Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines supports Intersos

(Wednesday 28 May 2003 Rome, Italy)

In Iraq the war is over, but the killing continues. Peace-time reports coming in from this long-suffering country tell a tale of civilians injured and maimed in their dozens – and often times killed – in the explosion of ordnance left behind by the recent war and the many that preceded it.

The country is littered with explosive remnants of war. No place is safe. Streets, farmland, schools, hospitals, and even homes are no-go areas, infested as they are with thousands of projectiles, unexploded bombs, cluster sub-munitions and other ordnance. This new threat comes on top of the existing danger posed by landmines – some of which recently laid by the Iraqi army in a last-ditched attempt to stop the enemy’s advance -- lying insidiously in the ground in their millions.

No one is safe. An eight-month old baby died in a blast in the living room of her family’s flat in Baghdad. She was crawling on the floor when she hit an unexploded bomb brought into the house by her young cousins. This may be an extreme case, but it is telling of how the Iraqi civilian population is forced to live with a deadly danger as its constant companion.

This danger will not go away with the passing of time. It will continue to claim lives; disable whole generations; create insecurity and fear; hamper the return of children to school, of farmers to their fields, of traffic to the streets. In short, it will impede the return to normalcy, hinder reconstruction and paralyse economic recovery.

The actual magnitude of this humanitarian crisis is only now beginning to emerge, but it is easy to foresee what its devastating medium and long-term ramifications will be.

In the face of this emergency, indifference is not an option. Action is needed now to prevent more deaths and suffering, and to allow economic activities to start again and the Iraqi people to enjoy a true peace.

This means acting immediately to clear the land, removing landmines and unexploded ordnance first and foremost from the most densely populated areas and those of strategic importance for reconstruction and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

With this need in mind, the Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines is proud to stand by Intersos, one of its member organizations, in its new clearance project in Iraq.

The project will start in June 2003 and will be carried out under the aegis of the United Nations in the central and southern parts of the country.

The initial duration of the clearing operations is estimated at 3 months and the expected output is 450.000 sq. m. of cleared land. Clearance will be inspired by humanitarian priorities and will be carried out by two teams comprising personnel from Italy and Bosnia.

For further information, or to support the project, please visit www.campagnamine.org