News

As we mark this year’s Mine Awareness Day with the pandemic still impacting our lives and the lives of people around the world, we draw attention to the important role of the mine action community.

Throughout the last fifteen years, ITF helped clear over 2.3 million square meters of areas contaminated with cluster munitions in the Kopaonik National Park in Serbia.

At the end of 2020, ITF completed a five-year project aimed at providing Palestinian school and kindergarten children in the Gaza Strip with accessible mental health and psychosocial support.

Despite many challenges in 2020, the MDC Polyclinic in Kabul, Afghanistan, delivered admirable results and provided medical services and treatment for thousands of patients.

ITF Enhancing Human Security looks into the future of its humanitarian work with its Portfolio of Projects for 2021 – a strategic collection of 99 projects in 32 countries or territories all around the world.

The European Union Pillar Assessment determined that ITF is organizationally and financially compliant to work with EU funds under indirect management as EU’s partner organization.

Thanks to the generous donation of the Austrian Development Agency and the Knights of Columbus, ITF has been supporting explosive hazards clearance in NE Syria in 2020. Chris Hunter, member of clearance team operating in the country, shares his thoughts.

ITF successfully concluded a two-year project “School and Peer Mediation in BiH”, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia. In 2019 and 2020, the project engaged around 300 children and 86 teachers from 24 schools.

After Sarajevo’s Mount Trebević was declared mine-impact free as part of the Mine Free Sarajevo project funded by the United States, locals and visitors can now finally enjoy this famous hiking spot.

As the Second Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions kicks off on November 25, 2020, ITF looks at the dangers of these deadly weapons and the achievements of the past 17 years of its cluster munitions clearance efforts.

Thanks to the generous support of the Austrian Development Agency and the Knights of Columbus, ITF supported explosive hazards clearance teams returned 1.12 million square meters of land to local communities in Northeast Syria.

ITF was honored to address the 18th Meeting of the State Parties to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, where the Mine Action community was able to virtually come together despite the physical absence from the conference hall.

Thanks to the generous support of the USA, Czech Republic and a private donor, Dr. René Schasse, ITF was able to conclude land release projects and enable residents to cultivate their land.

ITF is honored to have supported the 19th International Tournament in Sitting Volleyball “Sarajevo Open 2020”, held on October 10 and 11, 2020 and made possible thanks to the generous donation by the Republic of Korea.

Around 4 kilometres from the Serbian town of Sjenica, over 94,000 square meters of agricultural land were released for safe use after the conclusion of ITF’s cluster munitions clearance project.

ITF recently concluded a mine risk education project in Jordan, implementing 466 workshops for more than 21,000 Syrian refugees. Since March, activities were carried out remotely and included lessons on preventing the spread of COVID-19.

After 10 years of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, cluster munitions continue to endanger civilians.

The successful release of 195,998 square meters of land and the removal of 7 landmines and 6 UXO has made the Vitez Municipality safer for more than a thousand of its residents.

During the recent lockdown related to the COVID-19 pandemic, ITF’s work became even more important. In order to continue providing humanitarian support and enhancing human security the entire team had to adapt.

ITF has partnered with the NGO Zavod NUR to train medical workers in the Gaza Strip while also providing protective equipment for local communities to better face the COVID-19 crisis.