Algeria calls on France to compensate 7,300 victims of colonial-era mines

France must compensate the victims of landmines planted by its forces during the colonial era, head of the Algerian National Human Rights Council (CNHD), Bouzid Lazhari, has said, adding that French authorities laid more than nine million mines along Algeria’s Read More …

UN: Landmines Still Pose a Threat to Two Million Ukrainians

Around 2 million people – roughly the population of Slovenia – are exposed to the threat of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in eastern Ukraine on both sides of the “contact line”. Ukraine ranks fifth in the world Read More …

UNICEF voices concern over death, injury of children by landmine in Libya’s Tripoli

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Friday expressed concern over the death and injury of children by a landmine in south of the Libyan capital Tripoli. “UNICEF is deeply concerned over the death and injury of children due to Read More …

Guard unit that lost EOD troop in Afghanistan faced ‘funding constraints’ and ‘time-consuming request process’

An investigation into the 2018 death of an Army EOD tech in Helmand province, Afghanistan, found that his unit faced equipping and funding issues prior to deployment, but the company command team went to great lengths to resolve those problems before arriving downrange. Read More …

Butterfly landmines mapped by drones and machine learning

IEDs and so-called butterfly landmines could be detected over wide areas using drones and advanced machine learning, according to research from Binghamton University, State University at New York. The team had previously developed a method that allowed for the accurate Read More …

The World’s Landmine Challenge Demands Presidential Action

This Saturday, the United Nations-proclaimed International Day for Mine Awareness, the world will reaffirm its commitment to eliminate the odious threat that mines and unexploded ordnance pose to civilians in 59 countries around the world. The day will find the Read More …

Strong global mine ban norm marred by improvised mines trend and high civilian casualties

Only one state not party to the Mine Ban Treaty—Myanmar—and a small number of non-state armed groups used landmines in 2018 according to Landmine Monitor 2019. The findings point to the resounding success of the treaty since it entered into Read More …

First Afghanistan province declared mine-free – thanks to an all-female team who cleared them

Last year, landmines still killed or injured an average of four Afghans every day. During the past four decades of war, the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan has cleared more than 18 million explosive remnants of war, about 737,000 anti-personnel mines Read More …

Germany supports demining projects in Sri Lanka

On 17 September, German Ambassador Jörn Rohde visited the demining sites of the HALO Trust and Delvon Assistance for Social Harmony (DASH), who is the local implementing partner of Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in Kilinochchi. The aforementioned two non-governmental organisations Read More …

IEDs: tackling terrorists’ weapon of war

Some of the most memorable images of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, show her wearing a protective suit while touring a minefield in Angola in 1997 to raise awareness of the devastating effects of land mines. After meeting 13-year-old Read More …

Prince Harry walks through Angola minefield 22 years after Diana

Prince Harry visited the site in Huambo, which has become a “bustling community” since Diana’s campaign. Wearing body armour, he also visited a partially-cleared minefield nearby and set off a controlled explosion. Diana captured global attention when she walked through Read More …

IEDs and the Mine Ban Convention: a minefield of definitions?

The year 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. It will also see the five-yearly Review Conference of the Convention take place in Oslo in November. This momentum has brought about Read More …

Statement on New Use of Anti-Personnel Mines, Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meeting

Let me start by giving some context on the new use of antipersonnel mines worldwide.  In recent years, since the last Review Conference, the use of antipersonnel mines by government forces has been rare.  In most years, only one or Read More …