Regional workshop on cross-border cooperation in Mine Action organized in Dushanbe

29/11/2010

Central Asia, as a region, has many localized mine threats; resulting from legacy of Soviet Union minefields, border area mine belts placed after the break-up of the Soviet Union, and as a result of internal conflicts. Since 2003, on the request of the Tajik Government, the OSCE, through its Office in Tajikistan, has been assisting the country in addressing the humanitarian threat posed by landmines. The regional cooperation initiative in Mine Action in Central Asia was initiated by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan with ITF as an implementing partner in 2009.

A regional technical workshop titled »Modelling of Cross-Border Cooperation in Mine Action« is being organized by the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF) under the auspices of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, and will take place at the Grand Asia Hotel in Dushanbe from 29 November until 1 December 2010. The workshop is part of the OSCE’s multi-phase project on the facilitation of regional cooperation in Mine Action with an overall objective of laying down a formal cooperation mechanism to address the land mine and related problems in Central Asia.

This regional workshop enables a productive venue to exchange the experience and know-how in Mine Action as well as to develop more formalized approach to cooperation on a technical level.

The regional workshop will be facilitated by OSCE Office of Tajikistan and ITF experts with the representatives coming from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; the representatives from United States and Norwegian People’s Aid will participate at the workshop as observers.