ICRC To Raise Issue Of Environmental Damage Caused By Weapons Contamination At RIO+20

KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 (Bernama) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will raise the issue of environmental damage caused by weapons contamination at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 20-22. The Geneva-based ICRC has decided to raise this issue because contamination can take lives and make land unusable in countries affected by current or recent conflict. "It can also kill people many decades after the fighting ends," declared the organisation in a statement. It stated that weapons contamination is a major problem in over 40 percent of the countries wherein the ICRC presently conducts its operations. The organisation added that it has set up a weapons-contamination unit that strives to minimise such effects by launching programmes not only to clear and destroy mines and other unexploded ordnance but also to increase awareness of the danger among the local population. In conjunction with the Rio+20 conference, the ICRC will hold a photo exhibition during June 13-24 and organise a talk on weapons contamination on June 14 for the conference's preparatory committee. The Rio+20 conference is expected to attract world leaders, as well as thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, who will come together to discuss how they can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever-crowding planet to achieve their desired future. The conference will focus on two themes: a green economy in the context of sustainable development poverty eradication, and a suitable institutional framework for sustainable development. -- BERNAMA