BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 3. Azerbaijan has issued an appeal to the international community over the ongoing threat posed by landmines, Trend reports.
The Azerbaijan National NGO Forum and the Public Council under the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) released a joint statement on the occasion of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
“We, the members of the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum and the Public Council under ANAMA, appeal to the international community on the occasion of April 4, the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
The mine threat remains one of the most acute challenges on the global humanitarian agenda. Today, more than 10 million landmines are believed to be buried across over 60 countries worldwide. This number continues to rise amid ongoing wars and armed conflicts, further expanding the geographic scope of the threat.
Azerbaijan is among the countries most severely affected and ranks among the most heavily mine-contaminated nations globally. In the territories liberated from occupation, vast areas, estimated at around 12,000 square kilometers, remain polluted with landmines and unexploded ordnance. These areas are believed to contain around 1 million mines and explosive remnants of war. Since 1991, nearly 3,400 people have fallen victim to mines planted by Armenia.
The Azerbaijani government continues to carry out intensive demining operations in the liberated territories. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of demining personnel, more than 248,000 hectares of land have been cleared to date. However, the scale of contamination remains significant, further complicated by the inaccuracy and limited reliability of mine maps provided by Armenia.
Since the end of the 2020 Patriotic War, 421 Azerbaijani citizens have been affected by mine explosions, including 72 fatalities and 349 serious injuries. These figures underscore that landmines continue to pose a grave and persistent threat to human life even in the post-conflict period. Contaminated areas not only endanger daily life but also hinder agricultural development and delay the safe return of internally displaced persons to their homes.
Mine clearance is a key prerequisite for achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals. Azerbaijan has recognized this importance by designating mine clearance as a national-level Sustainable Development Goal. The country is also actively working to foster international partnerships in combating mines and unexploded ordnance. In this context, the UN has proposed humanitarian mine action as Sustainable Development Goal 18, highlighting the need to focus on countries most affected by landmines.
It is essential to keep the mine threat at the forefront of the international agenda.
We urge the international community to adopt a consistent and principled stance on mine risks. We call on all partners to support Azerbaijan’s initiatives in this field and to increase technical and financial assistance to countries facing similar challenges. The rehabilitation of mine victims, the restoration of disrupted lives, and the protection of future generations are shared moral responsibilities that demand urgent action," reads the statement.
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