To mark Poland’s official withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention or the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, Julia Głębocka, Human rights researcher for Amnesty International Poland, reflects on what the return of these indiscriminate weapons means for human rights in Europe.
Not so long ago, in 2020, the European Union was funding mine relief efforts in Lebanon and hoping to see an anti-personnel mine-free world within five years. HALO Ukraine, an EU-supported organization, had already been making tangible change, removing explosives from Ukrainian soil since 2016. In Chad, the EU-funded project PRODECO, was reintegrating anti-personnel mine victims into society through long-term medical care and rehabilitation, as well as supporting demining efforts.
Read more…
Source: Reliefweb News
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Can robot dogs programmed with AI find hidden explosive devices?
November 16, 2023
Forty programmers demonstrated how AI-enabled robotic dogs could carry out potentially dangerous tasks that would otherwise be undertaken by Army bomb disposal experts at the Defence AI Centre (DAIC) sponsored Hackathon on 7-9 November. The hackers worked in five teams to exploit the AI capabilities of the robotic dogs, which are able to climb stairs, avoid ...
- German police swoop on Hezbollah-supporting ‘extremists’
November 15, 2023
Several hundred German police officers carried out searches across the country on Thursday targeting an Islamist association suspected of supporting the Iran-aligned Islamist movement Hezbollah, the Interior Ministry announced. The police operation targeted the Islamic Centre of Hamburg (IZH) and five other organisations suspected of being linked to it. All are suspected of supporting Hezbollah, which ...
- Landmines: New Use Despite Global Ban
November 14, 2023
Russia, Myanmar, and Ukraine have used antipersonnel landmines in the past year, and armed groups used them in at least five countries, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing Landmine Monitor 2023, the annual report about the international treaty to ban landmines. The 120-page Landmine Monitor 2023 is the product of the International Campaign to Ban ...
- UK: Friend of ‘IS Beatle’ jailed for terrorism offences
November 13, 2023
A British man who spent two years with Islamic State in Syria and knew the British militant dubbed Jihadi John, has been jailed for carrying a weapon for terrorist purposes. Aine Davis was also sentenced at the Old Bailey for fundraising after he tried to get his wife to send him 20,000 euros (£17,460). Intelligence services ...
- Northern Ireland: Police investigating after pipe bomb thrown at property in Newry
November 13, 2023
Police are investigating after a pipe bomb was thrown at a property in the Watsons Road area of Newry on Sunday night. The incident happened at 7.20pm on Sunday night and the device has now been removed for further forensic examination. Police said the security alert that was in place has now ended. No injuries were ...
- Cyprus: Explosion outside Nicosia shop
November 10, 2023
An explosion occurred outside a shop in the Makedonitissa area of Nicosia in the early hours of Friday morning. Police said the explosion occurred at around 2:30am and caused damage to the shop front as well as causing a fire inside the building. The fire was extinguished, and the scene was cordoned off by police. Tests ...
- Five right-wing terrorists arrested throughout Europe with the support of Eurojust and Europol
November 10, 2023
Eurojust and Europol have supported the competent authorities in Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Lithuania, Romania and Italy in an international operation against right-wing terrorism. During a joint action day, 5 suspects were apprehended and an additional 7 others interrogated across the different countries. Furthermore, data carriers and weapons were seized. The suspects allegedly belong to a right-wing ...
- Finland: Stolen explosives likely sold on construction black market
November 9, 2023
In late October, 50 kilogrammes of dynamite were stolen from a construction site near the Isohaara power plant in Kemi, southwest Lapland. The theft of explosives is relatively rare in Finland. However, no exact figures on this type of crime are available as they are classed in statistics together with firearm theft. Last year there were ...
- UK: Homes evacuated after grenades found at Liverpool house
November 6, 2023
Homes were evacuated after two grenades were found at a house following an arson attack. Two men, dressed in black, broke into a house before setting fire to it on Parkview Road, Croxteth, Liverpool at about 22:40 GMT on Sunday, police said. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service put out the fire before they found the grenades, ...
- Ukraine: Zaluzhny’s assistant killed by grenade explosion near Kyiv
November 6, 2023
A serviceman has been killed in a residential complex in the village of Chaiky, Kyiv region, as a result of careless handling of ammunition, the press service of the National Police of Ukraine reports. “According to preliminary information, a 39-year-old serviceman was killed as a result of a grenade explosion. His 13-year-old son is seriously ...
- Turkish soldier killed in IED explosion in Van province
November 4, 2023
A Turkish soldier who was wounded in an explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED) in eastern Türkiye succumbed to his injuries, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said Saturday. The explosion of the IED planted by members of the “separatist terrorist group” in the Baskale district of Van severely injured Samet Bektas, the ministry said in ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine -Update 192
November 3, 2023
On Thursday – when the rotation of IAEA experts took place – there were Russian reports of drone attacks in the town of Enerhodar, where many plant staff live. Almost every day in recent weeks and months, the IAEA experts have continued to hear explosions some distance away from Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP), ...
- Ukraine: M1 Abrams-Based Mine Clearing Vehicle Appears In-Country
November 3, 2023
The U.S.-made M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) will provide critical capabilities helping Ukrainian troops clear the hundreds of miles of dense mine fields the Russians have built up. The U.S. Army describes the M1150 ABV as a “highly mobile and heavily armored minefield and complex obstacle breaching system. It consists of an M1A1 Abrams tank hull; ...
- Ukraine Is Using AI to Help Clear Millions of Russian Landmines
November 2, 2023
The humanitarian process used to detect and clear unexploded land mines has changed little since World War II. Until recently, Ukraine had no unified database that kept track of surveyed terrain or aggregated information from commercial, international, and government operators, Ukrainian officials told TIME. Decisions were made based on a predetermined priority list and often outdated ...
- France: Police open fire on woman who ‘made threats’ in Paris train station
October 31, 2023
According to witnesses the 38-year-old woman, who was completely veiled, shouted “Allahu akbar” (“God is Greatest”) and “made threats”, a police source said, adding that “police fired because they feared for their safety”. After passengers on a suburban train travelling from the eastern suburbs to Paris alerted police, agents managed to “isolate” the woman at the ...