European Union and the USA to work together on the threat of landmines
An agreement to work together on a wide range of technological initiatives to help remove, by 2020, the threat that landmines pose to civilians has been announced by Mrs. Edith Cresson, European Commissioner for esearch, innovation, education, training and youth, and Ambassador Rick Inderfuth, Special Representative of the US President for Global Humanitarian De-mining, in coordination with Ambassador Miyet, Under-Secretary General of the United Nations. They believe that the stimulated creation of new technology and the application of existing technology can help accelerate current humanitarian de-mining rates, helping to save lives and conserve resources. These cooperative initiatives follow the resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly which called for strengthened international cooperation in humanitarian de-mining. This announcement builds on the previous US-EU agreement, which announced in January 1998 the establishment of a common approach, and the three proposals presented during the Humanitarian De-mining Conference held in Washington DC, USA, on 22 May 1998. The European Commission and the US government will put forward available expertise, infrastructure and existing facilities to work towards: - The creation of internationally accepted standards for de-mining technology; - The identification of a worldwide network of test and evaluation facilities; - The development of international technology demonstrator projects. A conference organized at the Commission's Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy, from 29 September to 1 October 1998, will monitor progress on the commitments undertaken.