As of today, 58 States and two territories remain contaminated with anti-personnel mines, and the need for focused and unwavering commitment to get all of them over the finish line by completing clearance is as important as ever.
In 2023, global mine clearance of 237 square kilometres was the highest ever recorded, with 192,563 AP mines destroyed during land release and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) spot tasks. While these are impressive numbers, it is important to note that only a handful of countries account for the majority of the clearance and that in more than a quarter of those with a landmine problem, no clearance is reported to have taken place in 2023.
Read more…
Source: Reliefweb
Sign up for Counter-IED Report Newsletter
Related:
- Cambodia: CMAC director general discusses demining cooperation with delegates from African countries
January 22, 2024
Heng Ratana, director general of the Cambodian Mine Action Center, met with delegates from 5 African countries to discuss demining cooperation. The meeting was held at the CMAC headquarters in Phnom Penh on Monday. The delegates consisted of Mike Rashid Fulla Obaldo, Director General of the National Mine Action Authority of South Sudan, Dahir Abdirahman Abdull, Director ...
- Cambodia: China now leading mine clearance supporter
January 18, 2024
China is the foremost foreign financial supporter of the mine action sector in Cambodia, according to the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC). Their contribution places China at the top of the list, followed by Japan, the US and other countries. Heng Ratana, director-general of CMAC, also highlighted the significant role of the Cambodian government, which stands ...
- Angola: Demining works for electrification project at final stage in Bengo province
January 3, 2024
The demining works for the implementation of the electrification project covering Triangle of Dembos and Nambuangongo in Angola’s northern has reached its final stage, the local governor Maria Antónia Nelumba has said. The project is expected to demine 252 kilometers of the route where the energy transmission towers will be launched for the municipalities of Bula ...
- Cambodia: CMAA review mine action success, set 2024 goals
January 1, 2024
The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) held a two-day workshop on December 27-28 to summarise the results of its work in 2023 and outline its working direction for 2024. The conference, held in Kep province, also saw representatives of development partners. CMAA second vice-president Sem Sovanny addressed the opening of the event, saying ...
- Denmark assists Iraq in clearing landmines
December 31, 2023
The Danish government has contributed an additional $3.17 million to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq. The new contribution will help the Iraqi government protect civilians from the threat of explosive ordnance and support humanitarian, socioeconomic, and reconstruction efforts, according to a statement released by the UNMAS. The Danish government has given the ...
- Japan to provide more than $1 million to clear landmines and unexploded ordnance in Cambodia
December 19, 2023
The Royal Government of Japan, through the Embassy in Cambodia, has agreed to provide more than $1.3 million to Cambodia for the clearance of cluster munitions, landmines, and unexploded ordnance. The grant agreement under the Grant Scheme for this Japanese NGO project was signed on December 19, 2023, by Ueno Atsushi, Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia, ...
- UNDP and the Netherlands forge $10 million partnership for mine action in Ukraine
December 16, 2023
In a landmark development for Ukraine’s recovery and safety, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands announce a new partnership, marked by acontribution of $10 million towards mine action in Ukraine. The initiative will focus on accelerating the clearance of landmines using state-of-the-art technology and bolstering Ukraine’s capacity to manage mine ...
- GICHD Explosive Ordnance Risk Education in Residual Contamination Management
December 12, 2023
EORE is one of the five pillars of mine action. Over the years, a wide range of approaches to EORE have been used in mine action programmes worldwide. Much less attention, however, has been given to how to approach EORE when dealing with residual contamination. Many questions arise, including whether there is a requirement to inform ...
- Cambodia: Siem Reap, Puok district declared landmine-free
December 6, 2023
Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and First Vice President of the Mine Authority, on behalf of Dr. Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia and Chairman of the Mine Authority, on December 5, 2023, presided over the declaration of Puok District, Siem Reap Province, as a landmine-free district. The Senior Minister said that the Royal Government of Cambodia, ...
- Japan extends further support to demining activities in Sri Lanka
November 28, 2023
Japanese Ambassador in Sri Lanka – Mr. Mizukoshi Hideaki yesterday (Nov. 27) signed the grant contracts of two demining projects under the scheme of “Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP)”, with Ms. Cristy McLennan, Country Director of the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and Mr. Stephen Hall, Programme Manager of the HALO Trust. The Government ...
