Officials from the tiny West African country of Guinea-Bissau have informed the AP Mine Ban Convention secretariat in Geneva that their country is now free of landmines.
“Guinea-Bissau is proud to declare that all areas under its jurisdiction or control in which antipersonnel mines were known or suspected to be emplaced, have been cleared in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention, thus complying with our deadline," said Cesar Luis Gomes Lopes de Carvalho, the national director of Guinea-Bissau’s humanitarian demining programme.
In complying with its Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) obligations, Guinea-Bissau surveyed/demined 5.8 million square metres of territory under its control.
A total of 3,724 antipersonnel mines were destroyed, along with 318 other types of mines and 182,000 explosive remnants of war (ERW).
The landmine problem in Guinea-Bissau goes back as far as 1963. According to Landmine Monitor, there are approximately 850 landmine/ERW survivors in the country.
Guinea-Bissau is one of 159 state parties to the MBT. To see a complete list, please click here.
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