AFRICA & EUROPE, JOINT EFFORT VS. MINES AND LIGHT ARMS

AFRICA: MISNA on Ladysilvia; The African Union (AU) and the EU have formalized a joint commitment to curb the proliferation of anti-man mines and light weapons in Addis Abeba today at the end of a three day long meeting.

The problems caused by anti-man mines and by illicit arms trafficking “constitute serious obstacles to social and economic development” of the continent said Tim Clarke, head of the AU delegation. The understanding " according to the communiquè issued at the end of the meeting " provides for the promotion of the respect of conventions against mines and light arms in European and African countries aswell as the definition of a ’joint agency’.

The meeting was organized in occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Ottawa Convention of 1997, which first banned the production, sale and stocking of anti-man mines. Africa " said the director of the Peace and Security dept. of the AU, Jeffrey Mugumya " is “the hardest hit continent in the world by the tragedy of anti-man explosives”; according to the UNDP, the highest risk countries are Ethiopia, Eritrea, Angola, Somalia, RDC Congo and Sudan. Statistics suggest mines and unexploded devices kill or mutilate about 40 people a day worldwide. [AB]

La redazione Ladysilvia