Rwanda Declared Free Of Landmines

Rwanda has been declared free of landmines - the first country to achieve this status. The announcement was made at the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World in Columbia.

Hundreds of people have been killed and horrifically injured by landmines in Rwanda. Landmines were laid between 1990 and 1994 in Rwanda and over the past three years more than over 9,000 have been destroyed by Rwandan soldiers.

Ben Remfrey of the Mines Awareness Trust, which supervised the clearance, said although other countries have had far more mines laid, this is a significant step.

'Rwanda has made history by becoming the first country in the world to be officially declared free from landmines,' he told the BBC World Service.

'Rwanda had a problem, it wasn't huge but it was still significant... and had a big social and economic impact.'

Landmines have been devastating for Rwanda since their existence prevented many people from being able to live from their land.

Since 80 per cent of the population earn a living by through agriculture, and Rwanda is Africa's most densely populated country, land is already scarce.

Nteziyaremya Alphose, a 40-year-old farmer living in a village north of Kigali, had mines on his farm.

Two adults lost legs and a child and a cow were killed on his farm.

Now his land has been cleared,and he says his family are able to grow enough produce to feed themselves.

'I can now use every piece of my land without becoming a victim of landmines, my livestock can now graze on this land and not be taken away from me,' he said.

The landmines were cleared by Rwandan soldiers who were specially trained in Kenya at the International Mines Action Training Centre.

One hundred and eighty soldiers were involved in the clearance process in which 20 minefields were surveyed and de-mined over three years.

The mines, mostly anti-personnel landmines, were either neutralised or destroyed where they were found by qualified personnel.

To be declared as landmine-free, Rwanda had to meet the conditions of the Ottawa Landmine Treaty.

These stipulate that not only does a country have to ensure its land is free of mines but also that it destroys its landmine stockpiles.

The Mines Awareness Trust said that all Rwandan stockpiles were destroyed either by burning or controlled explosions, ensuring these items could never be used again.

A dog specialist and a team of Mine Detection Dogs provided a final check of all the land surveyed and manually cleared so that the land could be signed off to international standards.

Overall, 1.3m square metres of land were tested and cleared. Gareth Thomas, Africa Minister at the Department for International Development which funded the programme, said that this project was important for Rwanda.

'This means that Rwandans from those areas are now able to farm their land,' he told the BBC's World Today programme.

The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban convention, better known as the Ottawa Convention, was brought into force 10 years ago.

Its aim was to help rid the world of landmines on the ground as well as stockpiled mines.

Since then, a total of 165 states have ratified the convention and production of anti-personnel mines has ceased in 38 countries.

But according to Landmine Monitor's estimates, more than 160m mines are held by countries not party to the convention and 13 states are still producing mines or retain the right to do so.