Millions of landmines destroyed since 1999 Mine Ban Treaty
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Play - 05:42
Today is The United Nations' International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. The UN hopes it will lead to further progress toward the eradication of landmines, still a threat in over 60 countries. The Mine Ban Treaty became legally binding in 1999 and today more than 80 percent of countries have signed the treaty and the number of people killed or injured by mines each year has fallen from around 20,000 at the end of the1990s to around 4,000. Millions of mines have been destroyed as more than 3,000 square kilometers of land have been cleared. Philipp von Michaélis who heads a de-mining firm, MineWolf, in Switzerland knows how to do the job, safely.
