As the world marked an international day of my consciousness, the charity issued a new call for more global action as it declared its backslide.
As many Baltic countries have stated they are preparing to withdraw from international treaties against anti-personnel landmines, the international campaign to ban landmines has warned that efforts are being curtailed.
In March, defense ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland declared their intention to leave the 1997 anti-People Mining Treaty in the face of a “Russian threat.”
Mines, the explosive remains of war, and improvised explosive devices continue to cause death and injuries, especially in situations of armed conflict.
On average, one person dies or gets injured every hour by such explosive devices, and the UN says children and young people are often victims.
“I was 23 when I stepped into the mine, and like the younger ones, I had big dreams and great ambitions,” says Hasanari Aliyev, a victim of the Azerbaijan mine explosion.
“To put it this way, amputating some of the feet of a young person is not a minor event or a comfortable event. It is a very difficult process,” he added.
Experts estimate that as many as 10 million landmines can be spread across around 64 countries around the world, with 20 to 5 million new landmines being laid every year.
Landmines are still being killed in Europe
Africa is the most severe continent by landmines, but Europe is also heavily affected, with landmines still presenting problems from conflicts in countries such as Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In Azerbaijan, after decades of conflict, the government is actively implementing programmes to counter mines, raise awareness and protect the population.
“The rapid clearance of these mines and the reconstruction and recovery of these regions is a time-consuming issue,” says Adil Asranov, head of the methodology and training department at the Mines Action Bureau in Azerbaijan.
“Therefore, the scale of Anama’s demining operations has increased dramatically. And within the framework of the demining operation, we first carried out target mine clearance operations to develop communication lines, roads, water sources and all other infrastructure.”
Ukraine is also particularly negatively affected, with about a third of its territory estimated to be mined, making it one of the most mined and polluted regions in the world.
The hidden explosives continue to kill civilians in Eastern European countries, including children, making it nearly impossible to rebuild homes, schools, hospitals and farmlands.
According to the United Nations Agency for Mining Action (UNMAS), Ukraine is estimated to be scattered with the remains of hundreds of thousands of explosive wars, part of the devastating consequences of more than three years of full-scale war.
The estimated costs for removing landmines and the range of non-explosive weapons ranges from 30 million to 35 million euros.
As part of an effort to tackle this, United24, Ukrainian official fundraising platform, recently launched a fundraiser of 1.2 million euros to clean mines from major private regions in three regions.
Officials say they are committed to doing what is necessary to clear landmines, but also lamented the lack of trained experts.
However, with the peace conference between Kiev and Moscow on track, removing an estimated 2 million landmines and hundreds of thousands of unexploded rockets, missiles, mortars and hand-rena bullets is important to ensure Ukraine’s future security.
And for victims of my explosion like Aliyev, we must continue to raise awareness about the dangers of landmines, especially for those living in areas affected by the war.
“This will be an important step in protecting your life and ensuring safety,” he said.
