November, 2024

I’m in Siem Reap, Cambodia for the 5th Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty — the treaty which bans landmines. As a Youth Fellow with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, my job is to advocate for a mine-free world with government delegates from around the globe.

This convention is particularly special because it is the first hosted in Asia, and all weekend delegates and attendees heard from demining organizations, like A22’s partner Mines Advisory Group, on the incredible successes of mine clearance in Cambodia. The country has become a leader in mine action. To mark the kickoff of the week-long Review Conference, the Cambodian Goverment hosted the March for a Mine Free World around the centuries-old Angkor Wat and Bayon Temple. Hundreds of advocates, deminers, survivors, and supporters of the Mine Ban Treaty joined for this 5k walk in this breathtaking and enduring heritage site.

MARCH FOR A MINE FREE WORLD, WITH MEMBERS
OF THE INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES

VISIT WITH HERO RATS OF APOPO AND CMAC, DEMINING PARTNERS

Like its neighbor, Laos, Cambodia remains littered with unexplored ordnance, and is committed to removing these threats to civilian lives and livelihoods. Organizations like MAG make this possible.

As an advocate for humanitarian demining, my message to delegates is simple this week: we as young people believe a mine-free world is possible. Treaties like this are tested in times of conflict; like Laos 50 years ago, Ukraine is already contaminated with thousands of cluster munitions and will likely use landmines in self-defense. Weapons like landmines and cluster bombs primarily harm civilians, and I’m lucky to be joined by young people from around the world, including and especially survivors of landmines, to remind governments that we citizens care about preventing harm to civilians, and we are committed to eliminating the threats of cluster bombs and landmines, then and now.