A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations whose stated objective is a world free of anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions, where mine and cluster munitions survivors see their rights respected and can lead fulfilling lives.
The HALO Trust is a humanitarian non-government organisation which primarily works to clear landmines and other explosive devices left behind by conflicts. With over 10,000 staff worldwide, HALO has operations in 28 countries. Its largest operation is in Afghanistan, where the organization continues to operate under the Taliban regime that took power in August 2021.
Unexploded ordnance and unexploded bombs (UXBs) are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were deployed and remain at detonative risk, sometimes many decades after they were used or discarded. When unwanted munitions are found, they are sometimes destroyed in controlled explosions, but accidental detonation of even very old explosives might also occur, sometimes with fatal consequences.
Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contrast, the goal of humanitarian demining is to remove all of the landmines to a given depth and make the land safe for human use. Specially trained dogs are also used to narrow down the search and verify that an area is cleared. Mechanical devices such as flails and excavators are sometimes used to clear mines.
A mine clearance organization, or demining organization, is an organization involved in the removal of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) for military, humanitarian, or commercial reasons. Demining includes mine clearance, as well as surveying, mapping and marking of hazardous areas.
The region of Nagorno-Karabakh and areas around it are considered to be some of the most heavily mined regions of the former Soviet Union. Mines were laid from the early 1990s by both Azerbaijani and Armenian forces during and after the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. The worst-affected areas are along the fortified former contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces, in particular in the districts of Aghdam, Fuzuli and Jabrayil. According to military experts from both Azerbaijan and Armenia, the ground in those areas is covered with "carpets of land mines." The region has the highest per capita rate in the world of accidents due to unexploded ordnance.
Aki Ra is a former Khmer Rouge conscripted child soldier who works as a deminer and museum curator in Siem Reap, Cambodia. He has devoted his life to removing landmines in Cambodia and to caring for young landmine victims. Aki Ra states that since 1992 he has personally removed and destroyed as many as 50,000 landmines, and is the founder of the Cambodian Landmine Museum.
Land mines in Latin America and the Caribbean are a by-product of the Cold War-era conflicts starting off in the 19th century. Contrary to the requirements of generally accepted international law, the minefields of Latin America and the Caribbean, were usually unmarked and unrecorded on maps. Once placed, mines remain active for decades, waiting the pressure of an unwary foot to detonate. As of 2023, within all of the Americas the only nations not to ratify the AP Mine Ban Convention are Cuba and the United States.
The Gambian pouched rat, also commonly known as the African giant pouched rat, is a species of nocturnal pouched rat of the giant pouched rat genus Cricetomys, in the family Nesomyidae. It is among the largest muroids in the world, growing to about 0.9 m (3 ft) long, including the tail, which makes up half of its total length. It is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from Senegal to Kenya and from Angola to Mozambique from sea level to 2,000 m (6,600 ft).
Mine action is a combination of humanitarian aid and development studies that aims to remove landmines and reduce the social, economic and environmental impact of them and the explosive remnants of war (ERW).
The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) is a non-governmental organization that assists people affected by landmines, unexploded ordnance, and small arms and light weapons.
Ly Thuch (Khmer: លី ធុជ) is a Cambodian politician who serves as the Senior Minister. He belongs to the Cambodian People's Party and was elected to represent Pursat Province in the National Assembly of Cambodia in 2003.
Land mine contamination in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a serious aftereffect of the Bosnian War, which took place from 1992 until 1995. During this time period, all 3 conflicting factions planted land mines near the current-day political entity borders. As a result, the country has had the most severe land mine problems in the world. Although landmine removal efforts have made progress throughout the country and the landmine-related deaths have steadily decreased each year, many people are still killed or suffer injuries caused by unexploded munitions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For local communities, contamination is a barrier to socio-economic development and access to livelihoods. This is important as Bosnia and Herzegovina remains economically fragile and one of the poorest countries in Europe. Over 60 per cent of the population live in rural areas and are dependent on access to land for agriculture, livestock grazing, hunting, and gathering wood and herbs. Despite the threat of landmines, people enter contaminated areas out of economic necessity.
APOPO is a registered Belgian non-governmental organisation and US non-profit which trains southern giant pouched rats and technical survey dogs to detect landmines and tuberculosis. They call their trained animals 'HeroRATs' and 'HeroDOGs'.
The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is a service located within the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations that specializes in coordinating and implementing activities to limit the threat posed by mines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices.
Cambodian Self Help Demining (CSHD) is a nonprofit NGO founded by Aki Ra in Cambodia. Its mission is to clear landmines and UXOs in 'low priority' villages throughout the Kingdom of Cambodia. Low priority villages are often villages in remote area with limited traffic and populated by poor farmers. Hence, they do not receive priority from mine clearance projects and are at times overlooked.
Prak Sokhonn is a Cambodian politician, diplomat and journalist who currently serves as a member and first vice president of the Senate. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2023 and Deputy Prime Minister from 2018 to 2023.
ITF Enhancing Human Security is a humanitarian, non-profit organization founded by the Republic of Slovenia., which specializes in land mine clearance and post-conflict reconstruction. It was established on 12 March 1998 with the purpose of helping Bosnia and Herzegovina in its post-conflict rehabilitation, specifically with mine clearance and assistance to mine victims.
Magawa was an African giant pouched rat that worked as a HeroRAT sniffing out landmines in Cambodia for the non-governmental organization APOPO which trains rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. Magawa was the most successful landmine-sniffing rat in the organization's history, and received the PDSA Gold Medal in 2020.
