UNIS/SGSM/1395
28 March 2024
Landmines and explosive ordnance and remnants of war directly threaten millions of people caught up in armed conflicts around the world — from Afghanistan to Myanmar to Sudan to Ukraine to Colombia to Gaza.
Even after the fighting ends, these deadly devices can contaminate communities for decades to come, posing a daily and deadly danger to women, men and children alike, and blocking vital humanitarian and development assistance.
The brave mine action personnel of the United Nations work with partners to remove these deadly weapons, ensure that people can travel safely in their communities, and provide education and threat assessments to keep people and humanitarian workers safe.
This year’s theme — Protecting Lives, Building Peace — reminds us of the need to safeguard those at particular risk, including people living with disabilities.
I also call on Member States to support the United Nations Mine Action Strategy, and ratify and fully implement the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.
Country by country, community by community, let’s rid the world of these weapons, once and for all.
The new Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations (Vienna), Olga Marta Sauma Uribe, presented her credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
The new Permanent Representative of Madagascar to the United Nations (Vienna), Djacoba Andry Solofonirina Oliva Tehindrazanarivelo, presented his credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
The new Permanent Representative of Mozambique to the United Nations (Vienna), Geraldo Gonçalves Miguel Saranga, presented his credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
Child trafficking, trafficking for forced labour and forced criminality are rising as poverty, conflict and climate leave more people vulnerable to exploitation, according to the 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons published today by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).