OSCE, Swiss mine expert group launch second phase of Tajikistan mine action project
(OSCE/Salla Kayhko)A de-mining team on its way to a training site. The OSCE's first mine action project has been running in Tajikistan since May 2003. (OSCE/Salla Kayhko) Photo details
DUSHANBE, 9 April 2004 - The second part of a project to save Tajikistan from its bitter civil war legacy, landmines, was launched yesterday in the country's capital, Dushanbe.
Under an agreement signed between the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe and the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action, FSD, Phase II of the joint project "Mine Action in Tajikistan" foresees further deployment of the existing mine action survey/emergency response teams in areas contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO).
The OSCE will contribute 360,000 euros for the implementation of Phase II and additional contributions have been made by Sweden, Norway and Japan.
The agreement to continue this first OSCE project on mine action was signed yesterday by the Head of the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe, Ambassador Yves Bargain, and the Programme Manager of the OSCE-FSD Project, David Smyth. OSCE Chairman-in-Office Solomon Passy and Tajik Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov were also present at the ceremony.
The OSCE Centre and the FSD launched the joint project on 29 May 2003 as the first-ever field de-mining action on Tajik territory. During Phase I, the FSD equipped, trained and deployed two initial survey teams to the field.
These teams operated in Tavildara, Sagirdasht areas and in the Karateghin (Rasht) Valley. By the end of 2003, 359 communities, villages and locations had been surveyed and resurveyed, covering an area of over 15,000 km, and 32 mine/UXO contaminated areas were identified, recorded and marked.
The OSCE-FSD Mine Action Project is a large multi-year initiative of great significance for Tajik citizens' security, and is a key programme among the OSCE Centre's activities in Tajikistan.
Under an agreement signed between the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe and the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action, FSD, Phase II of the joint project "Mine Action in Tajikistan" foresees further deployment of the existing mine action survey/emergency response teams in areas contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO).
The OSCE will contribute 360,000 euros for the implementation of Phase II and additional contributions have been made by Sweden, Norway and Japan.
The agreement to continue this first OSCE project on mine action was signed yesterday by the Head of the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe, Ambassador Yves Bargain, and the Programme Manager of the OSCE-FSD Project, David Smyth. OSCE Chairman-in-Office Solomon Passy and Tajik Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov were also present at the ceremony.
The OSCE Centre and the FSD launched the joint project on 29 May 2003 as the first-ever field de-mining action on Tajik territory. During Phase I, the FSD equipped, trained and deployed two initial survey teams to the field.
These teams operated in Tavildara, Sagirdasht areas and in the Karateghin (Rasht) Valley. By the end of 2003, 359 communities, villages and locations had been surveyed and resurveyed, covering an area of over 15,000 km, and 32 mine/UXO contaminated areas were identified, recorded and marked.
The OSCE-FSD Mine Action Project is a large multi-year initiative of great significance for Tajik citizens' security, and is a key programme among the OSCE Centre's activities in Tajikistan.