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:
- Belgium: EOD DOVO is looking to acquire six ROVs for explosive ordnance disposal service
August 2, 2023
Awarding authority: MRMP-N/P – Direction Générale Material Resources – Division Marchés Publics – Section Naval Systems – Sous-section Programmes Title: acquisition de six (6) véhicules télécommandés (ROV) pour la capacité VSM (Very Shallow Water) et le service de neutralisation des explosifs et munitions pour la capacité EOD DOVO (Clearance and Destruction of Explosive Devices) / acquisition ...
- Ukraine will produce its own mine clearance machines
August 2, 2023
In Ukraine, a machine for preparing the soil for mine clearance was certified. The manufacturer received a certificate of conformity and a declaration of conformity, which allows establishing its production and using it for mine clearance of territories. This was stated in the message of the Ministry of Economy on Wednesday, August 2. A Kharkiv company ...
- Ukraine is 3D printing bombs to keep up with its battlefield demands
August 2, 2023
Ukraine is 3D-printing bombs as it looks for alternative ways to supply enough weaponry for its fight back against Russia’s military, according to a new report. The Economist reported that Ukraine has turned to “candy bombs” amid weapons and ammunition shortages, with the publication speaking to several different amateur groups involved in the task. One group ...
- Sweden: One person injured in explosion in Ronna
August 1, 2023
In Ronna in Södertälje, an explosion occurred in an apartment building at quarter to two on the night of Tuesday. According to police, an apartment door has been destroyed and one person injured. The National Bomb Squad has also been called to the scene of the crime and the police are investigating the incident as general ...
- Türkiye discovers unexploded artillery shells in Black Sea
July 31, 2023
Türkiye’s Naval Forces Command detected at least 28 unexploded artillery shells in the Black Sea, local authorities in Istanbul said Monday. Investigations conducted by the underwater defense forces revealed that the objects were unexploded artillery shells, the governor’s office said in a statement. Read more… Source: Daily Sabah
- Sweden: A powerful explosion in Linköping
July 31, 2023
During the night, some type of explosive device detonated in the center of Skäggetorp. The Center Party’s leader and Linköping resident, Muharrem Demirok, lives a good distance from the explosion site, but was awakened by it last night. “It must have been a powerful detonation,” he says. After seeing on the news that there was an ...
- Ukraine’s sea drones, part of Ukraine’s fightback in the Black Sea
July 30, 2023
At a secret makeshift military base a nondescript van and pickup truck tow two gray objects covered by tarpaulin mounted on trailers. In the driving rain, they resemble something more akin to a Boston Whaler, rather than hiding one of Ukraine’s most closely guarded secrets. Perched on the banks of a secret lake, CNN was given ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 176
July 29, 2023
Yesterday, the IAEA team visited reactor unit 5 where they observed the reactor vessel, spent fuel pool and the steam generator. The team noted that all equipment seemed to be in normal condition. There were no restrictions during the visit and the team did not observe any mines or explosives. However, during a walkdown within the ...
- UK: Evacuation after man takes WW2 explosive home
July 28, 2023
Several residential streets were evacuated after a man told the police about a suspected World War Two bomb he had brought home to his garden. Rob Parkin, from Rachub, Gwynedd, discovered what he thought was a mortar at a quarry 20 years earlier “and stupidly brought it home”. “It crossed my mind occasionally that maybe there ...
- Ireland: Widespread condemnation of arson attack on former Cork school
July 28, 2023
The Tánaiste has led condemnation of a petrol bomb attack on a former school building which is being retrofitted to house Ukrainian families. Micheál Martin said those responsible for the incident should face the full rigours of the law. He was speaking in Cork on Friday as a Garda investigation got under way into the attempted ...
- UK: ‘Big bang’ as armed robbers ‘try to blow up’ Northwood Co-op cash machine
July 28, 2023
Neighbours have reported hearing a ‘big bang’ after armed robbers ‘tried to blow up’ a cash machine. Staffordshire Police are now hunting two masked raiders who targeted Northwood Co-op, on Keelings Road, late last night. It comes as the bomb squad has this afternoon been scrambled to the store which still remains taped off. Police forensics ...
- UK: Controlled explosion of WW2 bomb found on seabed
July 27, 2023
A controlled explosion has been carried out by Royal Navy divers off the north coast of Guernsey. Police said what was thought to be “an airdropped weapon” from World War Two was detonated at 10:15 BST. It said the device was discovered by a local diver. The navy identified it as a German-made SC500 bomb. The ...
- Greece: Wildfire in the Volos area triggers explosions at an ammunition depot and the relocation of fighter jets
July 27, 2023
A wildfire whipped on by strong winds triggered a series of massive explosions Thursday at an air force ammunition depot in central Greece, while firefighters worked to tame multiple blazes in the country. There were no injuries at the depot, which had been evacuated before the explosions, and by late Thursday the fire was no longer ...
- Russia: Traces of explosives found in hold of another vessel in Kerch Strait
July 27, 2023
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has found traces of explosives in the hold of a dry cargo vessel sailing via a Ukrainian port and the Kerch Strait to Rostov-on-Don to pick up a load of grain, the FSB told TASS on Thursday. “On July 26, traces of explosives – dinitrotoluene and trotyl – were found ...
- Northern Ireland: Petrol bomb attack on house in Co Down condemned by unionist MLA Alex Easton
July 26, 2023
A petrol bomb attack on a house in Co Down has been condemned as “utter madness” by a unionist MLA whose parents died in a fire. The property targeted in Holywood was not damaged after the bomb struck a lamp post. It happened around 12.30am on Wednesday morning in the East Link area of the town. ...