The conference on demining in Syria, chaired by the Syrian Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, Raed al-Saleh, kicked off in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday, in a strategic partnership with the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining Activities, with financial and logistical support from the European Union, Germany and Switzerland, and with the wide participation of donors and international partners.

The three-day conference aimed to lay a cornerstone for coordinating efforts between the Syrian government and donors, with the aim of developing a common understanding of field needs and urgent national priorities, and standardizing the response to reduce the scale of large-scale remnants of war pollution and reduce the fragmentation of humanitarian and technical efforts.

A high national priority

In his opening speech, the head of the Syrian delegation, Minister Al-Saleh, stressed that the mine file represents a high national priority without which it is not possible to achieve any real progress in the reconstruction files, secure food security, or facilitate the return of displaced people and refugees, considering that the Syrian vision is based on a clear equation of "no safe return without a safe land", and within a broader government vision that raises the slogan "No camps... No mines."

Al-Saleh criticized the heavy legacy and the complex reality left by the "defunct regime" as a result of its systematic neglect of this file and its failure to prioritize it, pointing out at the same time that the efforts of previous UN organizations were characterized by inadequacy and lack of effectiveness as a result of the lack of a unified national reference that possesses an integrated database or comprehensive and up-to-date maps of pollution sites.

The Syrian minister explained that the government has taken a strategic decision to establish the "National Center for Mine Action" of the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management, to be the official reference and the main pillar for organizing survey and removal efforts, and building a unified national data system, as well as opening the door for international partnerships and private companies to accelerate the pace of work and introduce modern technologies.

Dimensions of the disaster on the ground

Periodic reports issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed that Syria topped the lists of countries in the world most contaminated by explosive ordnance, as documented UN data indicates that millions of Syrians live in areas exposed to mines, which prevents the investment of thousands of hectares of fertile agricultural land.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has documented the harsh toll of these remnants in its field reports, indicating that landmines and unexploded ordnance remnants have claimed the lives of thousands of civilians over the past years, including a high percentage of children and women, in addition to recording thousands of injuries that led to amputations and permanent disabilities, which made the country face a protracted and chronic humanitarian and medical crisis.

Dismantling more than 100,000 explosive objects

The Syrian national authorities, in cooperation with international partners, have achieved several tangible successes in recent times despite the scarcity of resources, as joint efforts resulted in the dismantling and neutralization of more than 110,000 explosive objects during the previous field periods, as well as the conclusion of qualitative agreements for the transfer of expertise and the training of local cadres, such as memorandums of understanding signed with the Ukrainian Mine Action Center to benefit from its advanced expertise and international standards adopted by the Geneva International Center ($GICHD$).

These field efforts culminated in the launch of a joint project in mid-May between the Syrian Ministries of Emergency and Agriculture in partnership with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS$) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO$), with official funding from the Japanese government, with the aim of clearing and reintegrating damaged infrastructure and agricultural lands into the economic cycle to secure the livelihoods of beneficiaries and survivors.