‘Safe futures start here’: UN calls for global action to eliminate mine threat


More than 100 million people worldwide are at risk from landmines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday, in his message for the International Day for Mine Awareness.

“Even when the guns fall silent, these remnants of war remain, lurking in fields and on pathways and roadways, threatening the lives of innocent civilians and the livelihoods of communities,” he described. From Afghanistan to Myanmar; from Sudan to Ukraine, Syria, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and beyond; these deadly devices litter rural and urban areas, indiscriminately killing civilians and blocking vital humanitarian and development efforts. On average, one person is killed or injured by explosive devices every hour – many of them children.

Read more…
Source: United nations News


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