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NEWS STORY
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Saving Children from the Tragedy of
Landmines
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On First Global Mine Awareness Day, UNICEF says Mine-Free World
is in Sight
NEW YORK, 4 April 2006 – Ridding the world of landmines and other
explosive remnants of war could be accomplished in years instead of
decades, saving thousands of children from devastating injuries and
death, UNICEF said today on the first International Day for Mine
Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
The agency said explosive remnants of war, including landmines
and unexploded ordnance, pose a huge threat to children and their
communities in more than 80 countries, most of which are no longer
in conflict. At least 20 per cent of the estimated 15,000-20,000
people who are killed or disabled each year by these deadly weapons
of war are children.
But UNICEF said recent progress has renewed hope that the threat
of explosive devices can be eliminated sooner than previously
thought. The number of new victims has been decreasing over the last
decade, due largely to increasing efforts by governments and NGOs to
destroy and clear mines and to educate communities about their
dangers. UNICEF said the continued support of donors and the public
is vital to these initiatives.
“Wars are not truly over until children can play safely and walk
to school without fear of landmines and other explosive remnants of
war,” UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said in New York. “We
cannot afford to reverse the gains that have brought us closer to
making the battle against landmines a success story.”
Landmines are designed to disable, immobilize or kill people
travelling by foot or in motor vehicles. Other explosive remnants of
war include unexploded ordnance – weapons such as grenades and
cluster bombs that did not explode on impact but can still detonate
– and weapons that are discarded in civilian areas by combatants,
known as abandoned ordnance. These munitions outlast the conflicts
during which they were planted and become hazards for innocent
civilians, particularly for unsuspecting children who often make the
fatal mistake of playing with the unfamiliar objects.
Children face the daily threat of explosion in every region of
the world. Landmines are buried in nearly half of all villages in
Cambodia, and in Lao PDR nearly one-quarter of all villages are
contaminated with explosive remnants of war. Other countries that
are among the most contaminated include Colombia, Afghanistan,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Russian Federation (Chechnya), Iraq,
Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Children suffer debilitating physical injuries from mine
explosions, often losing fingers, toes and limbs. Some are left
blind or deaf. An estimated 85 per cent of child victims die before
they can get medical attention. Many disabled victims lose
opportunities to go to school, and often cannot afford
rehabilitative care. The persisting threat of mines takes its toll
on entire societies, perpetuating poverty and underdevelopment.
Progress in the battle against mines
More than three-quarters of the world’s nations have ratified the
Mine Ban Treaty since it came into force in 1999, outlawing the
production, stockpiling and use of antipersonnel landmines.
According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, the number
of countries thought to be producing, stockpiling and using
landmines has dropped significantly over the last decade.
Antivehicle mines, unexploded ordnance and other types of
explosive remnants of war are addressed in a new protocol to the
Convention on Conventional Weapons. Approved three years ago,
Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War is the first international
agreement obligating parties to conflict to clear explosive
munitions that threaten civilians after war has ended. The Protocol
will enter into force once it has been ratified by four more
countries.
According to UNICEF, an increasing number of mine-affected
countries have been involved in mine action over the last decade,
which includes a range of efforts to find and destroy explosive
remnants of war, assist victims, and raise awareness about their
dangers.
UNICEF supports and implements mine action activities in over 30
countries, and believes that mine-risk education is key to
preventing the death and disabling of children. Through programmes
brought to their schools and communities, children are taught how to
live safely in areas contaminated with landmines and other explosive
remnants of war.
“The tragedy of children being wounded or killed in landmine
explosions is preventable,” Veneman said. “We must work together to
help ensure that children do not face these horrors in the future.”
****
For 60 years UNICEF has been the world’s leader for children,
working on the ground in 155 countries and territories to help
children survive and thrive, from early childhood through
adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for
developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition,
good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and
girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation,
and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions
of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
Note to Broadcasters: B-roll on landmines is
available at
www.thenewsmarket.com/unicef.
Note to editors: The International Day for Mine
Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action was declared by the UN
General Assembly to help raise awareness about landmines and efforts
to eradicate them. UNICEF is one of 14 UN entities working together
on mine action services. Activities to commemorate the day are
happening in 29 mine-affected countries. In New York, UNICEF
Goodwill Ambassador Danny Glover will join UN experts and mine
activists for a panel discussion on landmines and UXO.
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