DUSHANBE, July 6, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- A regional two-day meeting on landmine ban treaty, formally titled “Dushanbe Workshop on Achieving a Mine-Free Central Asia,” will be held in the Tajik capital Dushanbe from July 7-8.

Representative of Tajik Campaign to Ban Landmines, Bakhtiyor Begmurodov told Asia-Plus today that representatives of governments and campaigners from Central Asia are expected to attend the conference that will be held at the Hyatt Regency Dushanbe Hotel.

“The conference participants include delegations from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as countries financially and technically supporting mine clearance and victim assistance, United Nations; international organizations, civil society campaigners and landmine survivors from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Russia,” Mr. Begmurodov said. 

The Dushanbe Workshop is the third in a series of regional meetings convened in the lead-up to the Mine Ban Treaty’s Second Review Conference, which will take place in Cartagena, Colombia in the week of 30 November 2009.  Eighty percent of the world’s states have joined the Mine Ban Treaty, but Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan still remain outside the agreement.

The Dushanbe Workshop will focus on clearance of mined areas, victim assistance, cooperation in the region, as well as challenges for joining the treaty.  The workshop participants will also visit the Mine Detection Dog Training Center