Note to Correspondents

MOCK MINEFIELD, LAUNCH OF PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBIT AMONG EVENTS

 

TO MARK MINE AWARENESS DAY AT HEADQUARTERS, 4 APRIL

 

In observance of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on Wednesday, 4 April, a photographic exhibition will be officially opened in the North-East Gallery of the General Assembly Visitors Lobby at 1 p.m. by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Entitled “Enduring Fear”, the photo exhibit will feature the works of two photographers, Charlotte Østervang and Bobby Neel Adams, to raise awareness about landmines, explosive remnants of war and the people affected by them.  Also making a statement at the formal opening is Kathleen Cravero, Assistant Administrator and Director of the United Nations Development Programme’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery.

Other events at Headquarters to highlight the day are free and open to the public and United Nations staff.  They include:

-- A mock minefield installed on the North Lawn to be demined by experts from the Humanitarian Demining Training Centre, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.  The deminers will explain how mine detectors work and what is involved in removing or destroying landmines.

-- Mine-risk education workshops hosted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the Visitors Lobby from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

-- A display of landmines, cluster munitions and the anti-personnel mine-ban treaty next to the photo exhibit through the end of April.

“Events on 4 April will help renew public and media interest in mine action,” said United Nations Mine Action Service Director Maxwell Gaylard.  “We must keep the cause high on the global political agenda if we are to maintain the momentum achieved towards a world free from landmines and explosive remnants of war,” he added.

Fourteen United Nations agencies, programmes, departments and funds provide mine action services in dozens of countries.  Mine action includes finding and destroying landmines and explosive remnants of war, assisting victims, teaching people how to remain safe in a mine-affected environment, advocating for universal participation in international treaties like the Ottawa Convention and destroying stockpiled landmines.

The exhibit and events are sponsored by the United Nations Mine Action Service, in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Public Information.

For a list of all events worldwide, visit the United Nations Mine Action Team’s website at www.mineaction.org or contact Richard Kollodge, United Nations Mine Action Service, at tel: 212 963 5677.  For more information on United Nations exhibitions, please contact Jan Arnesen at tel: 212 963 8531 or Liza Wichmann at tel: 212 963 0089.

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For information media • not an official record