Children are amongst the most vulnerable to explosive weapons including mines which hit indiscriminately. As we mark the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict calls on all parties to conflict to restrict the use of mines, and to support all efforts to end the threat of explosive ordnance.
From Sudan to Ukraine, Syria, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, year after year, children are blindly killed or maimed by explosive ordnance. Preliminary data shows that in 2024, several thousands of children were killed or maimed due to explosive ordnance, particularly in Myanmar and Afghanistan. In Burkina Faso, three girls were injured because they stepped on a mine when searching for firewood.
When these weapons do not kill children, they often cause serious injuries leading to long-term impairments and different forms of disabilities, with long-term and devastating effects long after the conflict has ended. This poses additional challenges for the recovery and reintegration of children as those with disabilities are more likely to face stigma, discrimination and are lacking access to inclusive services, while creating barriers to socio-economic development.
“Unexploded ordnance and other explosive remnants of war hit indiscriminately and often make the identification of perpetrators challenging. And without identification, accountability of perpetrators becomes challenging when not impossible,” said the Special Representative, Virginia Gamba. “Let us reaffirm the rights of children to life and protection and recommit to the promise of a mine-free world contained in the Ottawa Convention,” she added.
Anti-personnel mines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and explosive remnants of war (ERWs) have also a direct impact on children’s rights and the six grave violations including killing and maiming, but also attacks on schools and hospitals as landmines are often put in and around schools and hospitals, making them inaccessible and unusable. In Colombia, mines and explosive weapons have also been used to confine and displace populations. The use of landmines can also hinder children’s access to lifesaving humanitarian aid. Humanitarians are also victims of such weapons when accessing communities and delivering assistance. Children who have been recruited and used by armed forces and armed groups further face dangerous exposure to landmines and other explosive weapons.
The Special Representative emphasizes the importance of prioritizing demining, as the presence of explosive ordnance undermines the establishment of a safe and stable environment in the countries affected. She calls on the international community to support politically, technically and financially victim assistance, anti-personnel mine clearance and stockpile destruction as an investment in future generations.
She further expresses concerns at the recent announcements by some Member States to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty, which bans anti-personnel mines. “I reiterate my call on Member States to fully implement international legal instruments on anti-personnel mines, especially the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction,” she concluded.
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Fore more information:
Ariane Lignier, Communications Officer, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict: ariane.lignier@un.org
Fabienne Vinet, Political Affairs Officer, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict: vinet@un.org
