Annual Report 2010 - Ministry of Finance and Planning

Ministry of Finance and Planning Sri Lanka > Annual Report 2010High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and InternationalOrganization for Migration (IOM) are among the majorpartners helped in implementing the Government’s de-miningprogramme. The United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) andUnited Nations Office for the Coordination of HumanitarianAffairs (UNOCHA) help the activities by coordination andquality management, and providing necessary expertise andtechnical assistance. In addition, both local and internationalagencies are engaged in mine surveys and mine riskeducation (MRE) in the identified areas.De-mining organizations excluding the HumanitarianDe-mining Unit of the Sri Lanka Army generate fundingfor de-mining operations through their own fund raisingprogrammes. Various donors such as Japan, Australia, EU,Canada, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Norway etc.are funding for them to undertake de-mining operations inSri Lanka.The vision of the SLNMA programme is a “Sri Lanka freefrom the threat of landmines and ERW where individualsand communities live in a safe environment and the needsMap 1.1 > Progress of Demining ActivitiesSource: National Mine Action Centre (NMAC)The Government is also engaged in providing variousfacilities, including medical treatments, to mine survivorswhile such assistance as counseling and mobility aids, areprovided by domestic and international organizations.Livelihood development programmes are also beingimplemented for them. In addition, MRE campaigns arealso being implemented in collaboration with NGOs,community based partners and volunteers. The SLNMACplans to prepare a national victim-assistance strategy aswell. The objective of this strategy is to help coordinatework among stakeholders and provide technical supportfor strategizing victim-assistance efforts.of land mine and ERW victim are met”. There is a needto develop and implement a sustainable national mineaction programme covering all the aspects of mine actionand mobilize the resources to achieve this objective.Furthermore, in addition to the current MRE campaigns, SriLanka needs sustainable MRE campaigns that will lead tototal landmine and ERW eradication 6 . It is noteworthy thatSri Lanka is making progress towards banning landminesin the country and its commitment to acceding to the MineBan Treaty, which will guarantee that landmines will not bepossessed or used in the future 7 .Table 1.4 > Progress and Expenditure on Demining ProgrammeItem/Event Unit No. / AmountArea Cleared - Clearance Progress (BAC& MF) – From 2002 to March 2011 km 2 793Remaining area to be cleared km 2 494Expenditure by the Government (In 2010) Rs. Mn. 1,350Assistance by NGOs, INGOs and Others (In 2010) Rs. Mn. 2,346Source: National Mine Action Centre (NMAC)6 “Sri Lanka Works Towards a Mine – Free Nation”, Vidya Abhayagunawardena, 2010.7 The National Strategy for Mine Action in Sri Lanka, 2010.39