‘Making our home safe again’: meet the women who clear land mines Jessie Williams
As a child, Hana Khider dreamed of Sinjar. Born and brought up in Syria, she remembers her mother telling her stories about the district in northern Iraq where her relatives lived. “I always imagined it in my mind,” she says, smiling over our video call. “It was beautiful and peaceful.” Today, Sinjar is her home. She lives with her husband and three children in a village close to Mount Sinjar, which she describes as “very special to our community”. Khider is Yazidi and they believe the mountain was the final resting place of Noah’s Ark. The rocky peak has long been considered a sacred refuge for persecuted people.
Peace and Security Cluster
The UNOPS Peace and Security Cluster (PSC) is a principal service provider in the field of mine action with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), UNDP, UNICEF, Governments of mine-affected countries and other mine action partners. It is led by the Director, who has overall authority and accountability for the performance PSC on behalf of its clients. The Director is responsible for administering and providing oversight of the day-to-day management of the Project Field offices, both according to the client requirements and in line with UNOPS rules and regulations.
UNMAS
United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is a division of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) in the Department: of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). UNMAS is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly (RES/68/72) to ensure an effective, proactive and coordinated response to the problem posed by a wide range of explosive hazards. Legislative mandates
Belgium Provides Additional USD 1.8 Million for UNMAS Activities in Iraq [EN/AR]
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Baghdad, 27 January 2021 – The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq welcomes an additional contribution of EUR 1.5 million (approximately USD 1.8 million) from the Government of Belgium that will play a pivotal role in supporting the Government of Iraq to assist those impacted by explosive ordnance. The Government of Belgium will contribute to strengthening national capacity in the mine action sector, thus enabling stabilization and humanitarian efforts through the support of explosive hazard management and delivery of life saving risk education messages to affected communities in the retaken areas of Iraq.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has released its tenth annual report for the year 2020, entitled: “The Bleeding Decade”. The report documents the most notable human rights violations at the hands of the parties to the conflict and the controlling forces in Syria during the last year.
The 120-page report provides a record of the landmark key events that took place in Syria in 2020, and sheds light on the most prominent political, military and human rights events that occurred on the Syrian scene in 2020. The report, which stresses the direct responsibility of the state-ruling Syrian regime for committing violations, includes names of Syrian regime officials believed to be involved in committing these violations. The report also provides a record of the most notable human rights violations committed by the parties to the conflict and the controlling forces in Syria in 2020, as well as providing comparisons between the most notable patterns of violations SNHR do
English By Waakhe Simon Wudu Share on Facebook Print this page JUBA , SOUTH SUDAN - Many South Sudanese have been returning home to farm the land and live their lives after United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) workers spent years clearing huge portions of the country that were littered with unexploded ordnance. Still, officials warn the work is far from over.
In December, U.N .mine workers detonated a number of unexploded ordnances in Amee, a village located 135 kilometers southeast of Juba, but civilians still come across unexploded devices.
Okolo Joseph, a resident of Lokiliri Payam in Central Equatoria state, said his son James Wani, 6, was maimed by a landmine last April while playing with other children who found an unidentified object on the ground.