Landmine Free South Caucasus

LINKS Europe is pleased to announce the launch of the campaign Landmine Free South Caucasus 2025. This will be the fourth Landmine Free South Caucasus campaign that LINKS Europe is co-ordinating since 2019, and like previous editions, the campaign will be regional, involving Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and will have five official languages: Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Russian and English. LINKS Europe will work with stakeholders in the three countries in the delivery of the campaign. The campaign will run from 1 September to 15 December. The first part, from 1 September to 15 November, will be largely informative, using media and social media, whilst engaging with decision makers and civil society in the three countries. In the second part of the campaign, from 15 November to 15 December, the focus this year will be on the human and economic costs of landmine contamination. The Campaign will again mark 30 November as the Day of Solidarity with the victims of landmines and other remnants of war in the South Caucasus. A spokesperson for LINKS Europe said this year the campaign takes special significance following the progress in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Process and the historic meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders, together with the US president in the White House on 8 August. For six years, between 2018-2024, LINKS Europe worked on landmine issues in a very difficult political context, but always insisted that a regional approach was necessary for successful mine action in the South Caucasus. It consistently held that mine action could serve as a confidence-building measure in the region. Landmine Free South Caucasus 2025 will again push these ideas, but the context has changed, and the chance of success is now higher.

The South Caucasus remains one of the world's most landmine-affected regions, littered with landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Although Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia each face this challenge in their own way, none has fully overcome it. For the three countries of the South Caucasus, winning this battle requires a holistic regional approach, something which has so far eluded them because of political circumstances and historical tensions. From October 2018 to March 2024, LINKS Europe Foundation, with the support of the European Union (EU), led the regional campaign ‘Landmine Free South Caucasus’, prioritising awareness raising and regional cooperation. The campaign was delivered in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia with the participation of demining agencies, official bodies and civil society organisations. Active simultaneously in all three countries and communicated in five languages, the campaign reached thousands of people and mobilised policymakers and opinion-shapers across the region.

The Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA) released a statement last week detailing demining operations that have been carried out from March 31 to April 6. Over the course of the week, 2000 hectares were demined, clearing 107 anti-personnel mines, 13 anti-tank mines, and 870 unexploded ordnances.

On Thursday 3 April the “National Mine Action Coordination Platform,” in collaboration with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), held its annual workshop in Armenia to mark the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action observed globally on 4 April.

Finland's prime minister has announced that Finland plans to withdraw from the international treaty banning the use of anti-personnel mines, citing the threat from Russia. The announcement comes two weeks after Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia took a first step towards also quitting the treaty, with them all pointing to the increased security risk from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.Finland's prime minister has announced that Finland plans to withdraw from the international treaty banning the use of anti-personnel mines, citing the threat from Russia. The announcement comes two weeks after Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia took a first step towards also quitting the treaty, with them all pointing to the increased security risk from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

On 8 December 2005, the UN General Assembly declared that 4 April of each year shall be observed as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. This initiative continues to be supported by countries, organisations, and communities around the world. This year, the theme is “Protecting Lives. Building Peace.” — reminds us of the need to safeguard those at particular risk, including people living with disabilities, women, children and other vulnerable groups. This is a particularly poignant theme in the South Caucasus where the problem of landmines is acute, and the region is now identified as among the ones with the highest contamination of landmines in the world. In his message on the occasion of this year’s International Landmine Awareness Day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “Even after the fighting ends, these deadly devices can contaminate communities for decades to come, posing a daily and deadly danger to women, men and children alike, and blocking vital humanitarian and development assistance.” In his message, the UN Secretary-General urged Member States to ratify and fully implement the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. LINKS Europe Statement on International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 2024 In a statement from its offices in The Hague, LINKS Europe Foundation, said that on a daily basis, people are becoming victims of landmines in different parts of the South Caucasus. International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action provides us with an opportunity to focus on this problem and ensure that it does not simply become just another daily inconvenience. We regret that as yet the international community has failed to recognise the enormity of the problem, and to respond accordingly.

LINKS Europe has just published a report on the future of landmine action advocacy in the South Caucasus based on a consultation process with stakeholders between June 2023 and February 2024. The report focuses on the regional campaign "Landmine Free South Caucasus", which was implemented from October 2018 to December 2023. A formal consultation process was held from 15 January to 15 February 2024, through an open call to which anyone could reply. In the course of the consultation process LINKS Europe held 22 in-person meetings, 12 online meetings. and received written submissions from several partners. The report makes 12 recommendations on how the work can be organised in the future.