Kabul, 30 July 2007. Working toward the achievement of the Ottawa Convention benchmarks and in support of International Peace Day on 21 September 2007, the Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan (MAPA) has completed 31 minefield and battlefield tasks in July alone that benefited more than 100 communities throughout Afghanistan.
The MAPA handed over the cleared land, which includes villages, roads and pastures, to community members who will use the land for farming and housing contributing to peace and development in Afghanistan.
The completed tasks included the clearance of 912,212 square meters of minefield and 6,405,204 square meters of battlefield. During the clearance, the MAPA destroyed 118 anti-personnel mines, 35 anti-tank mines and a total of 30,548 pieces of unexploded ordnance (UXO). The communities benefiting from this clearance were located in Panjwayi district of Kandahar, 17 Division of Herat, Kalafgan district of Takhar province, Doshi district of Baghlan province, Khanabad district of Kunduz province, Khenjan district of Baghlan province, Sayed Karam district of Paktia province and the Sourkhrood district of Nangarhar province.
In addition, the MAPA provided mine risk education to about 100,000 people nationwide in July, including refugees who returned to Afghanistan through UNCHR encashment centers.
UNMACA is engaged in other, ongoing clearance projects throughout Afghanistan that will be completed in coming weeks - helping to improve the quality of life of Afghans and contributing to reconstruction in Afghanistan. In average, the MAPA clears more than 11 million square meters per month and 132 million square meters per year of minefields and battlefields.
The MAPA, an umbrella organization comprised of implementing partners that are coordinated by United Nations Mine Action Center for Afghanistan (UNMACA), has cleared more than one billion square meters throughout Afghanistan since 1989 - destroying more than 327,000 anti-personnel mines, more than 18,500 anti-tank mines and almost seven million pieces of unexploded ordnance. Afghanistan became a State Party to the Ottawa Convention in March 2003 and committed to clearing all minefields in the country by 2013.
Media Contact:
Ahmad Jan Nawzadi
Public Information Officer
Mobile: 0700227417
Email: nawzadi@unmaca.org