Foreign Desk Report
NEW YORK: Pakistan has called for strengthening international cooperation in mine action to counter the threat posed by landmines and other explosives to civilians and infrastructure as well as to safeguard UN peace-keeping missions and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In a statement submitted to the UN Security Council, Ambassador Munir Akram voiced concern over the high number of civilian casualties caused by landmines, explosive war remnants (ERW) and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and said as one of the largest troop-contributing countries to peace-keeping operations, Pakistan attaches immense importance to addressing the challenges posed by land mines.
In a ministerial level debate on mine action, the Pakistani envoy told the 15-member Council that IEDs restrict the mobility of UN peacekeepers, spread fear across communities and undermine peacekeeping mandates.
“Apart from death and injury, mines also undermine the ability of the humanitarian workers to carry out their critical tasks,” he said.
“Our peacekeepers continue to operate in many conflict zones where mines pose a grave threat to their safety and security, and seriously undermine their ability to fulfill the Mission’s mandates,” Ambassador Akram said.
