3 April 2014
4th April is the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. The GICHD and the Gender and Mine Action Programme work together to empower women in mine action.
On 8 December 2005, the General Assembly declared that 4 April of each year shall be observed as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
It called for continued efforts by States, with the assistance of the United Nations and relevant organisations, 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.
2014 focuses on the work of women who contribute to making mine action activities more efficient and effective. Women must be empowered in all societies to be part of important activities, including in all stages of mine action: from collecting information from affected women, girls, boys and men and surveying mined areas, to deciding where to begin clearance, to conducting mine risk education and post-clearance development initiatives.
More information:
The Gender and Mine Action Programme (GMAP)
GICHD Gender & diversity policy
The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons: Unfinished Business, a side-event organised on 4 April at the UNOG Cinema, by the GICHD and the CCW Implementation Support Unit
On the occasion of the Mine Awareness Day, the GICHD will present on two topics during the event “CCW - unfinished business”. The first, carried out in collaboration with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), will focus on the preliminary findings of the study on mines other than anti-personnel mines (MOTAPM). The second will focus on environmental concerns in mine action.
Category: Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE)