UN General Assembly
1997

care and education. The rehabilitation of the economic and social fabrics, especially in the rural areas, is seriously hampered by the scourge of landmines. These horrible weapons have killed and continue to kill and wound hundreds of innocent citizens. With that in mind, at the fourth International Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations on Landmines, which met at Maputo in February of this year, my Government approved a resolution that prohibits, with immediate effect, the production, commercialization, utilization and non-authorized transportation of anti- personnel landmines in the territory of Mozambique. My Government has been participating fully in the negotiations within the framework of the Ottawa process. In this respect, we welcome the results achieved at the recently concluded Oslo Diplomatic Conference. We urge all countries to heed the call of the peoples of the world and to join the majority of nations in signing the international treaty on the total ban of anti-personnel landmines in December this year. We wish to launch a vigorous appeal to the international community to ensure that all the provisions of that treaty with respect to, inter