UNMAS and ITF enter into partnership agreement

International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF) and United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which outlines the scope of activities to be jointly carried out in the field of mine action assistance. The Memorandum defines the areas of mine action activities in which UNMAS and ITF will be cooperating in the future.

The Memorandum between ITF and UNMAS allows efficient coordination and implementation of activities in the field of mine action. ITF director Mr.Goran Ga?nik pointed out the importance of the signed MoU in what regards the unification of knowledge, experience and resources in solving the mine problem in the world. At the same time bilateral discussions on future cooperation between ITF and UNMAS in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Sudan have started.

The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) was formed in October 1997 to serve as the UN focal point for mine action. At the global level, UNMAS is responsible for coordinating all aspects of mine action within the UN system. At the field level, UNMAS is responsible for providing mine action assistance in the context of humanitarian emergencies and peacekeeping operations. UNMAS and its UN partners operate within the framework of an inter-agency policy formulated in 1998, which clarifies the principles upon which UN mine action is based, and defines roles and responsibilities within the UN system (more http://www.mineaction.org/)