International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is observed every year on April 4 to raise awareness against explosive mines and gather assistance towards their eradication. The mine action community plays a significant role towards achieving the mine action goals and it is led by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS).
2023 Theme
The United Nations Mine Action Service has chosen the theme “Mine Action Cannot Wait”, for this year’s campaign to highlight decades of problems faced in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam due to these explosives.
History
In 1997, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention was established for signature which first led the campaign against mines and 164 countries have ratified it since then.
Later, on December 8, 2005, the UN General Assembly declared April 4 as the International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance for Mine Action every year globally.
Since then the UNMAS has been working towards catering to the needs of the affected people and eliminating the threats of explosive hazards to civilians, humanitarians, and peacekeepers.
The UNMAS gets assistance from other organisations and states across the globe to help people affected by land mines.\
Significance
The celebration of International Day of Mine Awareness and Action aims to provide a world free of landmines and explosive remnants of war. This is to help individuals and communities survive in a safe environment where the needs of the victims are taken care of.
The significance of the day is the establishment of an accountability framework for the United Nations and the introduction of the 'Theory of Change' of the UN in the mine action program.
On this day, 12 UN Departments and Offices of the Secretariat, specialised agencies, funds, and programs come together to play a significant role in 30 countries and 3 territories to work on mine action programs.
The day also helps the peacekeepers to carry out patrols, assist humanitarian agencies, spread awareness among the ordinary citizens against mines and educate the ones living in dangerous environments on how to survive fearlessly and not worry about risking their life for one small mistake.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
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