The International Mine Action Day in Bosnia and Herzegovina

On the occasion of the International Mine Action Day, celebrated on 4th April, a display of mine action activities was organized in Sarajevo on the Trg Oslobo?enja street. The event was organized by BiH Mine Action Centre (BHMAC) and the United Nations agencies in BiH (UNICEF and UNDP), together with other stakeholders on state and local level. The International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance took active part in this event.

The idea behind the organization of this event was to raise awareness of the mine problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The awareness materials and leaflets from mine action stakeholders - local and international - were distributed to visitors for this purpose. The event also provided the opportunity to analyze past mine action achievements.

Immediately after the end of the conflict the total estimated mine suspected area in Bosnia and Herzegovina was over 8.000 square kilometers; however with exceptional effort of local and international community the mine suspected area was diminished to a total of 1.889 square kilometers in beginning of 2007. Furthermore Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered over 4.900 mine and UXO casualties since 1992; fortunately due to mine action activities the trend of new mine victims is in decrease.