Japan's aid agency, UN sign deal to expand mine action cooperation

The Mainichi

21-07-2025

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The government-backed Japan International Cooperation Agency and a U.N. unit in charge of landmine countermeasures have concluded an agreement to expand their cooperation in disposing of the munitions in Africa and other areas.
JICA said the deal with the United Nations Mine Action Service, or UNMAS, aims to cement their collaborative ties in the field, particularly in Africa, one of the most heavily landmine-contaminated regions due to armed conflicts.
Under a memorandum of understanding signed in June between Naoki Ando, senior vice president of JICA, and Ilene Cohn, director of UNMAS, the two organizations agreed to regularly share information and hold events.
The memorandum makes their level of cooperation "more defined" and now offers "opportunities to broaden the target nations," a JICA official said.
Established in 1997, UNMAS engages in minesweeping and supports victims of landmines and other explosive remnants of war. It also disseminates information about the dangers of landmines in areas such as Africa and the Middle East.
The memorandum also says JICA and UNMAS will also cooperate with the Cambodian Mine Action Centre in conducting training and monitoring activities in African states.
The Cambodian center is a landmine-clearing organization that has removed thousands of domestic mines laid during a civil war that lasted for decades until the early 1990s. JICA has contributed to demining efforts in the Southeast Asian country since 1998.
JICA and UNMAS themselves have already been cooperating, having carried out workshops for field workers in Africa since 2023.
Japan has been focused on advancing landmine countermeasures, recently working together with Cambodia to help eliminate mines laid by Russian forces in Ukraine during their ongoing invasion.
It is set to chair the next meeting of state parties of the Ottawa Convention, an international agreement that prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of mines, slated for December in Geneva.