April, 2007: UNMAS deminers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. UN Photo/Martine Perret
Why mine action matters
More than 25 years have passed since the was established and the was created. Since then, millions of landmines have been successfully removed, but significant challenges remain.
Latest data reveals a sobering reality: the global threat is intensifying due to new conflicts and the use of improvised explosive devices.
According to the , at least 57 countries and other areas are contaminated by landmines today. In 2024 alone, nearly 6,300 people were killed or injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war—the highest annual total since 2020.
"These weapons do not disappear when the fighting is over," says UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his 2026 message for the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
“They kill thousands each year and injure a great many more – often long after conflict ends. As conflicts multiply and military spending skyrockets, these dangers are deepening,” he adds.
Unfortunately, civilians made up 90 per cent of global casualties in 2024, almost half of them children. Myanmar again recorded the highest number of casualties worldwide for the second consecutive year.
This ongoing threat underscores the urgent need to examine why landmines, known for their indiscriminate and lasting harm, have no place in our world.
The deadly legacy of landmines
Minga had never owned a toy. In her village, in Angola, children often made do with sticks or broken wheels – but this was something different. It was green, metal and shaped like a small tin. She wanted to show her brothers and sisters, so she picked it up to take home.
Documentary photographer and landmine survivor, Giles Duley, who became the first UN Global Advocate for persons with disabilities in conflict and peacebuilding situations, has many such heartbreaking stories to tell, mostly about children maimed by landmines on their way to school, home or when playing.
Six-year-old Minga lost her sight and her left arm in 2009, seven years after the end of the war in Angola. She was one of the many children who was born into peace but harmed by a war that she never knew.
Countries like Angola, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam, have suffered decades of landmine contamination.
According to the (ICBL), a civil society network that was instrumental in the adoption of the Mine Ban Treaty, landmines can lie dormant for years or even decades until they are triggered.
Landmines, which can be produced for , do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Their use violates international human rights and humanitarian laws, says the , seriously disenfranchising communities and severing their fundamental rights to life, liberty and security.
There are different types of landmines grouped into two broad categories - anti-personnel (AP) and anti-tank landmines. AP mines come in different shapes, and can be found buried or above ground. A common type, known as the - comes in bright colours, making it attractive to curious children.
Landmines not only cost lives and limbs, they deny people's access to land that could be used for farming, or building hospitals and schools. When large swathes of land are left contaminated, access to essential services such as food, water, health care and humanitarian aid to communities in need becomes nearly impossible.
The promise of a mine-free world
"Mine action plays a critical role in places where peace is fragile, the humanitarian response urgent, and development precarious," says Guterres. "It allows the UN and its partners to work in greater safety and enables ravaged communities to recover and rebuild."
UNMAS and its partners have made progress on various aspects of achieving a mine-free world, from clearance, risk education, victim assistance, advocacy to stockpile destruction.
Since the late 1990s, have been destroyed, over 30 countries have become mine-free, and mechanisms, including the , have been established to support victims and communities in need.
Today, over 160 countries are parties to the Mine Ban Treaty which is considered one of the most ratified disarmament conventions to date. However, unprecedented challenges to the long-standing international ban on landmines have also emerged.
In recent months, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have withdrawn from the treaty due to insecurity in the region, marking the largest number of exits from a humanitarian disarmament treaty, according to ICBL.
“I call on all Member States to join and adhere to the relevant instruments – including the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention – and urge those that have withdrawn to rejoin. Failing to preserve these vital instruments will only weaken civilian protections and add to the 100 million innocent lives already in peril,” urges Guterres.
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