Nepal : Good things to Share-1

According to International Campaign to Ban Landmine definition landmine is an ammunition  placed under or on the ground, antipersonnel mines explode from the contact or presence of a person. When triggered, they kill or cause injuries like blindness, burns, destroyed limbs and shrapnel wounds.

Nepal has become the second country in Asia (First is China) to be land mine free nation. The United Nations declared Nepal free of land mine fields on Tuesday 14 June 2011. It was declared in the presence of Prime Minister Jhalananth Khanal  and other  dignitaries.   Land mines were extensively used in the time of insurgency 1996-2006 during which more than 473 landmine casualties occurred taking lives of  78. It is to be noted that during insurgency more than 15,000 people lost their lives and estimated 300,000 people were forced to left their home to avoid the casualty. 

Worst thing of land mine is that once the armed conflicts are over, if the  land mines are not cleared it will cause more casualty than in the conflict time as more people return to their left places. More than 300 people lost their lives after the post conflict period (2006 -2010 A.D) which is about 5 times  than in the 10 years conflict.  Horrible stories of land mine victims in Cambodia and Afghanistan are frequently appeared in media . Many people have lost their lives and their livelihood due to landmines explosion.

Nepal has not yet approve the  Ottawa Convention which urge the ban of landmine legally. With the improve of security situation, the days are near when it is possible for Nepal government  to accept it formally.More than 140 countries including Japan, Canada  have already ratified the convention