His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium met this week in Oslo to continue their fight against the use of landmines. It is 20 years since the Convention prohibiting the production, use, storage and export of anti-personnel mines came into force. On Monday, Crown Prince Haakon spoke at the opening of the fourth oversight conference.
Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Princess Astrid were also present at the opening of the fourth supervisory conference in Oslo City Hall. Norway was strongly instrumental in the adoption of the Mining Convention in Oslo on in 1997 and also holds the presidency of the Mining Convention this year.
Crown Prince Haakon spoke at the opening of the conference, which gathered more than 600 people from all over the world. His Royal Highness said: “I believe this is a testimony to the importance of the topic and the occasion. You are here to discuss a problem that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Many of you are all too familiar with the real costs of the landmine problem – in terms of human suffering, broken communities and lost development opportunities.”
Prince Mired of Jordan and Princess Astrid of Belgium are special envoys in the fight against land mines. At the conference, they told about their engagement. Princess Astrid of Belgium has been part of the landmine movement for nearly two decades and continues to be at the forefront of efforts to fulfil the Convention’s promise to landmine survivors everywhere.
Princess Astrid has previously said about landmines: “More than twenty years ago, Belgium welcomed representatives of more than 150 countries interested in prohibiting landmines. We are proud of our contribution towards the adoption of the Convention and remain deeply committed with a world free of landmines, and resolute in our commitment towards the victims.”
Crown Prince Haakon has fought against the use of landmines for a long time and His Royal Highness was present when the Kingdom of Jordan was declared mine free. The ambitious goal is a world without land mines by 2025.