International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 2023; April 4th.

 FORUM: "MINE ACTION CANNOT WAIT." International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 2023.

April 4th is the International Day designated by the General Assembly to raise awareness and seek assistance for mine action. On this occasion the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is organizing a symposium on the theme "Mine Action Cannot Wait" to highlight decades of contamination in countries like Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Viet Nam, as well as draw attention to recent explosive ordnance contamination in Myanmar, Ukraine, and Yemen.

Latest estimates show that in 2021, more than 5,500 people lost their lives or were injured due to landmines, with civilians, mostly children bearing the brunt of the devastation. Today, nearly 70 countries and territories are still contaminated by landmines. Every day, explosive ordnance contamination threatens lives, curtails freedom of movement, limits access to airable land, disenfranchises communities and above all instills fear and insecurity.


Focusing on the urgent need for a world free from the threat of landmines, explosive remnants of war (ERW) and IEDs, this global campaign aims to bring attention to areas of the world that remain contaminated, needlessly affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of people.

Mine Action Symposium 2023.

 

Speakers will include the former Foreign Minister of Canada Mr. Lloyd Axworthy, who was instrumental in the creation of the Mine Ban Convention, former US Senator Mr. Patrick Leahy, a key player in funding mine action, the Permanent Representatives of Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam, Under-Secretaries-General Fleming, Lacroix and Gamba, film director Richard Fitoussi, Global Advocate Giles Duley, International Crisis Group journalist Richard Gowan and many more.

EXHIBITS

WORLDWIDE EVENTS

Statement from the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ on the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 2023; April 4th.

For the millions living amidst the chaos of armed conflicts — especially women and children — every step can put them in danger’s path.

Even after the fighting stops, conflicts often leave behind a terrifying legacy: landmines and explosive ordnance that litter communities. Peace brings no assurance of safety when roads and fields are mined, when unexploded ordnance threatens the return of displaced populations, and when children find and play with shiny objects that explode.

The United Nations Mine Action Service gathers partners together to remove these deadly weapons, support national authorities, and ensure safe access to homes, schools, hospitals and farmers’ fields. The Service also supported the design of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the safe export of grain and fertilizer from Ukrainian ports.

Yet, broader global efforts are essential to safeguard people from mines. I urge Member States to ratify and fully implement the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

On this International Day, let’s take action to end the threat of these devices of death, support communities as they heal, and help people return and re-build their lives in safety and security.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

                                

CAMPAIGN MATERIALS

                      

International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 2022; April 4th.

FORUM: "Safe Ground. Safe Steps. Safe Home." International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 2022.

In 2022 the United Nations Mine Action Service marks the Day under the theme “Safe Ground, Safe Steps, Safe Home.” The focus of the observance is on the impressive achievements of the global mine action community and on highlighting the work that remains to be completed.

“Safe Ground” is the name of the global campaign “turning minefields into playing fields,” which was launched by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in 2019, and the concept of clearing the Earth of landmines and other explosive hazards to make it safe for development.

“Safe Steps” brings attention to the trepidation that too many people experience when they move about, not knowing if they will detonate an explosive that could maim or kill them at any moment. “Safe Steps” also describes the procedures that deminers use when approaching contaminated areas and includes application of new technology to safely removing explosive hazards.

“Safe Home” is about restoring the personal security of individuals and communities in post-conflict settings. There is no place like home, and it is difficult to feel at home without security and community.

Statement from the U.N. Secretary-General on the International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 2022; April 4th.


The International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action reminds us how far we have come in clearing the world of explosive remnants of war – and how far we still have to go.

Exactly thirty years ago, civil society activists came together to launch the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

Within five years, the Mine Ban Convention was opened for signature.

Today, more than 160 states have signed the Convention and landmines have become almost universally unacceptable.

Over 55 million mines have been destroyed, more than 30 countries across the world have been declared mine-free, and casualties have dramatically decreased.

But the world is still rife with millions of stockpiled landmines and over 50 countries remain contaminated with these abhorrent weapons.

Mines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices continue to kill or injure thousands of people every year – many of whom are children.

We must do more to protect people living under the shadow of explosive ordnance, from Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan to Myanmar, Cambodia, and beyond.

In Ukraine, the legacy of a single month of war – in the form of unexploded ordnance, landmines, and cluster munitions – will take decades to tackle, threatening lives long after the guns fall silent. Already today, they restrict emergency humanitarian aid delivery and prevent people fleeing to safety.

I call on all states to accede to the Convention without delay. Permanent members of the Security Council in particular have a special responsibility.

Mine action is an investment in humanity. It is a prerequisite for humanitarian relief efforts and the foundation of lasting peace and sustainable development.

On this International Day, let us build on past progress and rid the world of the scourge of landmines once and for all.

António Guterres; UN Secretary-General.

