By : Nedal Zubeidi
Jordan Daily – Azerbaijan has urged the international community to increase support for its demining efforts, warning that landmines left from the decades-long conflict with Armenia continue to kill civilians and hinder reconstruction in liberated territories.
“Azerbaijan stands among the most heavily mine-contaminated countries in the world, where around 1.5 million landmines and countless explosive devices were laid by Armenia during the almost three-decade-long military occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories,” Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said.
Since the end of the conflict in November 2020, landmine explosions have killed or injured 382 Azerbaijanis, including women and children. “The total number of casualties since the beginning of the military occupation of the Azerbaijani territories exceeded 3,400 – a figure that speaks to the enduring cruelty of this hidden menace,” Bayramov said.
Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of deliberately placing mines to prevent the return of displaced people. “The clear objective behind Armenia’s extensive landmine placement was also to obstruct the return of former internally displaced persons to their homes and impede the development of these territories,” Bayramov stated.
Baku also criticized Armenia for failing to provide accurate minefield maps. “Armenia’s continuous refusal to provide landmine maps complicates mine action in Azerbaijan,” Bayramov said. The maps Armenia eventually submitted under international pressure were only “25 percent accurate,” he added.
Azerbaijan has prioritized demining efforts, with its Mine Action Agency and other state bodies working to clear land. “Since the end of the war in 2020, [Azerbaijan] has successfully cleared 166,000 hectares of land that includes 54,500 landmines and around 105,000 explosive remnants of war (ERW),” Bayramov said. However, this accounts for just 14.2% of the estimated contaminated area, he noted.
Despite some international assistance, Baku says it shoulders most of the financial burden. “Over 90% of demining activities in Azerbaijan are funded through national resources, which are insufficient given the scale of the problem,” Bayramov said, urging more global support. “As a matter of human solidarity, it is important to increase international support for further strengthening and enhancing national mine action efforts in Azerbaijan for the sake of saving human lives.”
Azerbaijan has also contributed to global demining efforts in Türkiye, Georgia, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, hosted multiple international demining conferences and launched a Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group to coordinate humanitarian demining efforts.
Recognizing the broader impact of landmines, Azerbaijan successfully pushed for a UNESCO resolution on their threat to cultural heritage and has proposed making humanitarian demining the UN’s 18th Sustainable Development Goal. “By joining forces, we can save lives and pave the way for a future where no one – man, woman, or child – lives in fear of these silent killers,” Bayramov said.
