5 August 2014 - To raise awareness about the impact of landmines, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) recently launched an outreach and advocacy campaign in the Unitedd Kingdom capital London.

The campaign, intended to reach a European audience, also seeks to highlight support given by the European Union Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) as a leading donor for mine action work in different parts of South Sudan.

“ECHO has partnered with the UN to clear roadways of hazardous items to ensure humanitarian access,” said a press release from UNMAS. “For the road clearance project, ECHO provided UNMAS with 1.5 million Euros that was used between July 2013 and June 2014.”

Through ECHO funding, some 760 kilometres of routes were opened and about 20,000 people at risk were trained to recognize suspected dangerous areas and items like mines and explosive remnants of war.

The London campaign is focusing on public bus stops where billboard posters are being used to reach a broad audience.

“As the project supported by ECHO ensured safe movement of civilians along roads, the advertisements were placed in bus stops to give commuters and passersby a glimpse of the work being done by UNMAS so that other children, women and men do not have to go through the same perils when travelling on South Sudan roads,” explained UNMAS Country Programme Manager Lance Malin.

He added that by targeting busy central London locations, the campaign “guarantees visibility of a very important international issue.”

The EU and UN project was suspended due to renewed conflict in December 2013. It started again on 1 March 2014, re-focusing on operations to respond to the ongoing crisis, including surveys in areas that were worst hit by the conflict like Unity State.

In a foreword to the UNMAS Annual Report 2013, UN Peacekeeping Operations Chief Hervé Ladsous underscored the importance of mine action services.

“The presence of a single landmine freezes development activities, stunts the deployment of peacekeepers and prevents or delays delivery of essential humanitarian relief,” said Mr. Ladsous. “The results of UNMAS interventions are immediate and long lasting...."