"... Mine clearance prevents an indiscriminate weapon from causing harm and havoc long after conflicts have ended, while also creating jobs, transforming danger zones into productive land and setting societies on course for lasting security ..."
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for the International Day for Mine Awareness
and Assistance in Mine Action, 4 April 2011
Photo: Norwegian soldiers from UNIFIL search for mines. UN Photo/John Isaac
On 8 December 2005, the General Assembly declared that 4 April of each year shall be officially proclaimed and observed as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action (A/RES/60/97).
It called for continued efforts by States, with the assistance of the United Nations and relevant organizations, to foster the establishment and development of national mine-action capacities in countries where mines and explosive remnants of war constitute a serious threat to the safety, health and lives of the civilian population, or an impediment to social and economic development at the national and local levels.