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