2000 Press Releases
Inclusion of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the U.S. Humanitarian Demining Program June 19, 2000
As
a result of extensive negotiations between the United States and the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the U.S. Department of State is
announcing that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam will be included in
the U.S. Humanitarian Demining Program. This program of assistance will
include humanitarian demining equipment that will assist the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam in its efforts to detect and safely remove and/or
destroy landmines and unexploded ordnance.
The U.N. and the
U.S. State Department estimate the number of mines in Vietnam at 3.5
million. The most affected region is Quang Tri Province. Mines also
pose a serious problem near Vietnam’s border with China, as well as in
the mountainous regions bordering Laos. The Vietnamese army began the
arduous task of clearing mines in the mid-1980s. Given the lack of
technology and other demining equipment, they have made considerable
progress, particularly along the border with China.
Although
not officially a participant in the U.S. Humanitarian Demining Program
up to now, Vietnam has received some U.S. assistance. The United States
government has funded a very successful mine awareness program in Quang
Tri Province. The project, a joint effort of Peacetrees Vietnam, an
American non-governmental organization, and the James Madison
University Mine Action Information Center, was developed in concert
with provincial government officials and is now fully operated by
Vietnamese organizations.
Under the program of assistance
announced today, Vietnam will receive humanitarian demining equipment
valued at approximately $1.7 million. The equipment will include mine
and unexploded ordnance detectors, vehicles, individual protective
gear, and equipment necessary to support a comprehensive mine action
information database.
The U.S. humanitarian demining program
began in 1988 with assistance provided to Afghanistan, then recovering
from its conflict with Russia. Since 1993, the United States has
provided over $400 million of humanitarian demining assistance to 36
nations around the world. Included in this amount is approximately $81
million spent for research and development of new demining
technologies.
Vietnam becomes the thirty-seventh country to be included in the U.S. Humanitarian Demining Program.