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Governor General and Minister of Foreign Affairs to represent Canada at Nairobi landmines conference
November 11, 2004
Ottawa, Ontario
NEWS RELEASE
Prime Minister Paul Martin today announced that Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew, as well as a delegation of Parliamentarians, will represent Canada at the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World, scheduled for November 29-December 3, 2004 in Nairobi, Kenya.
As the First Review Conference of the Ottawa Convention since its signing in 1997 and coming into force in 1999, the Conference will assess progress in the prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of antipersonnel mines and their destruction.
Participants are expected to commit to an ambitious Action Plan to ensure that remaining mine action challenges facing the world are overcome.
In the seven years since the signing of the Convention, 143 countries have accepted its legal prohibitions, destroyed some 37 million stockpiled mines and generated more than US $2 billion (nearly CA $2.4 billion) to assist affected countries clear mined land and help landmine survivors and their families.
During this time, Canada has committed more than $200 million to mine action through the Canadian Landmine Fund. For more information about Canada's role in landmine reduction, please visit http://www.mines.gc.ca
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