FIRST EAST AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL MINE ACTION TRAINING CENTRE
17 Feb 2005 09:15 AM
The first East African International Mine Action Training Centre
(IMATC) was formally opened by Adam Ingram, UK Minister for the Armed
Forces, in Kenya today. As an internationally-recognised Centre of
Excellence, it will provide high quality training, advice and
expertise on all aspects of humanitarian demining.
Established as a joint venture between the British and Kenyan
governments, the IMATC aims to train at least 350 humanitarian
deminers to international mine action standards in its first year of
operating. It will take a proactive approach to helping East African
countries affected by mines, with an initial focus on training led by
specialist British soldiers.
As part of its commitment to the Mine Ban Treaty and the Africa
Conflict Prevention Pool, the British government has provided 3.5
million to fund the construction of the IMATC as well as three
permanent British Army Royal Engineers to staff the centre. Meanwhile
the Kenyan government has provided the land at Embakasi, as well as
57 Kenyan Army personnel.
During his tour of the IMATC Adam Ingram met the first troops to
benefit - Kenyan Army humanitarian deminers who will soon deploy to
Southern Sudan.
He said:
"I am honoured and delighted to take part in the opening of the
International Mine Action Training Centre. It builds heavily on the
success of the training and deployment of Kenyan engineers to
Eritrea, and will be a centre of excellence in every sense of the
term.
"The opening of the Centre comes as world attention is focused both
on Africa, and on mine action. The UK assumed the Presidency of the
G8 last month and will assume the EU Presidency in July. Africa is
the declared focus for both. The aim is to gain increased
international support to the African Peace and Security Agenda as a
whole, an agenda which we very much welcome and recognise as being
ambitious."
British Royal Engineer and Commandant IMATC, Lieutenant Colonel Tim
Wildish, added:
"Mine clearance is notoriously painstaking, expensive and dangerous
work but the quality training we provide will contribute to the
worldwide effort to eradicate landmines."
Notes to editors:
Minister's visit
1. Prior to this Adam Ingram visited Malawi, where he toured the
Peace Support Operations Training Wing and gifted I.T. equipment from
Her Majesty's Government to support the valuable work the Training
Wing undertakes.
International Mine Action Training Centre
2. Sub-Saharan Africa is the most heavily mined region in the world
(source - Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining).
3. The definition of Humanitarian Demining (technical term Mine
Action) is the complete removal of mines and explosive ordnance to
International Mine Action Standards (IMASS) from a designated area to
allow the land to be used by civilian population.
4. The training delivered by the IMATC will build on work already
completed by the Kenyan Engineer Squadron, as part of the United
Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Since land was cleared in
Eritrea as part of this Mission, 20,000 people were able to re-occupy
this valuable resource.
5. The first course at the IMATC will see Kenyan military engineers
training for humanitarian de-mining operations in southern Sudan.
The following course in May 2005 will train Sudanese Army Forces and
Sudanese Peoples' Liberation Army personnel for demining operations
in Sudan.
6. For more information on this visit www.mod.uk