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Fatima Latifova

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At the United Nations headquarters in New York, a side event titled “Mine and Unexploded Ordnance Activities to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and Leave No One Behind” was held as part of the High-Level Political Forum, Azernews reports.

The event was co-organised by the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Laos, the UN Development Programme, and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

During his speech, Laos’ Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saleumxay Kommasith, stated that unexploded ordnance and mines hinder the Lao people's struggle with the remnants of war and pose a serious threat to the nation’s development. He mentioned that currently, one-third of the country is contaminated with unexploded ordnance.

Following this, Azerbaijan's Deputy Minister of Economy, Sahib Mammadov, noted that Laos and Azerbaijan are collaborating within the framework of the Voluntary National Report twinning initiative proposed by UNESCAP. He emphasised that the topic of the conference is significant not only for Azerbaijan but for humanity as a whole. The Deputy Minister added that one of the main challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the issue of mines, which overshadow global initiatives for international peace and welfare. In this context, he highlighted that Azerbaijan is listed among the top five most heavily mined countries in the world: “These mines continue to pose a major threat to human security in Azerbaijan. Approximately 3,400 Azerbaijanis have been victims of mine explosions, with around 600 of these incidents resulting in fatalities. Among those killed by mine explosions, 358 were children and 30 were women.”

According to Sahib Mammadov, mine contamination of territories endangers the lives and livelihoods of the population and prevents hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons from returning to their homes. He added that, recognising the crucial role of demining in restoration efforts, Azerbaijan has introduced the 18th national Sustainable Development Goal.

The head of the Sustainable Development and Social Policy Department of the Ministry of Economy, Huseyn Huseynov, delivered an extensive presentation on the objectives and targets of the 18th national Sustainable Development Goal.

Subsequently, Irina Zivkovic, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Regional Director of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for Europe and Central Asia, mentioned that an active team from her organisation is operating in Azerbaijan. According to her, the team has a busy agenda, including the issue of mines. The UNDP official also noted that a recent international conference on mine action was held with the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA). “UNDP supports countries fighting mine contamination and unexploded ordnance. This support includes information exchange on best practices, sharing knowledge on new technologies such as artificial intelligence, drones, and satellites, and exchanging experiences in involving animals, including dogs, in mine action activities. Azerbaijan has a very good experience in this area. I have personally witnessed this. A Centre of Excellence has been established between ANAMA and UNDP. This centre aims to develop activities for future periods and initially supports Azerbaijan, followed by other regional and global countries. We have high expectations from our cooperation,” said the Assistant Secretary-General.

Later, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Population, Anar Karimov, spoke about the social protection of mine victims and noted that the ministry has taken significant steps to improve and ensure their living conditions. The Deputy Minister stated that important laws have been proposed to increase social payments and assign social benefits to those suffering from mines. “In this regard, 10 new social benefits have been established. In 2018, four social reform packages were implemented. The increased social benefits are directed at the most vulnerable segments of the population. Their coverage has increased by 60%, reaching 880,000 people,” Anar Karimov said.

The Deputy Minister added that mine victims are provided with one-time compensation under the social insurance program. The amount of compensation depends on the degree of injury resulting from the mine incident.

He also mentioned that landmine victims have access to various medical and physical social rehabilitation services. In this regard, he noted the existence of 14 rehabilitation centres with a total capacity of 700 beds.

In conclusion, the Azerbaijani delegation answered questions from the event participants.

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