ON the occasion of the 4 April, marked across the globe as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, Azerbaijan seeks to raise awareness about the challenges it faces with landmines in its territory.

Azerbaijan faces a significant challenge due to landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination as a result of nearly three decades of military occupation by Armenia.

Azerbaijan is among the most heavily mine-contaminated countries globally. The latest survey indicates that total contaminated area in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan stands at approximately 11,667 square kilometers. This area constitutes more than 13% of the nation's total territory of 86,600 square kilometers. Estimated 1.5 million landmines and unknown number of ERW contamination in these territories pose severe risks to civilians and hinder socio-economic development.

Since the end of the war in 2020, 230 landmine explosion incidents occurred, resulting in 383 victims, including children and women, underscoring the urgent need for mine clearance and victim assistance. Over the last 30 years, the cumulative toll of landmine victims in Azerbaijan has exceeded 3,400.

The Karabakh and East Zangazur regions of Azerbaijan had been heavily mined by Armenian armed forces since the 1990s. In 1991, Armenia launched a full-blown military assault against Azerbaijan, which lasted until a ceasefire was reached in 1994. The war led to Armenia occupying 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territories, resulting in over 30,000 Azerbaijanis killed and one million others expelled from those lands in a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign.

On September 27, 2020, the decades-old conflict reignited after Armenia’s forces illegally deployed in occupied Azerbaijani lands shelled military positions and civilian settlements of Azerbaijan. During the ensuing counter-attack operations that lasted 44 days, Azerbaijani forces liberated over 300 settlements, including the cities of Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli, and Shusha, from Armenian occupation. The war ended on November 10, 2020, with a tripartite statement signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia, under which Armenia returned the occupied Aghdam, Kalbajar, and Lachin districts to Azerbaijan.

Since the cessation of hostilities, the Azerbaijani government has been conducting demining operations in the liberated territories to facilitate the return of internally displaced people to their homes.

Despite extensive efforts, demining operations have faced many challenges due to Armenia’s refusal to hand over accurate maps displaying the locations of landmines. Furthermore, from 2020 to 2023, Armenia laid new minefields along 500 kilometers in the territory of Azerbaijan, hindering reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts and significantly delaying the return of former internally displaced persons to their homes.

Since the end of war in 2020, important progress has been attained in demining operations held by the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), with a total of 179 791.8 hectares of land successfully cleared of 56 460 mines and 121 188 ERW. The total area cleared constitutes approximately 15.4% of the total estimated contaminated area, and the number of found landmines constitutes approximately 3.6% of the estimated 1,5 million landmines. According to Azerbaijani government data, international experts estimate that Azerbaijan needs nearly 30 years and $25 billion to resolve demining-related issues.

Humanitarian demining remains one of Azerbaijan’s key priorities in its state policy, mobilizing all available domestic resources to mitigate the mine danger. However, Baku considers international political and practical support crucial in preventing the humanitarian impacts of mines.

While addressing its mine problem, Azerbaijan has simultaneously launched multiple initiatives to rivet the international community’s attention to this matter. In 2023 Azerbaijan has officially declared humanitarian demining as the 18th National Sustainable Development Goal, and the country is working to ensure the recognition of this issue as the UN’s Global 18th SDG. In the meantime, Azerbaijan has launched an initiative to establish a Special Contact Group on Humanitarian Demining within the Non-Aligned Movement. The Contact Group has begun operating since September 2023.

At the 15th meeting of the State Parties to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, a resolution on the “Impact of Mines on Cultural Heritage” was adopted at Azerbaijan’s initiative. Following this resolution, a special conference on the “Impact of Mines and Unexploded Ordnance on Cultural Property” was organized in Aghdam, in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, in May 2024.

Over the past three years, Azerbaijan has co-organized several international conferences to highlight the challenges posed by mines. Currently, Baku is collaborating with the UN to establish a “Center of Excellence” for training in demining practices.

International assistance is necessary in demining. Azerbaijan has instituted legal proceedings at the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights against Armenia for violations of international law, including through the deployment of landmines to block the return of Azerbaijanis to the liberated territories. On 23 February 2023, the International Court of Justice issued its decisions on measures requested by Azerbaijan with respect to planting mines and other explosives by Armenia in the territory of Azerbaijan.

The Court decided not to revisit its prior conclusion that Armenia's placement of landmines does not meet the requirements for the issuance of provisional measures. Azerbaijan considers that this was not a decision based on the merits of the case, and continues to seek to hold Armenia accountable and raise the issue of landmines and booby traps.

On the occasion of the 4 April, marked across the globe as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, Azerbaijan seeks to raise awareness about the challenges it faces with landmines in its territory. Azerbaijan needs the engagement of the international community to encourage Armenia to hand over any relevant information they possess that would be helpful in the demining process. Additionally, the assistance of the international community to demine the region and provide suitable conditions for the return of the IDPs would be welcomed. The world needs to show solidarity in the fight against the challenges of this magnitude.




Shabnam Karimova is the First Secretary of the Embassy


** The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.