Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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07MAPUTO1047 | 2007-08-30 13:13:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Maputo |
VZCZCXRO4442 RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN DE RUEHTO #1047/01 2421313 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 301313Z AUG 07 FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7847 INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY |
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 001047 |
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Humanitarian demining of the Northern provinces of Mozambique is complete. The USG and other donors look to publicly announce this success in November as efforts begin to focus on other areas of the country. USG funded and equipped military demining corps gives the GRM the capacity to continue humanitarian demining without donor assistance. While we are concerned that the GRM has not sufficiently supported this capacity, the public announcement of success in the North will help highlight that future responsibility now lies with the GRM. END SUMMARY -------------------------- -------------------------- Humanitarian Demining Completed in Northern Provinces -------------------------- -------------------------- 2. The Northern provinces were the most heavily mined areas of the country, and suffered significant casualties after the end of the civil war in 1992. Funded by the United States and other donor nations and implemented by the nonprofit HALO Trust, humanitarian demining of the provinces of Niassa, Cabo Delgado, Tete and Nampula is now considered complete. 3. (SBU) While there is no international agreement as to the meaning of Qmine free,Q the USG and other donors are pressing the GRM to declare publicly the Northern provinces as free from the impact of mines. Mine impact free status is supported by extensive documentation and consultation with local and provincial leaders by HALO Trust. The arm of the GRM responsible for demining, the Instituto Nacional Desminagem (IND), is in the process of independently confirming HALO TrustQs work. -------------------------- -------------------------- Formal Ceremony Planned, Efforts Turn to Other Regions -------------------------- -------------------------- 4. (SBU) Assuming the IND concurs that the area is free from the impact of mines, a formal announcement and ceremony would be forthcoming involving all international partners. If the IND does not agree then the USG would lead a ceremony delivering the completed documentation of demining from HALO Trust to the donor nations and the GRM. In either case, the Embassy anticipates a public ceremony recognizing the completion of the demining in the Northern provinces in early November 2007. 5. HALO Trust has moved its demining equipment to other provinces in anticipation of new humanitarian demining efforts. It is also preparing a baseline survey of the central and southern provinces to provide an assessment of the demining work remaining in those areas. The baseline assessment, due in October, will include an estimated cost to make these areas free from the impact of mines. -------------------------- -------------------------- USG Funding Focused on Sustainability; Program Winds Down -------------------------- -------------------------- 6. (SBU) Since 1992, the USG has supported mine action in Mozambique with almost $40 million in aid. We have fully funded the training and outfitting of a cadre of GRM soldiers as deminers, creating an indigenous capacity with the goal that this corps would be available to continue with the demining of the southern and central provinces. The USG program provided enough equipment for 100 deminers; the GRM proposes placing separate groups of deminers in the north, central and southern sections of the country to be available to readily respond to demand domestically and in neighboring countries. With the culmination of this training and of demining efforts in the North, USG funding will MAPUTO 00001047 002 OF 002 now cease. -------------------------- -------------------------- COMMENT: Sustainability Not Assured, But Program to End -------------------------- -------------------------- 7. (SBU) The GRM plan to create three small separate demining corps stationed throughout the country seems to ignore the economies of scale of a combined unit, and we believe the GRM has not supported the indigenous capacity sufficiently to guarantee sustainability after donor funding ends. We have raised our concerns regularly with the Ministry of Defense. That said, the USG intends to move forward with a formal ceremony that highlights the successful demining of the most severely affected area of the country and emphasizes that real responsibility lies with the GRM to continue the effort. Chapman |