Cambodia: 15,000 landmines and UXOs destroyed in first four months

Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) destroyed 15,348 landmines and UXOs in the first four months of this year. The update was shared this afternoon by Heng Ratana, Director General of CMAC, highlighting that the move has freed over 35,652,000 square Read More …

International NGO to demine 7 million sqm conservation area in Zimbabwe

APOPO, an NGO operating in countries where there are landmines left over from previous conflicts, is working on a grand-scale project that will help local communities and wildlife in Zimbabwe, clearing more than seven million square metres of land. The Read More …

Colombia: Demining in Colombia must remain a priority

Following the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action last month, ABColombia reflects on the ongoing presence of antipersonnel mines in Colombia. While mines may have been planted with the aim of reaching other armed groups or Read More …

Norway continues support for unexploded bombs clearance in Lao PDR

The HALO Trust and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) signed recently a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Laotian Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare represented by the National Regulatory Authority for the UXO/Mine Action Sector (NRA) in Lao. The signing Read More …

Japan’s Contribution to Humanitarian Mine Action in Syria

With the support from the Government of Japan (USD 825,000), the United Nations Mine Action Service Syria Response Programme (UNMAS SRP) launched the new project “Humanitarian Mine Action to address increased threat associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in Syria (31 Read More …

Azerbaijan’s Mine Action Agency eyes to purchase new mine clearance equipmentnew mine clearance equipment

The Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan plans to purchase new equipment for mechanical demining, an employee of the agency Musa Mammadov told Trend. According to Mammadov, the agency currently has six mechanical demining machines at its disposal. Read More …

Representatives of 12 countries discuss mine action in Ukraine

An international online conference on mine action in Ukraine was held at the Ivan Chernyakhovsky National Defence University of Ukraine with the assistance of the Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP). “The participants discussed the mine action system in Ukraine, the Read More …

UNMAS Iraq Programme Report 2020

Message from the Senior Programme Manager, Mr. Pehr Lodhammar What a tumultuous yet transformative and rewarding year it has been! When I look back at 2020, the challenges brought forth with the emergence and swift transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic Read More …

Towards Zero Contamination in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Every year on 4th April, the world celebrates the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UNMAS, in collaboration with the Congolese Mine Action Coordination Center (CCLAM), celebrated the Read More …

Iraq: ‘Gentle steps forward’ in restoring Mosul’s Commonwealth war cemetery

There have been “gentle steps forward” in the effort to repair the war cemetery in Mosul, following years of ISIS occupation. Iraq’s second-largest city spent three years under Islamic State’s brutal rule and many of its buildings were destroyed, including Read More …

Venezuela requests support from UN to deactivate anti-personnel mines

In a letter to the United Nations, Venezuela requested technical and technological assistance to deactivate anti-personnel mines, a diplomatic source noted. Venezuelan Ambassador Samuel Moncada met on Tuesday with representatives of the UN Service for Mine-Related Activities, and ratified the Read More …

Laos govt says unexploded bomb-mine (UXO) clearance authority needs more funding

The government has called for more support for UXO clearance operations, with 132,000 hectares of land having been surveyed and confirmed to be contaminated with unexploded ordnance. Director General of the National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action Sector under the Read More …

Zimbabwe without landmines: a crucial step towards development

Lying dormant until triggered by a victim and intended to incapacitate, landmines maim civilians and render vast tracks of land unusable. Mines and unexploded ordnance leave a terrible legacy of war, long after the guns have fallen silent. Hidden from Read More …

‘Complete the work’, rid the world of deadly landmines, UN chief urges

The United Nations Secretary-General has called on the international community to recommit to the target of a mine-free world, urging efforts to “make this the last decade when we need to devote ourselves to this task”. In a message commemorating Read More …

UNMAS Annual Report 2020 is out

Message From The Secretary-General The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is an efficient and effective undertaking that coordinates the United Nations response to explosive ordnance, and deploys teams to survey, clear and dispose of these deadly devices. In any Read More …

Afghanistan’s First Female Deminers Report!

For the first time in the thirty years of mine action in Afghanistan, as part of an initiative of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), in June 2018 a mixed-gender demining team was deployed by the Danish Demining Group Read More …

First woman in the Central African Republic to destroy explosive ordnance

In 2019, UNMAS recruited Asnath Konaté as Weapons and Ammunitions Management (WAM) Assistant in the Central African Republic. Before joining UNMAS, Asnath didn’t have any experience in WAM. However, after completing a series of rigorous training courses, including three levels Read More …

Memorandum signed to boost UXO risk education in Vietnam

The Vietnam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC) and the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Vietnam on March 23 inked a memorandum of understanding on enhancing explosive ordnance risk education. At the signing ceremony in Hanoi, Major General Tran Trung Hoa, Commander Read More …

ANAMA and UNDP join forces to support mine action in Azerbaijan

With USD 1 million from UNDP crisis response and UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund, UNDP will provide support to ANAMA to train, equip and deploy emergency response teams to clear mines and unexploded ordnances which pose grave risks to local Read More …