There are opportunities to expand partnerships and international support for mine action in Azerbaijan, UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Vladanka Andreeva told Report.
She emphasized that the UN Country Team Azerbaijan has been supporting the Government’s ambitious post-conflict recovery and reconstruction efforts in the areas of mine action, skills development and livelihood support to IDPs health, education and other social services, legal assistance, environmental recovery and energy efficiency.
“Azerbaijan is one of the countries that is most polluted by land mines. Since 2020, with financial support from the European Union, the Government of the United Kingdom, internal UN resources and others, three UN agencies – UNDP, UNICEF and UNHCR – have been jointly supporting ANAMA’s mine action efforts, through institutional strengthening, provision of technical expertise, procurement support, and explosive ordnance risk education,” Andreeva said.
According to her, however, there remains much more to be done: “Jointly with ANAMA, UN has helped organized two international land mine conferences. The third one is scheduled for end of May, and will be organized in Zangilan and Baku.”
The coordinator also pointed out that these conferences provide a platform to seek ongoing international support for the critical task of making Karabakh mine-free.