The European Union will launch today in Geneva, a publication outlining the EU's actions in the field of demining and providing practical information for organisations wishing to apply for EU funding.
Landmines keep killing people and tearing societies apart in an indiscriminate way, sometimes years and even decades after a conflict has ended. They continue to instil terror, to stop people returning to their normal lives and of refugees to their own homes, to strip entire regions of a fair chance of economic development, and to hinder the prospects of reconciliation and stabilisation.
The European Union has a long history of support for actions that address the threat of mines and explosive remnants of war. EU assistance covers all key aspects – mine clearance, risk education, victim assistance, stockpile destruction, capacity building and research and development on mine detection and clearance technology – and has benefitted many heavily affected countries.
In 2012-2016, the European Union provided financial contributions to mine action activities across the world amounting to circa EUR 300 million. On top of this, in the same period EU Member States provided another EUR 300 million.
To highlight the EU's commitment to mine action, the European External Action Service and European Commission have produced a Joint Staff Working Document entitled "The European Union's Support for Mine Action Across the World". This document describes how the EU is funding mine action, listing all the relevant funding instruments and the contact details of the relevant Commission-services. It also presents a selection of representative mine action projects and a comprehensive list of all EU-funded mine action between 2012 and 2016.