- Belgium helps UNMAS continue supporting operations in Iraq
November 27, 2023
The Belgian government once again contributed about $802,000 to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq in support of essential mine action operations. Delivering effective and sustainable explosive hazard management assistance as well as offering technical and advisory support to the national mine response authorities are among the activities that will take place, according ...
- Cambodia: Mondulkiri becomes 14th province to be declared mine-free
November 15, 2023
Cambodia has taken another step closer to reaching the mine-free goal after the northeastern province of Mondulkiri was declared clear of landmines, becoming the 14th province to have gained that status. Mondulkiri is Cambodia’s largest and also the most sparsely populated province, containing an area of 14,288 square kilometres. During the Vietnam War in the late ...
- Zimbabwe: 87pc wartime landmines removed
November 14, 2023
So far 87 percent of all wartime landmines have been removed and the Government hopes to have the last out by 2025, Minister of Defence Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri told her Ministry’s strategic planning workshop being held in Mutare this week. “We are going ahead with the removal of landmines countrywide and aiming at making Zimbabwe landmine-free by ...
- US senators submit bill on funding landmine clearance in Indochina
November 9, 2023
Members of the US Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Tammy Baldwin of the Democratic Party from Wisconsin state, and Senator Jerry Moran of the Republican Party from Kansas state, have submitted a bipartisan bill that allocates funding for clearing landmines and other unexploded ordnances left over from the war in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. In the foreseeable ...
- Cambodia, Laos forge closer mine action ties
November 5, 2023
In a bilateral meeting between the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) and Laos’ National Regulatory Authority for UXO and Mine Action (NRA), the Lao delegation expressed keen interest in studying the structure and functioning of the Kingdom’s successful mine action sector. This announcement followed a recent meeting between CMAC director-general Heng Ratana and NRA chief Chomyaeng ...
- Laos to carry out project to assist people affected by Agent Orange
November 1, 2023
The National Regulatory Authority for the UXO/Mine Action Sector (NRA) in Laos agreed to partner with the War Legacies Project, which will see Phase II of a survey on the use of Agent Orange and support for people with birth defects associated with exposure to the chemical dioxin. According to a report issued by the NRA ...
- Cambodia: Kingdom’s noble ambition to be landmine free on the right path
October 30, 2023
The central province, famous for its palm sugar and wine, became the 13th province in the country to be cleared of landmines. Phnom Penh and 11 other provinces have been declared mine-free. These include Stung Treng, Kep, Prey Veng, Preah Sihanouk, Tboung Khmum, Kampong Cham, Svay Rieng, Kampong Chhnang, Kandal, Takeo and Kampot. Speaking yesterday at ...
- Cambodia wants more Ottawa Convention signatories
October 26, 2023
Cambodia wants more countries to sign the Ottawa Convention so that the world can get rid of landmines and other UXOs faster to end the suffering of people residing in contaminated areas. The 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and Their Destruction is an international agreement ...
- The Government of Sweden extends its support to explosive hazards management activities in Iraq
October 2, 2023
The Government of Sweden contributed an additional 10 million Swedish Krona (SEK) (USD 898,133.84) to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in support of the humanitarian mine action sector endeavors to reduce the risks of explosive ordnance contamination and protect the lives of vulnerable communities in Iraq. Since UNMAS programme inception in 2015, the Government ...
- Thai Cabinet approves $30,000 in aid for ARMAC
September 28, 2023
Thailand’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved $30,000 in operational costs for the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Centre (ARMAC) in Phnom Penh for the period 2024 to 2026. The three-year aid announcement was made ahead of Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s first visit to Cambodia. ARMAC, established in 2016, has received several donations from ASEAN member countries over ...
- Ukraine: Almost 40 countries, partner organizations agree on allocation of around $250 mln for humanitarian demining
September 27, 2023
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has announced that almost 40 countries and partner organizations agreed on the allocation of around $250 million, in particular, for special equipment needed for humanitarian demining. “Today, an area of around 174,000 square kilometers remains potentially mined in Ukraine. This is a huge territory demining of which could take a ...
- Cambodia: CMAC starts clearing mines and explosive remnants on more than 500 hectares of forest land in Siem Reap
September 19, 2023
532 hectares of Phnom Preah Chbar community forest and people’s land in Srey Snom district, Siem Reap province, have been cleared by CMAC of mines and other explosive remnants of war. Srey Snom District Governor Hun Rithy said at the handover ceremony of the Chinese Peace Land Foundation to the CMAC on September 18, 2023, that ...