‘Jordan can help regional countries clear explosive remnants of war’

AMMAN – As a country free of minefields, Jordan can help regional countries clear explosive remnants of war (ERW) from their soil and assist recovering mine victims, according to a Slovenian diplomat. 

“Jordan… [has] good experience in this field that can offer assistance to our operations in Gaza and South Lebanon, Damjan Bergant, ambassador at the Slovenian foreign ministry and ITF Enhancing Human Security director, said in a recent interview with The Jordan Times. 

Bergant was in Amman last week and held talks with governmental and non-governmental organisations to explore cooperation in clearing mines and ERW in post-conflict countries such as Lebanon and Gaza. 

In 2012, Jordan completed mine clearance operations and was declared the first country in the Middle East to be free of minefields.

Bergant said he met with HRH Prince Mired, chairman of the National Committee for De-mining and Rehabilitation (NCDR), and discussed cooperation at the regional level, adding that he also held talks with the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation to transfer children injured by ERW in Gaza to Slovenia for rehabilitation.

“Prince Mired has been very active in de-mining and his efforts are recognised by the international community,” the Slovenian diplomat said. 

He noted that ITF has conducted several joint projects with NCDR in offering assistance to victims of landmines in Jordan, and the latest project is about to finish. 

The ITF –– previously known as the International Trust Fund for De-mining and Mine Victim Assistance –– has implemented 10 projects in Gaza by providing rehabilitation to 115 injured children in Slovenia, and has also worked in Libya and South Lebanon, according to Bergant.  

Syria will be a place that needs a lot of help when the conflict is over and once it is safe to go there, he said.

Elaborating on the goal behind establishing such an agency, Bergant said his country –– which is a member of the EU –– is a small state with small foreign politics but the Slovenian government is trying to implement its development aid and representation in the international community through such an institution. 

ITF is a humanitarian, nonprofit organisation devoted to the elimination of threat from post-conflict and disruptive challenges, including landmines, ERW and the illicit ownership and use of small arms and light weapons in South-East Europe and other affected regions in the world.

Established by the government of Slovenia in March 1998, the initial purpose of ITF was to help Bosnia and Herzegovina in the implementation of the peace agreement and to provide assistance and support in relation to post-conflict rehabilitation, Bergant said.

Since its inception, ITF has increased its activities to include the rectification of landmine problems and helping landmine survivors with physical and socioeconomic rehabilitation across the region of South-East Europe, he added. 

After the European Commission acknowledged ITF as a reference model of a regional organisation in mine action, the agency was asked by mine-affected countries and donors to expand operations to other mine-affected regions and countries such as Cyprus, Cape Verde, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East, according to Bergant.

He noted that donations worth more than $386 million were entrusted to ITF for managing over 3,000 programmes and projects, indicating that the US is the agency’s biggest and most important donor with contributions of around $174 million, or 45 per cent of the overall funds. 

Bergant indicated that 29 countries, UNDP, the UN Mine Action Service, OPEC Fund for International Development, over 10 local authorities in mine affected countries, 130 international and local public and private companies, NGOs and individuals have also donated funds to ITF.