UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 001047

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

AF/S FOR HTREGER, AF/RSA FOR MBITTRICK

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KHDP PGOV PREL MZ

SUBJECT: Northern Provinces Demining a Success,
Winds Down


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

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Humanitarian Demining Completed in Northern
Provinces
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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.

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Formal Ceremony Planned, Efforts Turn to Other
Regions
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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.

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USG Funding Focused on Sustainability; Program
Winds Down
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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

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now cease.

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COMMENT: Sustainability Not Assured, But Program
to End
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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