Assistance in Mine Action

A/RES/57/159View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 28 Assistance in mine action, published in 2003.

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’s in this document?

24 operative paragraphs

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General;¹⁶

¹⁶A/57/430.

Calls, in particular, for the continuation of the efforts of States, with the assistance of the United Nations and institutions as appropriate, to foster the establishment and development of national mine-action capacities in countries in which 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, 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, where appropriate in cooperation with the relevant bodies of the United Nations system and relevant regional, governmental and non-governmental organizations, to promote awareness of landmines, including 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 and local 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, and stresses that such assistance should be integrated into broader humanitarian and other strategies;

Stresses the importance of international support for emergency assistance to victims of mines and other unexploded ordnance and for the care, 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 the finalization of an emergency response plan by the United Nations to respond to emergency mine-action requirements, and emphasizes the need for that plan to build upon all existing capacities;

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 and local ownership, sustainability and capacity-building;

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

Stresses the importance of cooperation and coordination in mine action, while emphasizing once again the important role of the United Nations in the effective coordination of mine-action activities, based on the United Nations policy on mine action and effective coordination,¹⁷ and especially the role of the Mine Action Service, stresses also the important role that national authorities and regional organizations can play in this regard, and underlines the need for the continuous assessment of these roles by the General Assembly;

¹⁷A/53/496, annex II.

Emphasizes 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 mine-related activities of the United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, and in this regard expresses its appreciation of the roles played by other bodies of the United Nations system, in accordance with United Nations mine-action policy;

Notes with appreciation the implementation of the United Nations mine-action strategy for the period 2001–2005 developed by the Secretary-General,¹⁸ and requests him to review it formally by further 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, in order to ensure the effectiveness of assistance in mine action by the United Nations;

¹⁸See A/56/448 and Add.1 and 2.

Emphasizes the importance of undertaking further multisectoral assessments and surveys to better 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 the ongoing development by the United Nations of the International Mine Action Standards, with the assistance of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining and other partners in mine action, to support the safe and effective conduct of mine-action activities, emphasizes the need for an inclusive process to be followed in the development and review of such standards, and encourages the Secretary-General to circulate the completed standards as a United Nations document to all Member States;

Takes note with appreciation of the information management policy for mine action submitted by the Secretary-General,¹⁹ and emphasizes in this context the importance of developing and maintaining a comprehensive information management system for mine action, following an inclusive and continuous improvement process, under the overall coordination of the Mine Action Service and with the instrumental support of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, in order to facilitate the coordination of field activities and the setting of priorities therein;

¹⁹See A/56/448/Add.2.

Requests the Mine Action Service to develop further the electronic mine information network as a user-friendly repository of mine-related information and as a means for mine-action programmes to circulate on a regular basis to donors and other partners standard reports on the scope and impact of the mine problem, available mine-action resources and capacities and the progress achieved in the field;

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;

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 minefields, mines, booby traps and other devices, in accordance with international law, as soon as possible;

Recognizes the importance of the various mine-action coordination centres, encourages the further establishment of such centres, including those supported by the United Nations Development Programme or under the auspices of the Mine Action Service, especially in emergency situations, and encourages States to support the activities of those centres and the trust funds established for the coordination and promotion of assistance in mine action;

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 user-oriented scientific research and development on mine-action techniques and technology, within reasonable time frames, so that mine-action activities may be carried out more effectively at lower costs and through safer means and to promote international and local 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 mine-action activities;

Takes note with appreciation of the ongoing efforts of the Secretary-General 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 the presentation of options to this effect to the General Assembly;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth 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;

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

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?

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What’s in this document?

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