Landmine Awareness

Debate between Wendy Morton and Lisa Cameron

Thursday 20th April 2023 Westminster Hall

[Wendy Morton]

The hon. Lady must be looking ahead in my speech or else she is psychic, because I intended to touch on the subject of Ukraine. That conflict—the illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine by the Russians—is a reminder that the use of landmines is prevalent today; it still happens. I will come on to that as I do a brief tour around some of the countries where we still have challenges to handle.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, more people face danger today than two years ago, as a result of more recent conflicts. MAG estimates that on average 15 people every day are killed or injured by landmines or unexploded ordnance, and—shockingly—half of the civilian casualties are children. I did a bit of calculating when preparing my speech, and I reckon that that is about 5,500 people being killed or injured every single year. That is a huge number.

I called this debate as close as was possible—because Parliament has just had its Easter recess—to 4 April, recognising that that is the UN’s International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. I wanted to use the opportunity of this debate to draw attention once again to this deadly legacy of conflict, to recognise the global role that the UK takes on this issue and to —gently—press my right hon. Friend the Minister and the UK Government to do more to support this incredibly important work.

Of course, the UK was one of the first signatories to the anti-personnel mine ban convention, or mine ban treaty, and the convention on cluster munitions. The UK is one of the world’s leading forces in ridding the world of landmines. With 164 parties to it, the mine ban treaty is one of the most widely ratified disarmament treaties, but there are notable exceptions, including Russia, the US, China, India, Pakistan, Myanmar and Syria. When the Minister sums up, will she say what more our Government can do to press these other parties to ratify the convention?

The UK provides aid for landmine clearance through GMAP—the global mine action programme—and UK funding has supported organisations such as MAG and the HALO Trust to remove more than 70,000 landmines and explosive remnants of war. I appreciate that the Minister faces budgetary pressures—as we did during my days in the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office—but I am a little surprised that funding for such a crucial programme has decreased by about £53 million in the last year, at a time when civilians are facing a greater risk, with the war in Ukraine being a really good example for us to consider.

GMAP3 was launched in March 2022 and runs until March 2025, with, I believe, a budget of £89 million— I see the Minister nodding. Will she update us on that budget and where it stands, how much has been spent and how much has been allocated? Does she think that that will be enough until 2025, given the number of challenges that we face around the world? I will touch on some of those, and in particular Ukraine. In too many places, the situation remains extremely challenging. I want to take this opportunity, as we recognise landmine awareness day, to share a few of the many examples, because they act as a salient reminder of why this work matters.

I will start with Afghanistan, where the HALO Trust began clearing mines back in 1988, following decades of conflict. The country was left absolutely littered with ordnance, and today Afghanistan remains one of the deadliest places for civilians. The work done there to educate children and adults about the risks they face is a vital part of HALO’s work programme. I am sure that is something you know, Mr Mundell, from visiting HALO and perhaps the programmes or projects it has done. If we do not do that educative part of the work and build capacity in countries to deal with the existing landmines, we are almost failing those countries, because of the amount of time it takes to clear them.

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)]

I thank the right hon. Lady for making an excellent speech and bringing this vital issue to the Chamber.

I had the opportunity a few years ago to visit the War Childhood Museum in Sarajevo. The Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Centre understands there are around 180,000 unexploded mines left following the war, which I remember seeing on screens when I was a child. One of the most poignant things was the aftermath of the conflict and its effect on the lives of children; that was very evident from the museum. Does the right hon. Lady agree that that is one of the things we must take into consideration? This work is for future generations as well. When landmines remain, communities continue to feel scared, young people continue to feel frightened and they still see the carnage of war in their daily experiences. That is why it is so important that we fund these services adequately.

[Wendy Morton]

The hon. Lady makes a really important point. We both served on the International Development Committee a number of years ago, so I know that she has a great interest in international development, and in mental health and wellbeing too. That point about education and support for the next generation is really important. In doing my research for my speech today, I was reminded that there are instances where people have kept a landmine as a remnant of war. It could be sitting in their home, yet it contains live explosives. Education really matters, and there is a need for that ongoing work.

The other important issue worth noting is land contamination. We often think that landmine clearance is about going in, removing the mine and that is it. The importance of that has increased due to greater awareness of the environmental agenda, but there is a need to ensure that that land is decontaminated; without doing that, agricultural land cannot be used. The hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron) makes a really important point, and I thank her for that.

HALO reports that in Kosovo in the western Balkans, 4,722 landmines and 5,727 cluster munitions were destroyed during its 1999-2022 programme alone, and 21 million square metres of land were released. That starts to give us a sense of the scale of the land that is contaminated with landmines. The Kosovo mine action strategy will be realised in 2024. Back in 1999, there were 18 mine clearance agencies working in Kosovo—18—and now there are only two. That shows that progress has been made, but the work continues, and the commitment remains to creating a safe future for the people in Kosovo.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a really interesting part of the world, and one where there has been recent conflict. The region remains one of the most contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance in the world. The UK was the first country to announce humanitarian support following the 2020 conflict—I remember that because I was the Minister at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office at the time—and £1 million was donated to the ICRC for their work. The Government then announced a second contribution of £500,000 to support landmine clearance. In this region, more people have suffered from landmine explosions after the conflict than during the conflict. I appreciate the challenges and difficulties around the world, and earlier in my speech I touched on landmines having an impact on getting support, in particular humanitarian support, to communities. This part of the world is incredibly tricky, sensitive and complex. Will the Minister provide an update on the Lachin corridor, which is critical to that part of the region?