Dear Colleagues, dear Guests
I am particularly proud to take part today in the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
It is an important occasion to remind us of the efforts carried out to rid the world of landmines and explosive remnants of war and to raise awareness on the work that remains to be completed.
Unfortunately, anti-personnel mines continue to pose a grave threat to the full enjoyment of all human rights, including the rights to life and health. The use of improvised explosive devices in fact has expanded, terrorizing civilians, including children, and threatening humanitarian actors and United Nations missions and personnel. The Italian government, as part of its broader commitment to humanitarian efforts, is at the forefront of raising awareness on this issue and eradicating it.
In particular, over the years Italy has been one of the main supporters of UNMAS and last year has also been the chair of the “Mine Action Support Group” (MASG).
We believe that MASG serves as a pivotal platform and in the light of that we carried out several activities under the ‘trademark’ P.E.A.C.E. – acronym for People, Education, Advocacy, Cooperation, and Environment, which represents the five pillars of our demining national strategy.
Back in 2021, the Italian government set up a dedicated national trust fund for Humanitarian Demining, allowing the allocation of resources to mine action projects relating to anti-personnel landmines and explosive remnants of war.
Since then, Italy has invested more than 79 million euros in mine action programs, with a particular focus on clearance activities, risk education, and assistance to victims.
Advocacy efforts are another important area of work for our country, which is committed to promoting the universalization of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention and the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
We collaborate with a wide range of partners, including NGOs, CSOs, and international and multilateral organizations. A recent example is the collaboration with the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) for the development of Italy’s Humanitarian Mine Action Strategy 2023-2025.
However, despite our common and most thoughtful efforts, there is still a long way to go.
Today’s event aims to bring us together in a shared reflection on the political and social actions necessary to address this issue.
In the light of that we are confident that the exchange of idea and experiences will reinforce our common commitment and our collaborative efforts for humanitarian demining.
Thank you all for your kind attention.
