UNGA FOURTH COMMITTEE: Assistance in Mine Action
Statement by Ms. Alice Volkov, Political Adviser, Australian Permanent Mission to the UN
23 October 2025
Thank you Chair,
I am honoured to deliver this statement on behalf of Canada, New Zealand and my own country, Australia, in support of the resolution on Assistance in Mine Action.
We thank Poland for its facilitation and are proud to co-sponsor this important resolution.
Chair,
Anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnances can cause long-term human suffering and pose a grave threat to countries, in particular to civilians, during and after conflict.
There have been some notable developments in mine action since this resolution was last adopted.
In November 2024, the fifth Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention Review Conference adopted the Siem Reap-Angkor Action Plan. CANZ stresses the importance of its implementation.
We welcome the recent accession of Tonga and the ratification of the Republic of Marshall Islands to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, and the accession of Vanuatu to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
We regret the withdrawal of five states from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban convention, and one state from the Convention on Cluster Munitions. This represents a setback and challenge in universalisation efforts.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the General Assembly Resolution on ‘Countering the threat posed by Improvised Explosive Devices’.
This milestone anniversary reminds us that the ongoing challenges of Improvised Explosive Devises require consistent effort and focus.
Chair,
CANZ countries welcome the Secretary-General’s latest report on Assistance in Mine Action (A/80/272) which underscores the urgent and growing threat posed by unexploded ordnance, with over 120 armed conflicts worldwide placing mine action capacities under unprecedented strain, and with civilians remaining the most affected.
CANZ welcomes the progress noted in the report, including the adoption of the updated UN Mine Action Strategy, and the appointment of the UN’s first Global Advocate for persons with disabilities in conflict and peacebuilding.
Despite these achievements, the outlook is sobering.
Unexploded ordnance continues to endanger civilians, obstruct humanitarian access, and undermine development.
Climate change and extreme weather events are compounding these risks, displacing contamination and complicating clearance efforts.
In Ukraine, for example, contamination has rendered 10% of the world’s most fertile agricultural land unusable, threatening food security globally.
The Secretary-General also warns of the challenges of declining funding forcing mine action programmes to end.
CANZ welcomes the Secretary-General’s campaign for Humanitarian Disarmament and Mine Action, his call to uphold humanitarian disarmament instruments and norms, and to integrate mine action into development and peacebuilding efforts.
And CANZ remains committed to working with partners to secure a future free from the threat of mines and unexploded ordnance.
Thank you.