resources towards being mine free by 2009,”
Malkawi said.
Malkawi referred to the countries that have supported mine action in Jordan,
“particularly the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Canada, Germany, in
addition to UNDP, which started a capacity building project with the committee
in May 2004.
“I am calling on the international community — countries and organisations — to
help us achieve our noble goals which will benefit the lives of our people, and
which will strengthen the human security environment of the region,” Malkawi
said.
UNDP Resident Representative Christine McNab, who also addressed the gathering,
said the opening of the NCDR is an important milestone in the history of mine
action in Jordan.
“The leadership that Jordan demonstrates to the international community on the
important humanitarian and development issue of demining is impressive,” McNab
said.
“Fortunately, in Jordan the number of accidents remains low due to the marking
of mined areas, demining and mine risk education,” she told the gathering.
McNab added that there has been commendable progress in other areas such as the
destruction of over 90,000 mines that had been stockpiled by the army, and the
provision of physical rehabilitation of those injured by landmines.
However, she said major challengers remain if Jordan is to reach the 2009 mine
clearance deadline called for by the Ottawa Convention.
Recently the UN circulated a list of countries that it believes can — with a
modest level of support — meet the 2009 target, according to McNab.
“I am happy to see Jordan on the list and I firmly believe that Jordan, working
closely with its partners, can make this a reality,” she said.
Other strategic objectives of the NCDR include the creation of an integrated
national mine action plan to quickly and safely deal with the landmine threat
and provide rehabilitation services to survivors, which includes physical,
social, and economic integration opportunities.
The mine victim assistance and rehabilitation programme includes medical
assistance, psychological treatment, employment assistance and physiotherapy.
Since 1993, Jordan has cleared over 100,000 mines, including 183 minefields,
while 529 people have lost their lives as a result of mine-related accidents.