International Day For Mine Awareness And Assistance In Mine Action: History And Significance
According to data, on Average, one person is killed or injured by an explosive device every hour.
Published : April 3, 2025 at 11:55 PM IST
Hyderabad: On 8 December 2005, the General Assembly declared that 4 April of each year would be officially proclaimed and observed as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance to Mine Action.
Mines, explosive remnants of war, and improvised explosive devices continue to cause death and injury, especially in situations of armed conflict. On average, one person is killed or injured by an explosive device every hour. Many children are among the victims. The use of improvised explosive devices has expanded, terrorizing civilians and threatening humanitarian actors and United Nations missions and personnel.
Theme
The United Nations mine action community will commemorate the annual International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on 4 April 2025 under the theme “Safe Futures Start Here”. The UN mine action community will bring attention to the progress made over the last year and the challenges that remain in countries around the world.
History
The United Nations advocates for the universalization of existing legal frameworks and encourages Member States to expand those regimes and develop new international instruments to protect civilians from the scourges of landmines and explosive remnants of war. It undertakes this work in collaboration with interested states, civil society, mine action and international organizations.
Since the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, commonly known as the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention opened for signature in 1997, 164 countries have ratified or acceded to it. Advocacy by this unprecedented coalition raised public awareness of the impact of anti-personnel landmines on civilians and rallied global support for a total ban.
Article 6 of the Mine Ban Treaty provided for "victim assistance", making the care, rehabilitation and the social and economic reintegration of victims of mines an obligation of States Parties to the Convention. It set out that this assistance must meet the immediate and long-term needs of mine accident survivors, their families, mine-affected communities and persons with disabilities.
Mining Accidents in India
While giving information in the Rajya Sabha on 17 March 2025, Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy said that 226 deaths have been reported due to accidents in coal and lignite mines in the country in the last five years.
- Accidents during mine activities – 2025: 20 Persons killed in 8 different mining accidents in 2025 till March 06.
- Accidents during mine activities – 2024: 53 killed in mining accidents in 2024.
- Accidents during mine activities – 2023: 41 Persons killed
- Accidents during mine activities – 2022: 28 killed
- Accidents during mine activities – 2021: 51 killed
- Accidents during mine activities – 2020: 53 killed
Govt Measures To Reduce Mining Accidents
To reduce accidents in coal mines, Minister Kishan Reddy said in the Lok Sabha on 12th March, 2025 that continuous work is being done to prevent accidents in coal mines, which is getting good results. In response to a supplementary question during the question period, Minister Reddy said that new technologies are being experimented with the formation of separate committees to reduce accidents in mines. He said that for the first time 5G technology is being tried inside the mine so that accidents can be controlled. He said that due to the efforts of the government, the accidents in the coal mines are reducing continuously and efforts are being made to reduce them in the coming days.
Major Causes Of Mine Accidents
Leakage of toxic gases
Dust explosions
Mine collapses
Improper mining techniques
Administrative failure and safety lapses
Illegal mining
Waterlogging of mines
Major Mine Rescue Operations In India
Major mine rescue operations in India have included the 1989 Raniganj coal mine rescue, where Jaswant Singh Gill saved 65 miners, and recent incidents like the Assam coal mine rescue where multiple agencies assisted in locating and retrieving trapped miners.
1) Assam Coal Mine Rescue (January 2025)
In January 2025, a flooded rat-hole coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district trapped several miners. The Indian Army, Assam Rifles, NDRF, SDRF, and other agencies participated in the rescue operation.The operation was complicated by the mine's remote location and the need to dewater the flooded shaft. Multiple bodies were recovered, and rescue efforts continued for the remaining trapped miners. The Indian Navy deployed specialized equipment to assist in the rescue efforts.
Army's Role
The Indian Army launched a HADR mission (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) to aid in the rescue operations.
2) 1989 Raniganj Coal Mine Rescue: Jaswant Singh Gill, a mining engineer from Coal India Limited, led a daring rescue operation. He used a steel capsule technique, a first in history, to rescue the trapped miners. Gill successfully rescued all 65 miners, making it a highly successful coal mine rescue.
3) Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue: In 2023, "rat hole miners" were instrumental in rescuing 41 workers trapped in a Himalayan tunnel in Uttarkashi, after advanced machinery failed.
Significance & Celebration
The International Day for Mine Awareness provides an opportunity for governments, non-governmental organizations, and individuals to come together to raise awareness about the impact of landmines and ERW and to advocate for the implementation of effective mine action programs. These programs include clearing landmines and ERW, destroying stockpiles, and educating communities on the dangers of these devices.
To mark International Day for Mine Awareness, events and activities are organized around the world, including mine risk education campaigns, public events, and fundraising initiatives. These events provide an opportunity to raise awareness about the impact of landmines and ERW, to honor the victims of these devices, and to advocate for the implementation of effective mine action programs.
The Work Of The UNMAS
For over 20 years, the work of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has been driven by the needs of affected people and tailored to the threat of explosive hazards faced by civilians, peacekeepers and humanitarians.
UNMAS works to save lives, to facilitate deployment of UN missions and the delivery of humanitarian assistance, to protect civilians, to support the voluntary return of the internally displaced and refugees, to enable humanitarian and recovery activities and to advocate for international humanitarian and human rights law.
Secretary-General's Message for 2025
"I appeal to all States that have not yet done so to ratify and fully implement the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. The humanitarian norms and principles enshrined in these treaties must be upheld and preserved.
And I urge States to uphold the global commitments in the recently adopted Pact for the Future to restrict or refrain from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, and to support all efforts to end the threat of explosive ordnances.
Mine action works. Together, let’s commit to build safe futures starting here and now".
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