22nd International Meeting of National Mine Action Programme Directors and United Nations Advisers

Friday, 8 February 2019, 12.45
Room XVIII, Palais des Nations

Excellencies, Dear colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen:

It’s a real pleasure for me to welcome all of you back to the Palais des Nations!

Thank you to UNMAS and the Inter-Agency Coordination Group for once again bringing us together - I hope you’ve had successful and productive discussions.

The diversity in the room this week - coming from all corners of the world; spanning a wide range of expertise - is remarkable. And it’s a powerful testament to Geneva’s ability to foster global partnerships among humanitarian and disarmament actors and create a space for dialogue and collaboration between the UN, NGOs, governments, and the private sector.

The theme this year - “Stepping up for Mine Action” - is an urgent and much-needed call for action.

The critical importance of mine action should be much higher on the world’s radar.

On average, one person fell victim to explosive devices almost every hour of every day in the past years.

What this number shows is a terrifying daily reality for innocent civilians across the globe - many of them youth and women.

But more than indiscriminately killing innocents, mines prevent peace itself and foil sustainable development.

Only once mines are gone can peace ever be complete, can lives ever return to normal.

̶ In Afghanistan, contaminated lands and roads were cleared, and communities could once again farm the land.

̶ In South Sudan, explosive ordnances were removed from educational facilities, and children could once again go to school.

̶ In Iraq, water and power plants were freed from deadly remnants of war, and clean drinking water and electricity was available once again.

The mine sector may be but a small part of the entire humanitarian and development universe, but it is essential to the success of everyone working within it.

Which is why the brave women and men of mine action who risk their own lives deserve our admiration and steadfast support.

The good news is that 2019 presents all of us with opportunities to “step up” for mine action, to build momentum and renew our commitment.

The Secretary-General’s disarmament agenda Securing Our Common Future is now in its implementation phase. It explicitly recognizes the critical importance of mine action in enabling humanitarian access, providing dignified employment for former combatants, sustaining peace, building resilience, and promoting economic development.

Firmly embedded in the 2030 Agenda and linked with the new UN Strategy on Mine Action launched at this meeting, I am confident we can make meaningful progress in the coming months and years - deepening our integration towards a true whole-of systems approach, building out partnerships with governments, NGOs, civil society and beyond - all to make good on our pledge to leave no one behind.

In closing, allow me to acknowledge the survivors and deminers who have joined us this week in Geneva; I know some of you came from very far to be with us today. We wish you a safe journey back and every success.

Thank you all very much.