President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has shared a post on his social media accounts on the occasion of 4 April – International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
The head of state said in his post: “4th of April is International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. More than 1 million mines were deployed by Armenia during 30 years of occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is one of the most heavily mine-infested countries in the world. More than 3300 citizens of our country became mine victims since early 90s. Since the end of the Patriotic War on November 10th, 2020 nearly 300 Azerbaijani citizens have been killed or seriously wounded as a result of the Armenian mine terror.
Azerbaijan will declare a national SDG on humanitarian demining. Our country actively promotes introduction of the 18th UN SDG on humanitarian demining. Azerbaijan has also proposed forming a Like-Minded Group of Mine-Affected countries.
Major reconstruction effort is currently underway in our liberated territories. Humanitarian demining based on the most advanced technologies as well as mine awareness are integral part of this process. I highly appreciate our deminers who are working selflessly round-the-clock. More should be done internationally to put an end to mine terror around the world.”