April 4 has been recognized as the "International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance Mine Action" by the UN General Assembly since 2005. On this occasion, the organized the ''National Mine Action Coordination Platform'' annual workshop on April 03, 2025, as a result of cooperation with UN Development Programme.
During the event, speeches were made by Vaghinak Sargsyan, director of the ''Center for Humanitarian Demining and Expertise'' (''CHDE''), Jan Plešinger, deputy head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, Konstantin Sokulskiy, UNDP deputy resident representative in Armenia.
Director Vaghinak Sargsyan welcomed the attendees, congratulated them on the occasion of the day, and then presented the current challenges in mine action sector in the Republic of Armenia.
“I value cooperation with the local and international organizations in overcoming existing issues, particularly the various programs implemented by "CHDE" in Armenia with the financial assistance of the European Union and the direct support of UNDP. According to statistical data, one person in the world suffers from landmines and explosive ordnance every minute, 30% of the total victims are children, and in this context, it is extremely important to constantly activate the work carried out with regard to explosive ordnance risk education that is aimed at raising people's awareness," said Vaghinak Sargsyan.
During the event, the specifics of humanitarian mine action were discussed, the current challenges were addressed, the priorities, innovations and new approaches of the sector were discussed.
In the foyer, decorated to commemorate the "International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action" the specialists of "CHDE" organized a demonstration of mine action activities. The guests had the opportunity to learn about demining processes, as well as to get informed about safe behavior from explosive ordnance risk education specialists.
