§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department expects to clear the anti-personnel mines that remain in the Falkland Islands. [94641]
§ Mr. BattleWe are fully committed to the Ottawa Convention, which entered into force in the UK on 1 March 1999. It requires us to clear all anti-personnel mines from the Falkland Islands within 10 years of entry, unless we can show good reasons why an extension should be granted. Such reasons may include humanitarian, environmental and technical considerations. Mine clearance in the Falkland Islands is both difficult and dangerous and we should be keeping these points in mind.
The Ministry of Defence estimate that 14,000 anti-personnel mines were laid by the Argentines in the Falkland Islands in 1982. The Argentine Government have offered to assist in mine clearance. During President Menem's visit to the UK in October 1998, we agreed as a first step to work together with Argentina to evaluate the feasibility and cost of clearing the land mines still present in the Falkland Islands. Work on a Memorandum of Understanding setting out how this feasibility study 425W will be carried out is underway. Both Governments re-affirmed their commitment to co-operate on mine clearance in the Joint Statement of 14 July 1999.