Cambodia leads pack for landmine clearance efforts
Cambodia has cleared more square kilometres of landmines than any other country over the past year, according to a new report by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, but is still unlikely to meet its goals in coming years. At 46.5 square kilometres, Cambodia’s demining efforts account for more than 25 percent of all recorded global demining since October 2015. Cambodia is also among the top five aid-receiving countries for demining activities, along with Afghanistan, Iraq, Laos and Syria. The report classifies Cambodia as having a status of “massive antipersonnel mine contamination”, which it defines as having over 100 square kilometres of contaminated area in the entire country. Despite Cambodia leading the pack in clearance last year, the organisation that created the report agreed with the recent Geneva International review that found Cambodia is not on schedule to meet its upcoming land-clearing deadlines.
