Thank you, Mr President. Very warm congratulations on your appointment as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam!
Allow me to thank Viet Nam for convening today’s open debate on this important topic. Estonia shares the concerns regarding the impact of landmines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices to peacebuilding, peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts. As such, this topic fully deserves the attention of this Council, and hopefully our discussion today will contribute to the efforts of mitigating the threats posed by these weapons.
The debate is very timely as well, because in Estonia every April we wear the Blue Hepatica to recognize our veterans who have participated on international operations. Many of them have sacrificed their health during peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations and with the Blue Hepatica Initiative we additionally support the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers.
I also wish to thank today’s briefers for their insightful interventions.
Mr President,
Long after wars end and conflicts have ceased, landmines and other explosive ordnance continue to kill and maim indiscriminately. The fear of their presence prevents people from using potentially valuable land for agriculture, rebuilding infrastructure and displaced persons from returning home. As a result, economic, social and health developments are hampered, further tensions and conflicts are likely to evolve.
Estonia strongly believes that instruments of international law have an important role in protecting against the proliferation of landmines. The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, also known as the Ottawa Convention, has brought clear results on the ground through mine clearance, stockpile destruction and victim assistance. Since the existence of the treaty, more than 30 formerly contaminated countries have been declared mine-free, more than 50 million stockpiled mines have been destroyed, and the official trade in anti-personnel mines has ceased to exist. In order to support the Oslo Action Plan for the implementation of the Ottawa Convention, the European Union Council Decision was adopted in February this year that put forward a concrete action plan to achieve a mine-free world by 2025. We call on all States that have not yet done so to accede to the Ottawa Convention.
A growing threat is posed by improvised explosive devices. Although they may target security forces, they equally affect peacekeepers, humanitarian aid providers and civilians. Countering IEDs should not be limited to stopping or neutralizing a device once it is already in place but also aimed at identifying and disrupting the networks that create and initiate IEDs. Stringent national measures and close international cooperation are key in denying terrorists and criminal groups access to weapons and explosive percursors.
Mr President,
We are pleased to see that gender-sensitive perspectives are increasingly taken into account when planning, implementing and monitoring mine action activities. Women, girls, boys and men are affected differently by landmines and other explosive hazards. In providing necessary support and assistance it is, therefore, important to ensure that all concerns and needs of all age and gender groups are acknowledged and addressed. These may relate to priorities for clearance and post-release land use or access of survivors to healthcare systems. An equally welcome development pertains to the increasing number of women now working in humanitarian demining programs. More women need to be involved in peacebuilding activities in order to make communities work and prosper.
An area which needs more awareness-raising pertains to mine action and its environmental impact. The adverse effects of climate change, such as intense rainfalls and floodings, cause mines to move. As a result new areas become contaminated. Certain adverse environmental impacts derive also from demining activities – clearance or removal of vegetation, soil erosion from excavations and in-situ demolition. We would encourage incorporating environmental perspectives into mine action programmes to mitigate such adverse effects.
Mr President,
For Estonia, mine action is a priority area in our Government’s Strategy for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance. Over the years, we have gradually increased our contributions, including financial support to the United Nations Mine Action Service – UNMAS – as well as to clean-up of various explosive remnants of war and mine-clearance activities under bilateral and international humanitarian projects in Mali, Gaza, Libya, Lebanon Iraq, Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan. In 2020, Estonia continued with its contribution to UNMAS to support the Mine Action programmes in Iraq and Syria.
To conclude, mine action is a precondition for achieving peace and development in post conflict situations. We commend the work of Viet Nam in arriving at adoption of presidential statement that reminds us that our work and support has to continue, since landmines and explosive remnants of war remain a threat in many parts of the world.
I thank you.
