The world marks the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on 4 April, reaffirming the essential role mine action plays in securing peace, enabling recovery, and driving sustainable development.
This year’s global theme, “Invest in Peace, Invest in Mine Action,” highlights a fundamental truth: peace cannot be sustained where landmines, cluster munition remnants and other explosive ordnance continue to endanger civilians and obstruct humanitarian and development efforts. Across the globe, communities still live with the constant fear of explosive hazards.
Read more…
Source: United Nations Development Programme
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Ukraine: 640 hectares of agricultural land cleared of mines in January
February 11, 2025
Mine action operators completed the clearance of almost 640 hectares of agricultural land in January 2025. The cost of mine clearance is UAH 20.6 million (about US$494,000), which is compensated by the state. According to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, also in January, under 16 previously concluded agreements, operators began clearing land of mines and unexploded ...
- Cambodia: Hit by US aid crunch, demining struggles to continue
February 10, 2025
Although the suspension of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has impacted demining activities in Cambodia, mine clearance operations continue with financial support from the government and partners. Senior Minister Ly Thuch hoped the funds from USAID will resume. “Clearance of landmines, cluster munitions, and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) in Cambodia continues ...
- Cambodia does not receive direct aid from USAID for mine clearance – CMAA
February 9, 2025
The Cambodian government, through the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), has clarified that the Kingdom does not receive direct funding from USAID. Instead, it receives funding from the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement of the US State Department, which provides support to demining organisations in Cambodia. A press release from the CMAA, ...
- Vietnam: Mine clearance workers halt operations in war-torn Quang Tri province
February 8, 2025
The Quang Tri Mine Action Center (QTMAC) confirmed on February 8 that approximately 1,000 mine clearance workers from three non-governmental organisations – Mines Advisory Group (MAG), Norwegian People’s Aid/Renew (NPA/RENEW), and PeaceTrees Vietnam (PTVN) – were affected by the US government’s decision. These organizations rely heavily on funding from the US government. In a letter sent ...
- Cambodia: Japan allocates $1.3 mil for mine, UXO clearance
February 6, 2025
The Japanese government has committed $1,302,539 to support mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance efforts in Cambodia under the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects. The grant contract was signed between the Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Atsushi Ueno, and a representative of the recipient organisation during a ceremony at the Japanese Embassy. The funding will support ...
- Slovak Republic and Estonia Provide Additional Contribution to UNMAS in Support of the Iraqi Mine Action Sector
February 6, 2025
The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq welcomes a new contribution from the Government of the Slovak Republic and the Governemt of Estonia, in support of humanitarian mine action endeavors in Iraq. Both countrites, Slovakia and Estonia have been a consistent supporter of UNMAS Iraq activities in support of sustainable and efficient explosive hazard ...
- Cambodia: China provides $4.4 million in grant aid to support mine clearance efforts
February 6, 2025
Heng Ratana, the Royal Government Delegate overseeing the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), announced that the Chinese government had allocated a grant of $4.4 million to facilitate mine clearance efforts across seven provinces in Cambodia. As noted on Heng Ratana’s Facebook page, “On February 5, 2025, the Chinese government made the decision to disburse the third ...
- The Government of Italy Provides Additional Contribution to UNMAS in Support of Mine Action in Iraq
February 5, 2025
The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq welcomes an additional funding from the Government of Italy, which will contribute to support the Government of Iraq (GoI) to protect civilians from the threat of explosive ordnance (EO) and will enable humanitarian, socio-economic, and reconstruction efforts. The Government of Italy has actively participated in the UNMAS ...
- Afghanistan needs $21.9 million for mine clearance
February 3, 2025
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that $21.9 million is needed this year to fund mine clearance and provide explosive hazard risk education in Afghanistan. In a statement on Sunday, OCHA warned that 3.3 million Afghans live within one kilometer of mine-contaminated areas, putting them at daily risk. On ...
- Australia allocated supplementary funding to enhance Cambodia’s mine clearance initiatives
January 31, 2025
The Government of Australia has allocated an additional AUD 2 million to support the Royal Government of Cambodia’s efforts to achieve a mine-free status by 2030 through the Clearing for Results Project, implemented by the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). A new Contribution Agreement was signed ...
- UK Mine-clearing charity given £7m to continue work in Ukraine and Afghanistan
January 22, 2025
A landmine clearance charity will be given £7 million to continue its “life-saving” work in Ukraine and Afghanistan. The UK Government cash for the Hazardous Area Life-support Organisation (Halo) Trust will enable the charity to make land safe for agriculture in Ukraine, and to restore basic services affected by the threat of explosives in Afghanistan. Development ...
- Cambodia extends mine-free goal to 2030
January 19, 2025
Cambodia has extended its mine-free goal to 2030 from the previous 2025 target, due to geographical difficulties for mine search and clearance along the border, a spokesperson for the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) said on Sunday. Lang Kosal said minefields along the Cambodia-Thailand border are located in extremely difficult geographical mountainous terrain ...
- Libyan authorities destroy 2 tons of explosive war remnants
January 17, 2025
The Libyan Ministry of Interior on Thursday announced destroying two tons of explosive remnants of war in the city of Misurata, some 200 km east of the capital Tripoli. ” The Security Inspection and Explosives Dismantling Section of the Central Criminal Investigation Department (of the Interior Ministry) destroyed and disposed of two tons of explosive remnants,” ...
- Cambodia: 2 deminers killed as they attempted to render safe anti-tank mine
January 17, 2025
Two Cambodian deminers were killed Thursday as they attempted to remove an anti-tank mine left over from the country’s nearly three decades of war and disorder, authorities said. The Cambodian Mines Action Center, the agency that oversees demining operations, said the two men had been working to clear mines from a farmer’s rice field in northwestern ...
- Iraq: Duhok clears over 540,000 square meters of explosives in 2024
January 16, 2025
On Thursday, the General Directorate for Mine Affairs in Duhok announced its 2024 statistics regarding efforts to remove explosive materials across the governorate. The Head of the Directorate, Shilan Naheli, told Shafaq News that mine clearance teams successfully cleared seven agricultural plots, covering a total area of 540,301 square meters in 2024. She explained that these ...
