Landmine Awareness: A Tribute to the Work of Nongovernmental Organizations

The Press & Public Diplomacy Section of the U.S. Mission to the UN, working with the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, hosted a panel discussion on April 5, 2006 on "Landmine Awareness: A Tribute to the Work of Non-Governmental Organizations," at the UN. This event was a part of the United States commemoration of the first annual International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. Panels such as these are organized on a regular basis for UN diplomats, members of the UN Secretariat and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The panel, opened by the U.S. Representative to the Security Council Jackie Sanders, was moderated by Lincoln Bloomfield, Jr., former Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs. The panelists were the First Lady of Angola, Ana Paula dos Santos; Heidi Kuhn, Founder and CEO of Roots of Peace; Daniela Kempf, Director of Mine Action Programs at the Humpty Dumpty Institute; Rachel Galoob Ortega of the Landmine Survivors Network; and Perry Baltimore, President of the Marshall Legacy Institute with his mine detecting dog, Rosa. Rosa demonstrated to the panelists and some 100 guests how dogs are used to safely and effectively detect landmines in many mine-affected countries. The participating NGOs were all members of the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement's Public-Private Partnership Program.

Ambassador Jackie Sanders delivered opening statements and introduced the moderator, former Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, Lincoln Bloomfield, Jr. The panel featured special guest, First Lady of Angola, Ana Paula dos Santos.  The panelists included:

• Heidi Kuhn, Founder and CEO, Roots of Peace
• Daniela Kempf, Director of Mine Actions Programs, The Humpty Dumpty Institute
• Rachel Galoob Ortega, Landmine Survivors Network
• Perry Baltimore, President, Marshall Legacy Institute, and
• Rosa, a Landmine Detection Dog from the Marshall Legacy Institute

After the discussion and Q&A session, Rosa demonstrated to the panelists and some 125 guests how dogs are used safely and effectively to detect landmines in many landmine-affected countries.

The U.S. Mission regularly sponsors panel discussions and special presentations to share U.S. values, history, and policies, with U.N. diplomats and staff, members of the U.N. Secretariat, NGO's, and the general public.

Members of the panel on Landmine Awareness (left to right: Perry Baltimore, Daniela Kempf, Lincoln Bloomfield, First Lady of Angola Ana Paula dos Santos, Heidi Kuhn, and Rachel Galoob Ortega)

Ambassador Jackie Sanders and Rosa, the landmine detection dog