New initiative paves the way towards a mine-free Africa

On 18 June, UNIDIR – with support from the European Union (EU) –  together with partners including the Mines Advisory Group launched a new initiative aimed at enabling States Parties to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) from the African region in fulfilling obligations and advancing towards a continent free from the threats posed by anti-personnel mines.  

Introduced on the sidelines of the APMBC Intersessional Meetings in Geneva, the initiative “Working towards a mine-free Africa: Building African capacity to remove threats posed by anti-personnel landmines to peace, security and development” comes at a critical time.

Since 1997, the APMBC has achieved significant progress – facilitating widespread mine clearance and reducing human costs of weapons. Yet, challenges persist. Thirty-three States Parties have outstanding Article 5 (mine clearance) obligations. Sixteen of these are from Africa, and many face constraints in securing domestic resources and international cooperation including assistance.

These challenges have been compounded by broader pressures on arms control and humanitarian disarmament instruments, which in turn underscores the importance of the effective implementation by all States Parties of the APMBC and its universalization.

Strengthening capacity and accelerating progress towards completion

As part of this initiative, a dedicated project aims to support five of the African States that are receiving low levels of international cooperation and assistance to fulfill their APMBC Article 5 obligations. It has two, interconnected objectives: