Recognizes the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on April 4, 2025, and reaffirms U.S. leadership in global landmine and unexploded ordnance removal efforts.
Ami Bera
Representative
CA-6
This bill supports the recognition of April 4, 2025, as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. It reaffirms the United States' leadership role in global demining efforts and its commitment to eliminating landmines and unexploded ordnance worldwide. The bill also acknowledges the ongoing humanitarian challenges posed by landmines in various conflict zones, including Ukraine, and emphasizes the need for continued funding and resources for demining initiatives. Finally, it supports the goal of clearing mined areas by 2025, as expressed in the Maputo Declaration.
U.S. Reaffirms $4.6 Billion+ Commitment to Global Demining, Recognizes April 4th Awareness Day
This resolution formally acknowledges April 4, 2025, as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. More significantly, it serves as a public statement reaffirming the United States' long-standing role and financial commitment—over $4.6 billion since 1993—to clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) worldwide. The document underscores the ongoing danger these hidden threats pose to civilians and development in at least 60 countries, citing over 135,000 casualties since 2001.
Beyond the Calendar Marker: Acknowledging a Deadly Legacy
This isn't just about marking a day; it's about recognizing a persistent global problem. Landmines and UXO don't just disappear when conflicts end. They linger for decades, making farmland unusable, preventing infrastructure development, and tragically killing or maiming civilians, including children. The resolution points out the risks these devices pose even to U.S. military personnel operating abroad. It also highlights the specific, massive contamination challenges stemming from recent conflicts in places like Ukraine—where an estimated one-third of the country is affected—alongside the enduring legacy hazards in Southeast Asian nations like Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, decades after the conflict there.
U.S. Stance: Funding Leadership, Treaty Hesitation
The resolution emphasizes the U.S. position as a global leader in funding demining efforts and supporting initiatives like the Maputo 15 declaration, which aims for clearance of mined areas. However, it also implicitly notes a key policy point: while 164 nations are party to the international treaty banning anti-personnel mines, the United States is not among them. This resolution focuses on the assistance and clearance aspects, calling for continued U.S. government funding and leadership to tackle both new and legacy contamination, stressing that needs in one region don't diminish the urgency elsewhere.
What It Signals: Commitment and Remembrance
Ultimately, this resolution acts as a formal declaration of continued U.S. intent. It calls on the government to maintain its financial support and leadership in international demining. It also specifically recognizes the sacrifices of those involved – from the deminers risking their lives today to the Southeast Asian communities who supported U.S. forces decades ago, tying the effort back to the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. While not creating new law or funding mandates itself, it signals a continued focus on addressing the deadly remnants of conflict around the world.