This story was written by the UN Mine Action Service’s South Sudan team. In close cooperation with South Sudan’s National Mine Action Authority and other partners, the team coordinates demining efforts and reaches out to communities to raise awareness on the dangers of explosive hazards and how to avoid them.
After a conflict, after the guns fall silent, the legacy of war often remains hidden beneath the soil, lying on roadsides and scattered across farmland. Landmines and explosive remnants of war are left behind, threatening communities that are already reeling from the effects of violence.
This is the reality for many communities in South Sudan, a country that has faced decades of armed conflict and humanitarian crises. A farmer preparing their land, a child walking to school, a cattle herder guiding livestock, or a woman collecting firewood – all are put at risk by these hidden threats. So, too, are the humanitarians trying to reach communities that are in dire need of food, water, and medical assistance.
Since 2004, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), an integral part of the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, has been working with South Sudan’s National Mine Action Authority and other partners to remove these hidden killers. Important progress has been made, but large areas remain contaminated, and renewed fighting risks reversing the progress made in clearing land.
Together, UNMAS and its partners have cleared explosive remnants of war from thousands of kilometers of roads and land, letting life return to normal where demining has taken place. Farmers like Daniel Kong, from Malakal, who once feared tilling his land, can now cultivate their crops without fear. When his village was declared safe from mines, Mr. Kong was able to return to farming, letting him provide food for his family and earn a livelihood in the market. Pastoralists and women collecting firewood can now move freely without the fear of stepping on a hidden threat. Schools that were once contaminated with abandoned explosive weapons are now filled with students. This is a critical step forward in protecting children, who, over the last five years, have made up 80% of South Sudan’s victims of explosive remnants. Families can be reconnected, traders can resume their work, and humanitarians can deliver aid more safely.
However, South Sudan and some other conflict-affected areas around the world are facing renewed instability and the mass displacement of populations, reversing hard-won gains and posing new threats. This has made the need for mine action more urgent than ever.
Member State support will be critical to enabling UNMAS, UN peacekeeping missions, and our partners to continue to clear explosive threats and educate communities on how to identify and avoid them. At the upcoming Peacekeeping Ministerial in Berlin, they will have the opportunity to contribute specialized personnel, weapons and ammunitions management training, and other critical resources that will help demining efforts across the globe. By working together, we can make places like South Sudan safer for communities and the people living in them. Every explosive item removed is a future restored and a step closer to peace.
This story is part of the "Peacekeeping Impact" story series, which reports on the impact peacekeeping has for the people and communities it serves.