The United Mine Action Service Annual Report acknowledges key implementations, projects and developments throughout 2022.
UNMAS has repeatedly adapted to the operational, security and political constraints since it was established 25 years ago, and 2022 was no exception. Despite tumultuous developments in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali, and Ukraine, and uncertainty in funding, UNMAS removed and destroyed tens of thousands of items of explosive ordnance, improved the safety of millions of people, strengthened the national capacity of partner governments, and reduced the threat and impact of explosive ordnance attacks against United Nations peace operations personnel.
Foreword from the Secretary-General
From helping schools, hospitals and businesses to re-open, to ensuring that refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) can return home safely, to protecting peacekeepers from the threat of improvised explosive devices, UNMAS is helping communities and countries heal following the trauma of conflict.
I call on the global community to support the Service’s vital work through strengthened human and financial resources, and by ratifying and fully implementing the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.
Now is the time to come together to realize our vision of a world free of explosive threats, and build a safer and more secure world for all people.
António Guterres,
Secretary-General of the United Nations
Message from the Director
In 2022, the 21 UNMAS programmes enabled humanitarian responses and increased the safety and security of civilians and peacekeepers. We scaled up efforts in Syria and provided expert support to address the evolving threats in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We continue to guide United Nations system-wide responses to the growing threat of IEDs.
UNMAS staff are experienced and committed, but our work is only possible with the financial support and political engagement of Member States. We are grateful for the support of our donors and partners.
Ilene Cohn,
Director, United Nations Mine Action Service
In 2022, UNMAS achieved significant accomplishments, which included the destruction of 109,976 explosive remnants of war (ERW), 397 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and 5,970 landmines. Additionally, the confirmation of safe land covered an area of 159 square kilometres, while 8,468 kilometres of roads were surveyed, cleared, and confirmed as safe. UNMAS also delivered in-person explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) to over 2.6 million people, and provided assistance to more than 742 victims of explosive ordnance.
UNMAS is funded in several ways. When integrated into peacekeeping and special political missions, funding comes from assessed contributions, through appropriations made by the General Assembly. Other activities depend on contributions to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action. Flexible, sustained funding is essential to UNMAS ability to manage complexity and build responsive programmes at the country level. UNMAS encourages its donors to consider multi-year contributions. Unrestricted funding provides UNMAS with the agility to allocate resources to areas of great need but limited resources. UNMAS is grateful to the donors that provide unearmarked contributions. UNMAS also thanks Germany, Ireland, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and the United States for providing in-kind personnel in 2022.
