Mine victims in Ukraine at the center of the Lausanne conference
Published: Thursday, Oct 17th 2024, 17:50
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On the first day of the Lausanne Mine Action Conference on Ukraine, the majority of country representatives adopted the Lausanne Call for Action on Thursday. The call focuses on addressing the needs of victims and people with disabilities as well as promoting partnerships and innovations to increase the effectiveness of mine action.
61 delegations met at the conference organized by Switzerland and Ukraine. According to the Federal Council, the planned humanitarian measures include the clearance of agricultural land, the economic and social reintegration of mine victims, the coordination of international cooperation between the various partner organizations on the ground and the exchange of experience and knowledge.
The conference was opened on Thursday morning by President Viola Amherd together with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal.
Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis referred to the Federal Council's decision last week to earmark an additional CHF 30 million for the activities of the Swiss Foundation for Demining (FSD) in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions until 2027. The foundation employs over 600 people in Ukraine.
Three more Swiss deminers
Amherd also announced the delivery of three more mine clearance systems. The first will be delivered to Ukraine in around three weeks, with the other two to follow in December this year and February next year, according to the manufacturer, the Schwyz-based company Global Clearance Solutions (GCS).
Since February 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the order for the military invasion of Ukraine, the federal government has taken various measures to support the people affected by the war and has provided around CHF 3.7 billion for this purpose.
Last year, the Federal Council approved an aid package of CHF 100 million for a period of four years, earmarked exclusively for humanitarian demining in Ukraine.
Cassis hopes for 5 billion by 2036
On the sidelines of the conference, Cassis expressed his confidence that parliament would make a positive decision by the end of the year on the four-year support of CHF 1.5 billion for Ukraine. The country is to be supported with CHF 5 billion until 2036.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said at the start of the conference in Lausanne that Ukraine had already cleared 35,000 square kilometers of land of mines, partly with self-built machines. Not only so that people could return to their villages, but also to restore fields. Millions of people around the world depend on Ukrainian wheat.
In Ukraine, the area contaminated by mines and other explosive ordnance is estimated at 139,000 square kilometers, according to Amherd's Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS). This corresponds to three and a half times the area of Switzerland. The UN considers Ukraine to be the most heavily mined country in the world.
Already over a thousand mine victims
Landmines, cluster munitions, unexploded shells, rockets or crashed combat drones can explode if accidentally touched or handled. Since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, there have been more than a thousand casualties from mines and unexploded ordnance in Ukraine, over 300 of whom have died.
Russia has laid mines in Ukraine more densely than in almost any other country, said Gary Toombs from the organization Handicap International, which helps mine victims and people with disabilities worldwide. On the other hand, there are new technologies, such as mines that are activated by changes in the magnetic field or vibrations in the ground, which makes clearing them even more complicated.
©Keystone/SDA
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