Tenth International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on 4 April

Beginning on Monday, 30 March, in New York and around the world, the tenth observance of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action will begin.  The Day was declared by the General Assembly in December 2005 and was first observed in 2006.

In the 10 years that this Day has been marked by the United Nations, there has been real progress.  Today, 162 countries have signed on to the Mine Ban Convention.  At the third Review Conference held in Maputo, Mozambique, in June 2014, there was optimism that anti-personnel landmines would no longer be a threat to innocent lives by 2025.  This optimism was not heard of 10 years ago.

The theme for 2015 is “More than Mines”, which was chosen to highlight the vast array of explosive threats faced by the United Nations and partners through a broad range of activities including clearance of explosive hazards, victim assistance, risk awareness, advocacy and capacity development.

The United Nations applies mine action expertise to an increasingly wide range of explosive hazards, from unexploded missiles, artillery shells, rockets, grenades and mortars to unsafe and unsecure weapons and ammunition, improvised explosive devices and cluster bombs.

The Day will be commemorated in a variety of ways from Afghanistan to Lebanon, to South Sudan and Colombia.  There are ceremonies, running races, speeches, receptions, exhibitions and demining demonstrations planned, including:

At the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), United Nations staff will be getting active and running a “Mine Action Mini-Marathon” in the UNISFA camp to highlight how mine action is assisting UNISFA patrols move safely and is assisting displaced people returning to their homes.

In Somalia, there will be a children’s drawing competition on balloons and other child-friendly materials.  Somali and United Nations television will also broadcast short films to highlight the impact of the United Nations efforts to reduce the explosive hazard threat in the country.

In Geneva, on 1 April, an exhibition of children’s paintings will be launched at the Palais des Nations on the theme of “More than Mines”.  The paintings were created by children living in conflict and post conflict zones and then sent to French and Swiss schools, where local children interpreted the art and created their own paintings to respond to the pictures from the field.

The United Nations is promoting a social media campaign that will be running on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.  Hashtags include:  #morethanmines, #mineaction and #nomoremines.

In New York, there will be three panel discussions, two on Monday, 30 March, “Vision from the Field” and “The IED [Improvised Explosive Device] Threat”, and one on 31 March, “Mine Action:  It’s Your Business”.  All of the events are in Conference Room 8 in the General Assembly building (next to the Vienna café).

On 1 April, following a press conference at 12:30 p.m. in the Press Briefing Room, there will be a demining demonstration with a deminer and their best friend, a mine detection dog.  If you want to see what manual demining entails, take an hour out of your afternoon and come to Conference Room 8 where introductory remarks will be made before moving to an outdoor area for the demonstration.

Also on 1 April, the Secretary-General will open the “More than Mines” installation at 6 p.m. in the Visitors’ Lobby, and preside over the official reception marking the Day at United Nations Headquarters.

The installation in the Visitor’s Lobby consists of photos, the “Sweeper” digital minefield and “living portraits”.  There are photos from the Central African Republic, Gaza, Haiti and Somalia, all depicting how United Nations mine action expertise is applied to many types of explosive hazards in addition to mines.  The “Sweeper” digital minefield was created by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the digital marketing agency Critical Mass.

The minefield provides a multi-sensory experience that combines visual, audio, physical, mobile and interactive installation elements.  To experience the installation, visitors need to download the Sweeper mobile application (available at www.getsweeper.com for iOS and Android mobile devices).  Using iBeacon technology, it provides an audio tour guide and transmitter detector to simulate the experience of walking through a minefield.

The exhibit also features poignant portraits of four mine victims, two from South Sudan, one from Afghanistan and one from Cambodia, by renowned photographer Marco Grob.  When you walk by the portraits while using the Sweeper application, you can hear their stories narrated by Mr. Grob.

“On this International Day, I urge Member States to stay committed to the cause of mine action through financial contributions and political support, which is particularly crucial this year as the General Assembly debates assistance in mine action,” the Secretary-General said in his 2015 message for the Day.  “The proposed resolution will provide an opportunity to recognize that mine action is indeed ‘more than mines’ and to recommit ourselves to working with affected States to reduce the menace of mines and explosive hazards,” he concluded.

For more information in New York, please contact Lee Woodyear, UNMAS, at tel.:  +1 917 367 0200, e-mail:  woodyear@un.org.

For more information on United Nations exhibitions, please contact Renata Morteo at tel.:  +1 212 963 5455, e-mail: morteo@un.org.