A cluster munition is a conventional munition that is designed to release multiple explosive submunitions (in some cases called ‘bomblets’) over a large area. The general definition describes both the container (also in certain circumstances called a dispenser, ‘parent munition’ or carrier) and the submunitions it holds. The number of explosive submunitions varies from as few as ten to up to many hundreds. The size of the individual submunitions may vary considerably. They can be dispersed or released from aircraft, rockets, artillery projectiles, and mortar rounds.

EVENTS: The Mine Awareness Day 2022 Event is organized in collaboration with the United Nations Mine Action Service, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and UN Member States.

International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 2021; 4 April

 

"Perseverance, Partnership, Progress." is the theme chosen to observe the International Day for Mine Awareness & Assistance in Mine Action 2021 - 4 April

Millions of citizens around the world are still faced with the daily and deadly threat of unexploded landmines and IEDs in their communities. We would like to take this opportunity to honour and support our courageous deminers who are working tirelessly to clear their communities of these deadly threats.

Statement by the U.N.Secretary-General's Message International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 2021; 4 April.


Today, on the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, we reflect on how far we have come in raising awareness of the dangers posed by landmines, and recommit to our target of a mine-free world.  

 More than 160 states are party to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention.  I call on those that have not yet acceded  to the Convention to do so without delay.

Landmines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices disproportionally affect the vulnerable, the forcibly displaced, the dispossessed, and children. They impede peaceful solutions, hinder humanitarian responses and are an obstacle to sustainable, inclusive development.

Unfortunately, we sometimes make progress on clearing mines only to see it rolled back. But we cannot be content simply with advocacy and campaigning to create awareness of the dangers posed by landmines.

The United Nations Charter calls us to complete the work: to survey, clear and destroy these deadly devices.

Let’s make this the last decade when we need to devote ourselves to this task.

António Guterres




Statement by David Graig Global Advocate on the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 2021; 4 April



I am very pleased to add my voice today to that of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and many other leaders, activists, and concerned citizens, to call on all nations to keep their eye on the end-goal of ridding the world of landmines and explosive remnants of war. It takes determination.

As we come out of the shadow of the pandemic, I want to praise the men and women who steadfastly stuck to their routines and cleared and destroyed hundreds of thousands of explosives in 2020, from landmines, to unexploded bombs and improvised explosive devices. Work continued because individuals, organizations and governments stuck to it.

A new Safe Ground was built in Cambodia, Chile declared its territory mine-free, and all states party to the Mine Ban Convention have declared their intention to clear their territories of anti-personnel landmines by the end of this decade.

But there is new contamination. Last month we marked the 10-year anniversary of the war in Syria, a conflict that has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions displaced and thousands of tons of new explosive contamination. The fighting needs to stop. The clearance needs to begin in earnest and at scale.

And there is old contamination. The Viet Nam war officially ended more than 45 years ago, but landmines and explosive contamination still pollute wide swaths of territory.

One landmine can wreck a community: kill a father, a mother, and all too often a child.

The vision we must strive to attain is a world where individuals and communities live in safe homes, on safe ground, in safe environments. Where human rights, the right to life, liberty, personal security and basic needs are met and no one is left behind, including the survivors of explosive ordnance accidents, those wounded and disabled, who must be fully integrated as equal members of their societies.

April 4th is the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, please do whatever you can, in whatever position you hold, to reach this vision. Let’s stay focused.

Daniel Craig, UN Global Advocate for the Elimination of Mines and Explosive Hazards

Secretary-General's message on the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action

New York, 4 April 2012 - International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action - April 4

United Nations mine action programmes make an invaluable contribution to post-conflict recovery, humanitarian relief efforts, peace operations and development initiatives. They prevent landmines and other explosive ordnance from causing further indiscriminate harm long after conflicts have ended, and help to transform danger zones into productive land. Mine action sets communities on course toward lasting stability.

In Libya, mine action personnel have responded to the threat posed by landmines, cluster munitions, and the lack of secure ammunition storage areas. Thousands of explosive remnants of war have been secured or cleared from schools, roads or residential areas, and tens of thousands of people have received risk education.

Over the past year, mine action operators have also been assisting in stockpile management in Albania, Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The recent disaster in Congo Brazzaville, where an arms depot exploded, is a tragic reminder of the need for such management.

On this year’s International Day for Mine Awareness, we are “lending our legs” in a campaign to show support and compassion for survivors. Working closely with national authorities and non-governmental organizations, the United Nations is implementing mine risk education and victim assistance in more than 40 countries, teaching communities how to live safely in contaminated areas, and assisting survivors with disabilities to obtain access to the full range of services and rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

I thank all who contribute to international mine action. I also commend the 159 States that have agreed to be bound by the Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention, those that have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions and Protocol V on explosive remnants of war, and the 110 that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

On this International Day, I call for universal adherence to these important treaties and for increased support for mine awareness and mine action. Landmines and explosive remnants of war hamper development and endanger lives. Let’s eliminate them together for a safe sustainable world.