An estimated 100 million landmines are buried in the ground in more than 60 countries around the world. Landmines can be active for decades causing thousands of deaths and severe injuries and suffering. Between 80 to 90 percent of the victims are civilians, among them many children. In addition, landmines hinder economic development and repatriation of refugees and displaced persons.

Demining is an extremely time consuming and costly process. One landmine costs about 3 dollars to purchase and 300 to 1000 dollars to deactivate. The UN is increasingly called upon to operate mine clearance programmes in areas that are completely infested with landmines and unexploded ordnance.

The Ottawa Convention - banning landmines

In the work of United Nations to put an end to the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel landmines (AP-mines) the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, known informally as the Ottawa Treaty, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or often simply the Mine Ban Treaty (MTB) was adopted, in Ottawa, in 1997. It is also known as the Ottawa Convention and it entered into force in 1999. The four core aims of the convention are:

1. Ensuring universal adherence
2. Destroying stockpiled mines
3. Clearing mined areas
4. Assisting the victims

The primary purpose of the convention is to ban the use, development, production, acquisition, transfer and stockpiling of antipersonnel landmines. Existing stocks of such mines shall be destroyed. It also aims to ensure the clearing of minefields, to offer assistance to victims and to contribute to the destruction of stored mines.

UN mine actions

Several of the UN departments, agencies, programmes and funds are engaged in the action against the use of landmines.

UNMAS

The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) was established in 1997 as a focal point for mine action within the United Nations. UNMAS collaborates with several other UN departments, agencies, programmes and funds to ensure an effective, proactive and coordinated response to the problems of landmines and explosive remnants of war, including cluster munitions.

UNICEF

Children are particularly vulnerable to landmines. Innocent and naturally curious, they are a perfect target for a mine. UNICEF supports mine clearance and community-based mine risk education through local authorities and NGOs and is an active advocate for the promotion of a total ban on anti-personnel landmines.

OCHA

The Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) provides information, monitors the use of landmines and coordinates resource mobilization.

WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) is responsible for standards and the promotion of technical capacities and institutional capacity building for victim assistance.

UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) takes part in the continuing work of mine clearance and mine risk education by assisting mine-affected countries in establishing national and local mine action programmes.

E-Mine. The UN Mine Action Gateway. Information on UN bodies involved in mine action, see

International Day of Mine Awareness

April 4 each year is observed as the International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, (A/RES/60/97).

More on UN and mine action

• Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (Ottawa convention), United Nations Treaty Collection.
• Information on landmines and mine action:
  • Anti-personnel landmines convention (APLC)
  • The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (including signatures and ratifications) entered into force in 1999. The Parties have agreed to never to use antipersonnel mines, destroy mines in their stockpiles, clear mines in their territory, offer assistance to mine clearance programmes and adopt implementation measures to make sure that the terms of the treaty are upheld.
  • Article 7 reports to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. The State Parties to the Convention are obliged to report about their national implemention measures. These reports are published as "Article 7 reports".
  • Other documentation from the Convention including Annual reports from the meetings of State Parties can be retrieved from Meetings of States Parties to the Mine Ban Convention.
• IMAS - International Mine Action Standards. International standards that have been designed for all UN mine action operations.

Websites and research guides

• UNMAS. Mine affected countries and UN supported mine actions programs linking to country reports.
• E-mine: UN Mine action collates landmine action related information with the aim to raise public awareness of the impact mines, explosive remnants of war, and improvised explosive devices have on individuals and communities.