Media: Int'l community should pay more attention to demining in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is among the most mine-affected countries in the world, and this problem requires urgent international attention and support, The Daily Baku informs, referring to The National Interest.

Azerbaijan is already conducting large-scale demining efforts (in liberated territories), but the volume of contamination requires coordinated international assistance, the magazine notes.

"To date, nearly 3,500 Azerbaijanis have fallen victim to landmines, including 361 children. Since the end of major hostilities in November 2020, 388 people have been injured or killed by mines, the vast majority civilians. These tragedies are compounded by the delay in returning more than 700,000 internally displaced Azerbaijanis to their rightful homes and by the ongoing difficulty in locating the remains of some 4,000 citizens who went missing during the war," reads the article.

The magazine emphasizes that Azerbaijan has taken the lead in demining efforts, using its Mine Action Agency (ANAMA) to clear hundreds of thousands of explosive devices. Azerbaijan has also hosted three annual global mine-action conferences with the United Nations and, in May 2024, Baku launched a joint initiative with UNDP to create an International Centre of Excellence and Training for Mine Action, headquartered in Azerbaijan.

"But the scale of the humanitarian demining challenge remains a global responsibility when the consequences of war violate legal and moral norms. That is why Azerbaijan has called on the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, and other international forums to treat demining as a cross-cutting issue, one that affects peace, development, human rights, and environmental recovery, and has declared demining its 18th National Sustainable Development Goal. Without clearing mines, achieving Azerbaijan"s other sustainable development goals-poverty reduction, education, climate resilience, and infrastructure development-will continue to face obstacles," reads the article.