Mozambique to be declared free of landmines – NGO

The Mozambican government said it did not know the exact figures, but believed the total number of mines cleared exceeded 214,000, AIM reported.

The charity says it is the first large mine-contaminated country to be completely cleared of mines. Operations to remove the mines, generally by locating and exploding them, began in 1993, with $57 million in donations, largely from the United States and the United Kingdom, to the Halo Trust, a British charity focused on the removal project. “I have honour to declare Mozambique as a country free of the threat of landmines”, Foreign Affairs Minister Oldemiro Baloi said at a ceremony in the capital Maputo.

APOPO started working in the country in 2007, using specially-trained giant pouched rats to smell out TNT and quickly locate the last remaining explosives. “Thanks to HALO, parents are now at peace while their children play, businesses can flourish and major infrastructure can be built on land that was once strewn with the deadly debris of war”.

Ridding the country of landmines will save many lives, but it also brings huge economic benefits. Communities can now cultivate crops and graze livestock safely.

Mozambique’s GDP has grown 7% annually since HALO began demining and it is now ranked 10th in the world for real GDP growth. “HALO is proud to have been part of such a powerful legacy and hopes today’s news provides the momentum to strive for a mine free world by 2025″.

HALO’s work in Mozambique was funded by the governments of the U.S. , UK, Netherlands, Ireland, Japan, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Australia, Belgium, as well as The Reece Foundation, Tokyo Broadcasting System, UNDP, World Vision, Trocaire, Concern, Mitsubishi Corporation, National Demining Institute/Hitachi and Actifonds Mijnen Ruimen.

You don’t forget the sight of someone freshly injured from an anti-personnel land mine blast.