On behalf of my Government and our delegation to this conference, I would like to thank the Government of Djibouti for hosting this conference on Landmine problems in this region.

       As we all know, the Horn of Africa is a volatile region, and my country’s experience for the last thirty years of war, a lot of landmines were planed by the enemy. During all this time the colonizers were using a lot of landmines. We estimate about one million landmines and 3 million UXOs are still on the ground, and this only before the conflict started in 1997.

      After the conflict started we know that many mines have been planted by both sides, on our side if we are asked by the international community, how many mines and which type we have planted, we are ready to submit an up to date record of minefields we have planted.

      In Eritrea, we have a humanitarian demining program going actively since 1995. We started demining, surveying, training and running a mine awareness program with the help of the US Government, with a work force of seventy man demining personnel. But our future plan is to increase the demining personnel up to 300-400 deminers, by giving more training by International Mine Action groups, in the international standard system. Meanwhile, we are cooperatingwith the UNMEE (United Nations Mission in Ertirea and Ethiopia) and UNMS (United Nations Mine Action Service and the MACC.

       As you all heard yesterday in the reports of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), we are not signatories to the Ottawa Convention. We did not sign because we knew we were under threat, and even though we know that countries that have signed are still using landmines, our principle is to abide by the law of signing this treaty, in principle we accept and believe in the Ottawa Convention to Ban Landmines. With the threat of use of force on us we are obliged to stay at the stage without signing the treaty.

      After the third Ethiopian offensive on May 12, we have more that 1.5 million internally displaced people, living in tents who could not go back to their villages, while at the moment the Ethiopian forces are still heavily mining the newly seized Eritrean territory. At the moment children, women and the elderly are getting killed and maimed by newly laid Ethiopian mines.

     In conclusion, we are very optimistic, with the role the international community, the situation will change positive, and to see our country a land free of mines.