Honoring Achievements in Post-Conflict Cleanup

December 10, 2009

Ambassador John Bass, alongside Georgian Deputy Defense Minister Nodar Kharshiladze, Governor of Shida Kartli region Lado Vardzelashvili

Ambassador John Bass, alongside Georgian Deputy Defense Minister Nodar Kharshiladze, Governor of Shida Kartli region Lado Vardzelashvili, and members of the HALO Trust, commemorated the successful clearance of explosive remnants of war (ERW) in Mghvrekisi Village, Gori District, and throughout the Shida Kartli region, which had been littered with unexploded ordnance following the August 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia.

Since 2008, the Department of State has provided HALO with $6.7 million for the clearance of landmines and ERW throughout Georgia, including $4.3 million for clearance activities in Shida Kartli. Immediately following cessation of hostilities, HALO (http://www.halotrust.org/) conducted an emergency survey of the extent of the ERW contamination and educated schools and greater community about how to stay safe. As a result of HALO's work, 3,781 items of explosive ordnance were destroyed in the Shida Kartli region, and 8,407 acres of land were returned to productive use.  As part of the ceremony, Ambassador Bass unveiled a stone marker to honor the clearance event.The United States is a world leader in conventional weapons destruction and humanitarian mine action efforts, providing more than $1.5 billion in assistance to nearly 50 countries since 1993. To learn more about the State Department's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement's conventional weapons destruction programs, visit www.state.gov/t/pm/wra