Today is the opening day of the Ukraine Mine Action Conference, bringing together high-level representatives from governments, international organisations, the private sector, civil society and academia to address the critical importance of Mine Action as a central component of social and economic recovery for Ukraine and other affected countries.
It is estimated that almost a quarter of Ukrainian territory is contaminated by mines and other explosive ordnance (UXO). The conference, which takes place under the motto ‘People. Partners. Progress.’ includes strategic discussions as well as best-practice technical and concrete approaches.
The Swiss Conferation, joint hosts of the conference with Ukraine, today announced support for Ukraine with a comprehensive humanitarian demining package. In her opening address, President Viola Amherd, head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) underlined the key role of humanitarian demining for recovery: “Humanitarian demining is not only a matter of safety, but also a precondition for recovery, in particular for the resumption of agricultural production and the education of children.”
Driving demining efforts, the package includes the purchase of three high-performance mine clearance systems from Global Clearance Solutions. GCS will also provide comprehensive training measures for the operator teams on site as well as service and maintenance work for three years. Amherd continued: “This year, we will deliver three more machines from Global Clearance Solutions and provide local training and support. This will enable Ukraine to carry out effective and safe demining operations independently in the future.”
The GCS-200 demining platform is the most modern of its kind in the world. It is a remote-controlled demining machine with state-of-the-art sensors and a range of modular attachments that ensure maximum safety and efficiency in humanitarian demining. The package also includes specialised drone technology and transporters to ensure that the machines can be deployed where they are needed most.
The first GCS-200, currently on display outside the conference venue, will be delivered to Ukraine in around three weeks, with the other two to follow in December 2024 and February 2025.
Image credits: FDFA Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs