International Mine Awareness Day: By 2025 We Want to Make the World Minefree

PeopleDiplomats ♦ Published: April 4, 2019; 22:47 ♦ (Vindobona)

Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl stresses Austria's commitment to the International Mine Awareness Day. In the last 20 years Austria has provided more than 33 million euros for mine action and supported projects in Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Mozambique, Ukraine and other countries.

An Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician removing the fuze from a Russian-made mine in order to clear a minefield outside of Fallujah, Iraq. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / U.S. Army photo by Spc. Derek Gaines [Public Domain]

"20 years ago, the Convention against Anti-Personnel Mines came into force. It is a milestone in the fight against this insidious weapon, also known as "silent death", said Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl on the occasion of the International Mine Awareness Day.

"Austria played a decisive role in the creation of the so-called Ottawa Convention. Today, 164 states are parties to the…