[IranPressTV] They are known as one of the deadliest legacies of the 20th century; today the use of landmines in wars has brought irreparable human and environmental damage to people and governments across the world. Experts in this gathering in Tehran come from three countries with some of the highest landmine contamination rates in the world namely Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Their mission is more humanitarian rather than military aimed at sharing experiences and helping to diminish the lasting effects of landmines in the world.
In all of the three countries a number of ordinary people and mine clearance experts are still maimed or killed every year. President of the Geneva Intl. Center for Humanitarian Demining or GICHD who has also attended the workshop says that her organization is looking forward to working more closely with the three countries in facilitating mine action. When wars and conflicts pass, the effects remain long after the last gun is fired and the last bomb is dropped. For Iran landmines are Saddam Hussein's legacy,
| ...Anyone remember why he felt he had to plant them after Iran started it? |
in Afghanistan they are the result of the soviet invasion followed by the civil war and in Tajikistan the result of the country's internal conflicts during the 90s. Figures show around 120 to 140 million mines currently planted throughout the world. The unfortunate fact is that for every mine, removed, six land-mines are planted again. |