#deminers

“According to the CMAA [Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority], over the past 30 years, a total of 2,531 sq km – equal to 1,703 villages – have been cleared and turned into safe land for an estimated nine million people to use for the construction of houses, schools, hospitals, bridges, roads and farming.

During their missions, demining operators found and destroyed millions of landmines and ERW, including 1,151,232 anti-personnel mines and 26,112 anti-tank mines along with 3,028,659 other pieces of unexploded ordnance (UXO)...

"Due to the large area of landmines and ERW and limited resources, Cambodia has planned and prioritised clearance for the most affected and in-demand areas. For the clearance operations, the operators have used all of the possible methods, equipment and technologies to clear areas in accordance with the situation of the actual mine field," Thuch said.

For the occasion of the 30th anniversary, Daniel Craig – an actor who gained international fame playing secret agent James Bond and who serves as the UN's global advocate for the elimination of landmines and unexploded ordnance – issued a statement noting that more than one million Cambodians still live in areas where they are at risk due to landmines.

"The livelihoods of people in rural areas are restricted by the unsafe land they must use. Many families still mourn their own victims of landmines," he said in a video.

Craig added that in his time with the UN, he has seen changes come about in Cambodia with millions of people benefiting from the work of the CMAA, UN and their partners.

The opening ceremony of the 30th anniversary of mine action in Cambodia was attended by 300 representatives of ministries, institutions, embassies, development partners, national and international demining operators and students.

The exhibition features 52 booths showcasing the achievements of demining operators and other relevant institutions to the public who are invited to attend the event for free.

[News] In this photo provided by the North Korean government, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, third left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second right, at the headquarters of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North…

Perseverance is a key component of UNDP’s national Mine Action Project and its partners to mitigate the long-term, disproportionate, impact of mines in Yemen. Together, we continue to build national capacity for removing threats posed by mines and unexploded remnants of war. UNDP works with YEMAC all of Yemen, whose overarching objective is to achieve national reach while continuing to develop and expand its capacity, despite the conflict.

Twenty years [after Angola’s civil war], BG262 is one of more than 1,100 active minefields across the country that continue to claim lives, limit agriculture and stifle development. As of the last census in 2014, there were some 88,000 people in Angola living with injuries caused by mines and other explosive remnants of war, though the real figure is thought to be higher...

When Cecilia Manuel, a 30-year-old mother of three, signed up with HALO in 2018, some of her friends and family members thought she was mad." Women were expected to do farm work or sell at the market or do housework," she says. "They thought this work was too dangerous for women.” Four years on, many of those who once scoffed at her decision now want to become deminers themselves, Manuel says.

While she's away at work, her children stay with their grandmother. She misses them a lot, and finds herself counting down the days until her monthly visits home, but in rural Angola where  steady jobs are scarce, it's a sacrifice she was willing to make. In the meantime, Manuel says she has found a new community among her fellow deminers, many of whom are in a similar position. That sense of solidarity helps her cope with the isolation of camp life and the challenging nature of the work. It is a sentiment echoed by many of the women...

One mine at a time, the team is chipping away at a total number that once seemed insurmountable. There are still thought to be hundreds of thousands of mines across the country to be cleared, yet every month new swathes of land are being made safe.

In the south of the country, a $60 million injection of demining funds from the Angolan government has raised hopes that Cuando Cubango province, the scene of some of the heaviest fighting during the civil war, could be made mine-free in the next few years. Huambo province, once one of the most densely mined parts of the country, was finally cleared of its last minefields in 2021. Now HALO hopes that, by the end of 2023, Benguela province, where minefield BG262 is located, may follow suit.

We wake with heavy hearts this morning to the news from Afghanistan.