Mr. President. one of the major obstacles today in refugee repatriation programs is the widespread existence of land mines left over in many countries after years of conflict. I have long been concerned by the indiscriminate use of land mines in civil wars and regional conflicts. because they inflict such a heavy toll on innocent civilians. Hundreds of thousands of land mines were used in the Angolan civil war. They caused 40.000 to 50.000 casualties. including vast numbers of amputees struggling to rebuild their lives. Before the ceasefire last year in Cambodia. land mine casualties ranged from 600 to 1.000 a month. These mines now plague refugees currently returning to that country after over a decade of exile. The State Department and the United Nations estimate that 10 to 20 million mines are indiscriminately scattered across Cambodia. Afghanistan. Somalia. and Angola. These debilitatIng. and often lethal. weapons pose a major obstacle to refugee repatriation programs. Farmers lose their lives and their livestock as they try to till soil that only months before was a battleground. Refugee children. playing innocently around their new homes. are crippled and killed. Repatriation programs are forced to proceed too slowly. because of the expensive and painstaking task of clearing mines in the areas to which refugees will return. In many countries. rural refugees find their ancestral lands strewn with mines. and opt instead to migrate to the cities. This urban migration adds to the problems which the countries face. They must not only cope with putting the pieces back together after long years of war. but also deal with massive urban problems and unrest. Ambassador Princeton Lyman. who recently completed his assignment as Director of the State Departments Bureau for Refugee Programs. says that mine clearing is one of the greatest needs today in refugee repatriation programs. The United Nations and some governments are trying to cope with this problem. But the United States also has technology. assets and expertise to offer in addressing this significant problem.
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Refugee refugee refugees