The Ministry of Environment confirmed that the launch of the national strategy for mine action in Iraq is awaiting great and effective achievements for the Mine Action Department and the companies of the Iraqi national team, and it is in dire need of support with support at the national and international government levels to enable it to perform its tasks, works and actual activities.
The Representative of the Prime Minister, Head of the National Program for Mine Action, Minister of Environment Nizar Amidi, said during the official ceremony to launch the strategy of the National Mine Action Plan in the Republic of Iraq, today, Wednesday, in Baghdad, that “the launch of the National Strategy for Mine Action for the years (2023-2028) focuses on Important axes such as the axis of removal and cleansing, the axis of awareness of the dangers of mines, explosive devices and war remnants, and the axis of helping victims, empowering them physically and psychologically, and integrating them into society.
He explained, “The Ministry was able to prepare this strategy in cooperation with the International Center of Geneva and the competent international organizations, which represents an important milestone in the Republic of Iraq’s serious endeavor to declare Iraq free of mines, explosive devices and war remnants after decades of wars and confronting black terrorism.”
He added, “It is unfortunate that Iraq occupies the first ranks in the world in the volume of pollution with mines, explosive devices and war remnants, as the size of the pollution areas registered with the Mine Affairs Department in our Ministry since its establishment in 2003 is about (6406) square kilometers… where (3767) square kilometres were launched, and work is currently underway on about (490) square kilometres, meaning that the remaining contaminated area is about (2149) square kilometres.
The Minister of Environment stressed, “The lack of cadres and financial allocations constitutes an obstacle to the efforts of the Ministry of Environment and the national team that is working hard to complete the declaration of these areas free of pollution, in addition to the negative effects of climate change, which cast a shadow, is through the occurrence of torrential rains and soil drifts that led to movements It is not controlled by minefields, especially in the border areas,” noting that “the government is determined to give the mine action program a priority in government support programs, and the ministry exceptionally supports the axis of awareness of the dangers of mines, explosive devices and war remnants.
He explained, “The Department of Mine Action has carried out about forty thousand awareness campaigns, with more than three million beneficiaries, with the Department of Mine Action launching a national standard in the field of victim assistance, as a qualitative addition to the work of the National Program for Mine Action, and it is considered the first of its kind in the world to comply with international and humanitarian standards in this regard.
The Minister reaffirmed the strategic objectives of the mine action program in Iraq, as the clearance work in Iraq has economic, developmental and strategic dimensions, pointing out that the clearance work in the Shatt al-Arab region led to the conversion of these areas into residential complexes that benefited many citizens, as well as in the Karbala governorate, in addition to what the National Mine Action Program has done in cooperation with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in the liberated areas, which has facilitated the return of the displaced and the implementation of the stabilization and reconstruction strategy, which contributes to achieving the contents of the government program with its promising developmental and investment dimensions, and what is currently being undertaken by the Ministry of securing the logistical, participatory and operational requirements for purifying the land of the Nibras Petrochemical Project in the Zubair district within Basra, as well as purifying the Basra-Shalamjah railway line, as well as the executive plans for the development road project, which represents a glimmer of hope and a quantum leap for our country and our people.
He added, “The government headed by the Prime Minister has given exceptional attention to the mine affairs program in Iraq, as it has allocated good budgets that will be directed to clearance and removal work, taking into account economic, investment, development and humanitarian priorities, and most importantly protecting the lives of our people from the dangers of mines and explosive devices.”
Source: National Iraqi News Agency