Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Stéphane Dion recently gave a speech applauding the Global Demining Initiative for Colombia launched last year by Norway and the United States:
Canada is especially committed to demining efforts given it was Canada and Colombia that were among the first countries to ratify the Mine Ban Treaty in 1997. The Ottawa Convention is all the more meaningful for Canadians as it was completed under the guidance of my former colleague Lloyd Axworthy, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs at the time … I would like to stress the vital importance of the Ottawa Convention in promoting a world free of landmines.
- Stéphane Dion, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
As part of a commitment to support demining efforts, Canada recently committed $12.5 million for landmine surveys and clearances in as many as 10 municipalities identified by the Government of Colombia through HALO Trust, an international NGO. Canada will now provide an additional $1.3 million to the Organization of American States for logistical support in demining action.
Please click here to read the full text of Dion’s speech.
