Assistance in Mine Action

A/RES/56/219View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 38 Assistance in mine action, published in 2002.

What other versions does this mandate have?

17 versions · 1998–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/74

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/74	Assistance in mine action	2,899	88%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/70	Assistance in mine action	2,840	90%Compare
2021	A/RES/76/74	Assistance in mine action	2,637	82%Compare
2019	A/RES/74/80	Assistance in mine action	2,311	83%Compare
2017	A/RES/72/75	Assistance in mine action	2,158	71%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

13 reports · 2002–2025

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2025	A/80/272	Assistance in mine action report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/78/70
2023	A/78/259	Assistance in mine action report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/76/74
2021	A/76/283	Assistance in mine action report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/74/80
2019	A/74/288	Assistance in mine action report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/72/75
2017	A/72/226	Assistance in mine action report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/70/80

What subjects does this mandate have?

19 subjects

Capacity Building Children in Armed Conflicts Coordination Within UN System Development Assistance Emergency Relief Focal Points Humanitarian Assistance Information Exchange Information Management Information Systems Landmines Mine Clearance Reconstruction Rehabilitation Report Preparation Standards Technical Cooperation Trust Funds War Victims

What’s in this document?

24 operative paragraphs

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on assistance in mine action;¹⁴

¹⁴A/56/448 and Add.1 and 2.

Calls, in particular, for the continuation of the efforts of the United Nations, with the assistance of States and institutions as appropriate, to foster the establishment of mine-action capacities in countries where mines constitute a serious threat to the safety, health and lives of the local population or an impediment to social and economic development efforts at the national and local levels, emphasizes the importance of developing national mine-action capacities, and urges all Member States, in particular those that have the capacity to do so, to assist mine-affected countries in the establishment and development of national capacities in mine clearance, mine awareness and victim assistance;

Invites Member States to develop and support national programmes, in cooperation with the relevant bodies of the United Nations system where appropriate, to promote awareness of landmines, especially among women and children;

Expresses its appreciation to Governments, regional organizations and other donors for their financial and in-kind contributions to mine action, including contributions for emergency operations and for national capacity-building programmes;

Appeals to Governments, regional organizations and other donors to continue, and whenever possible increase, their support to mine action through further contributions, including contributions through the Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action, to allow for the timely delivery of mine-action assistance in emergency situations;

Encourages all relevant multilateral and national programmes and bodies to include, in coordination with the United Nations, activities related to mine action in their humanitarian, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development assistance activities, where appropriate, bearing in mind the need to ensure national ownership, sustainability and capacity-building;

Stresses the importance of international support for emergency assistance to victims of mines and for the care and rehabilitation and social and economic reintegration of the victims, and also stresses that such assistance should be integrated into broader public health and socio-economic strategies;

Encourages Governments, relevant United Nations bodies and other donors to take further action to promote gender- and age-appropriate mine-awareness programmes, victim assistance and child-centred rehabilitation, thereby reducing the number of child victims and relieving their plight;

Emphasizes again the important role of the United Nations in the effective coordination of mine-action activities, including those by regional organizations, and especially the role of the Mine Action Service of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the Secretariat, and stresses the need for the continuous assessment of this role by the General Assembly;

Emphasizes in this regard the role of the Mine Action Service as the focal point for mine action within the United Nations system and its ongoing collaboration with and coordination of all the mine-related activities of the United Nations agencies, funds and programmes;

Notes with appreciation the mine-action strategy covering the period 2001–2005 submitted by the Secretary-General,¹⁵ requests him to optimize it by seeking and taking into account the views of Member States and taking into consideration the impact of the landmine problem on rehabilitation, reconstruction and development, with a view to ensuring the effectiveness of assistance in mine action by the United Nations, emphasizes in this respect the importance of further multisectoral assessments and surveys better to define the nature, scope and impact of the landmine problem in affected countries and to support the establishment of clear priorities and national plans of action, notes with appreciation in this regard the ongoing development by the United Nations of International Mine Action Standards to support the safe and effective conduct of mine-action activities, emphasizes the need for an inclusive process to be followed in the development of such standards, and encourages the Secretary-General to circulate the completed standards as a United Nations document to all Member States;

¹⁵A/56/448/Add.1.

Takes note with appreciation of the Information Management Policy For Mine Action submitted by the Secretary-General, and emphasizes in this context the importance of developing a comprehensive information management system for mine action, following an inclusive process, under the overall coordination of the Mine Action Service and with the support of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, in order to facilitate the coordination of field activities and the setting of priorities therein;

Welcomes in this respect the development of an Electronic Mine Information Network to support the role of the United Nations as a repository of mine-related information and to serve as a gateway to all relevant data made available by Member States and regional, governmental and non-governmental organizations and foundations for mine action;

Welcomes also recent approaches with regard to the establishment of mine-action coordination centres, encourages the further establishment of such centres, especially in emergency situations, and also encourages States to support the activities of mine-action coordination centres and trust funds established to coordinate assistance in mine action under the auspices of the Mine Action Service;

Encourages the ongoing development of an emergency response plan by the United Nations to respond to emergency mine-action requirements, and emphasizes the need for such a plan to build upon all existing capacities;

Urges Member States and regional, governmental and non-governmental organizations and foundations to continue to extend full assistance and cooperation to the Secretary-General and, in particular, to provide him with information and data, as well as other appropriate resources that could be useful in strengthening the coordination role of the United Nations in mine action, in particular in the fields of mine awareness, training, surveying, detection and clearance, scientific research on mine-detection and mine-clearance technology and information on and distribution of medical equipment and supplies;

Emphasizes in this regard the importance of recording the location of mines, of retaining all such records and making them available to concerned parties upon cessation of hostilities, and welcomes the strengthening of the relevant provisions in international law;

Calls upon Member States, especially those that have the capacity to do so, to provide the necessary information and technical, financial and material assistance, as appropriate, and to locate, remove, destroy or otherwise render ineffective existing minefields, mines, booby traps and other devices in accordance with international law, as soon as possible;

Urges Member States and regional, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and foundations that have the ability to do so to provide, as appropriate, technological assistance to mine-affected countries and to promote scientific research and development on humanitarian mine-action techniques and technology so that mine-action activities may be carried out more effectively at lower costs and through safer means and to promote international collaboration in this regard;

Encourages Member States and regional, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and foundations to continue to support ongoing activities to promote appropriate technology, as well as international operational and safety standards for humanitarian mine-action activities;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session a report on the progress achieved on all relevant issues outlined both in his previous reports to the Assembly on assistance in mine clearance and mine action and in the present resolution, including the progress made by the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international and regional organizations as well as national programmes, and on the operation of the Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action and other mine-action programmes;

Invites the Secretary-General to continue to study how to secure a more sound financial basis for the Mine Action Service and to present options to this effect to the General Assembly;

Also invites the Secretary-General further to study ways and means of increasing public awareness of the impact of the problem of landmines and other unexploded ordnance on affected countries and to present options to this effect to the General Assembly;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-seventh session the item entitled “Assistance in mine action”.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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