Written question asked by Baroness Tonge (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 24 October 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 2 November 2000. It was answered by Keith Vaz (Labour) on Thursday, 2 November 2000 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made with the landmine clearance programme in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and when he expects the operation to be completed. - Inc figure for mines cleared.

Answer: Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made with the landmine clearance programme in Bosnia- Herzegovina; and when he expects the operation to be completed. [135216] Mr. Vaz: It is difficult to obtain precise figures for demining progress to date in Bosnia and Herzegovina. But NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) estimates indicate that, up to 1999, 50,000 devices (mines and unexploded ordnance) had been cleared; official figures from the local Mine Action Centres suggest that over 12,600 devices have so far been cleared in 1999 and 2000. The overall system of demining in Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently under review, in an effort to accelerate the process; but it is not possible to give an estimated end-date for the operation.

Secondary information