Dr
Lloyd Axworthy Welcomes Participants to the Liu Centre
Table of Contents
Introduction
Welcome
by Lloyd Axworthy
Opening Remarks by Bob Suart
Appendix
1 - Complete Presentations
Appendix
2 - Poster Presentations
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Note:
Lloyd Axworthy, Director and CEO of the Liu Centre for the Study of Global
Issues, was introduced by Bob Suart who reminded everyone the Dr Axworthy
was a former Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada and one of the driving
forces behind the establishment of the Ottawa Convention.
Lloyd
Axworthy
Well,
thank you very much Bob. First, let me welcome everybody to the Liu Centre.
It's
real pleasure for us to have a conference dealing with landmine removal at
the Centre. I think this workshop is exactly the kind of meeting we want
to sponsor, support and encourage. Our job at the Centre is to try to put
a practical application to broad issues, to make things work, to take the
science of security and turn it into the policy of security.
As
some of you know, I've had a passing acquaintance with the landmine issue
over the past several years. I'm still amazed and surprised at how much of
a beacon that particular initiative has been for people around the world.
This weekend, I was in Atlanta for a meeting of CARE International and,
during the course of the meetings, three young people came to me and put a
paper in my hands. The paper was about the work they were doing on the
victimization of people by landmines and how to provide more effective
triage and recovery. Here were people who still felt that this was one of
my major ambitions. They felt part of the cause and part of the movement.
I'm
not going to spend a lot of time talking because I know you want to get
down to work. However, I would like to take this occasion to make a very
strong endorsement of the need for applied technology and applied
methodology in mine action.
My
first experience in demining was when I visited Bosnia about four or five
years ago. I was invited by a Norwegian demining team who were working in
Sarajevo. Many of you will recall those horrendous days in Bosnia. Every
time there was an advance or a retreat, a bushel of landmines were left to
be retrieved. I don't think anything scared me as much as being taken down
a very narrow path into a back yard where a group of guys were slowly
probing the ground and moving the dirt away. Even though I had been
equipped with the mask, gloves and armoured vest, I can tell you I was
looking at my watch to see how long the demonstration was going to take.
I came away with an enormous respect for the courage of people who do that
kind of work. To put it in the vernacular, deminers are at the sharp end
where it really does happen.
One
thing that encourages me is that the convention is working. In terms of
most recent updates, there are now 140 countries that have signed the
treaty. When we started out in Ottawa, it was 126. There's real
progress and some of it is quite dramatic. I got a call a couple of
weeks ago from my old friend, George Papandreau, the Greek Foreign
Minister. He told me very proudly that he and Ishmael Schem, the Foreign
Minister of Turkey, have agreed that both countries will start the
ratification process on the Landmines Treaty and begin to develop a
program on their borders. As a confidence building measure, they will
begin to eliminate, not only the stockpiles, but also the mines that are
in the ground. For me, it is symbolic that one of the first ways they
demonstrate a new spirit of cooperation and collaboration is to agree to
support and ratify the Landmine Treaty.
To
make the convention work needs both those who develop technology and those
who use it. I think that's why you're meeting here today. Your workshop is
timely, important, and will result in enhanced cooperation and exchange of
views. Your discussion will begin to tailor technology to the needs of the
user.
I'll
give you one small example of how that struck me as being important. Three
weeks ago, we invited a team from Mongolia to a meeting here at the Centre
to talk about the Landmine Treaty. Mongolia is not a signatory and still
uses landmines. There's a major debate going on in Mongolia that is
interesting from your point of view. Their problem in agreeing to
sign the treaty is that they need to be shown how they can get rid of
their mines in a cost effective way. Mongolia is a poor country with
limited resources and doesn't want to make a commitment that's going to
cost them a lot of money. Clearly they are going to be looking for donor
help and for a demining program tailored to conditions in Mongolia.
In
addition to the complex task of getting rid of the mines, the ability to
advance the science and technology of demining adds a very substantial
constructive element to the broadening of the Treaty's application. If we
can demonstrate that demining can be done in a cost-effective and safe
manner, this becomes a strong argument that helps advance the Treaty. I
welcome you, not just for the work that you're doing, but also because I
hope you can develop the connection between developers (inventors,
scientists and engineers) and users, the people in the field who clear the
mines. I encourage you to complete the triangle by involving the civil
groups who are the sponsors of this work and have become the heart and
soul of the movement. This particular partnership, bringing those elements
together, will continue to demonstrate that the Landmine Treaty is more
than just another arms control instrument. It really is a
demonstration of a different way of managing our affairs and of dealing
with the problem of security.
In
my five years as Canada's Foreign Minister, it was demonstrated to me, in
virtually every meeting or encounter, that the notion of security is
dramatically changing. The traditional nation state security is
still an important part of world relations but not the only part.
What is increasingly becoming the focus is the security of the individual.
We must provide security against the risks faced by individuals. This is
especially important for the most vulnerable among us, the women and
children.
The
notion of human security, protection for the individual, is a central fact
of our time. This is developing as one of the most important and
significant transformations of this new century. We are rewriting the
rulebook about how the world is going to be governed and the Landmine
Treaty and its application is one of the foundations in that
transformation. Demining activity is a good illustration in that it saves
thousands from mutilation or death. It is also a major tool for self
renewal and redevelopment. Parts of the world that used to be totally
corrupted and polluted by landmines are now being transformed into
productive use, regaining their fertility. That is part of the hope
and aspiration that the Treaty provides for so many people.
That's
what human security is. It's not just protection, it is the right to
have a secure and prosperous life and to be able to walk on the land
without fear. This one of the greatest contributions we've made to human
security at the beginning of this new century.
Once
again, welcome to the Centre.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Welcome
by Lloyd Axworthy
Opening Remarks by Bob Suart
Appendix
1 - Complete Presentations
Appendix
2 - Poster Presentations
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