The UK public has again demonstrated its support for the eradication of landmines (Princess Diana’s landmine crusade to get £400,000 boost, theguardian.com, 29 December). British taxpayers have given £200,000 and this has been doubled by the Department for International Development, whose contribution will go to Angola, where it is desperately needed.
The suffering of Angolan communities was central to drawing the world’s attention to the horror of landmines in 1997, but the country has been woefully neglected by the international donor community. A 90% drop in funding to mine clearance in Angola in the last decade has left a skeleton capacity dependent on the US, which has not yet joined the Ottawa treaty banning anti-personnel landmines. The Landmine Free 2025 campaign estimates that just over seven times the current level of international support is needed to achieve Angola’s 2025 mine-free goal.
The generosity of the British public has offered a lifeline. But a step-change in funding from states will be needed over the next eight years to find the additional £170m needed to clear Angola’s minefields. With international funding for landmine clearance counting for only 0.2% of overseas aid, the sums needed are easily within the reach of international aid budgets. It is time for treaty states to choose to keep their promises, follow the UK’s example and fund the clearance of forgotten minefields.
Chris Loughran
Director of policy and advocacy, Mines Advisory Group
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