The HALO Trust, the international landmine clearance organisation, has called for global recommitment to the Landmine Ban Treaty following a 10 per cent drop in the number of anti-personnel mines cleared in 2023.
The steep fall in landmines cleared is reported in Mine Action Review’s “Clearing the Mines” report, which will be published today by a group of charities, ahead of a key global summit in Cambodia this month. The report’s findings reflect the need for greater political commitment and funding to clearing explosives at a time when there are 59 conflicts raging across the globe.
The report finds that 192,563 anti-personnel landmines were destroyed in the course of 2023. This is 21,193 fewer than 2022.
Meanwhile, the think tank, Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, reports that global funding to clear landmines fell by 18 per cent in the decade to 2022 - a drop of $1.18 billion.
James Cowan, CEO of The HALO Trust said:
“This report is a wake-up call for the world at a time of escalating conflict. There can be no recovery from war or sanctuary for the displaced until explosive weapons are cleared and destroyed. Until this work is done, thousands of civilians continue to live in fear."
“HALO is working in all the countries with massive contamination, including Ukraine. But we also work in other countries whose contamination is barely known, let alone addressed. In Yemen, there are currently 4.5 million people internally displaced and 18.2 million people requiring urgent support. Despite its heavy mine contamination status, HALO has funding to employ only 72 staff there.”
The global funding gap does not take account of the enormous amount of contamination likely to be found in Gaza, as booby traps and victim operated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are also classed as landmines.
Cowan continued:
“Meanwhile the level of contamination in Syria is not known. After 15 years of war, it would likely fit into the category of heavy or massive. During recent weeks, over 400,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon have crossed back into Syria. HALO is working in Northwest Syria, where there are already 5 million people squeezed into a region smaller than Northern Ireland and littered with explosives. And yet we only have enough funding for forty deminers to work there.”
There are 60 countries and territories known to be contaminated by landmines in the world today. The HALO Trust works in one third of them, including the four countries listed as having ‘massive contamination.’ These are: Afghanistan, where HALO employs 2,235 deminers; Cambodia, where HALO has 1,191 staff; Iraq, where HALO employs 83 staff aand Ukraine, where HALO has 1,376 staff.
Zimbabwe destroyed the largest number of mines in 2023, which was 37,260. Despite this, it has had to extend its deadline for completing all landmine clearance to 2028. HALO destroys 83 per cent of all mines there but faces a severe reduction in funding which may force it to reduce its workforce by over one third in 2025.
James Cowan added:
“Many of HALO’s Zimbabwean deminers were previously employed by the UK government to clear mines from its territory in the Falkland Islands. These same deminers now face redundancy after working tirelessly for many years to clear their homeland of mines. As HALO’s CEO, that is not a decision I want to have to make, particularly when Zimbabwe is within sight of being mine free.”
The report also covers the amount of land contaminated by victim operated improvised explosive devices. Improvised mine contamination in Afghanistan now covers more than 65km2 of land, up from a total of 53km2 at the end of 2022 and have been identified in 26 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. At the end of 2023, the total area affected by improvised mines in Iraq was still estimated to cover 434km2.
For interviews with James Cowan, please contact media@halotrust.org or Louise Vaughan on 07984 203075 or louise.vaughan@halotrust.org
