Landmines in Mozambique

119 pages. Civilian Casualties: The report documented that landmines had claimed more than 10,000 victims—primarily civilians.Indiscriminate Weaponry: Landmines were deployed in direct violation of international law by government troops, RENAMO rebels, and various foreign forces. They were routinely scattered indiscriminately across roads and agricultural fields to terrorise local populations.Socioeconomic Paralysis: Beyond physical injuries, the widespread presence of mines severely blocked the return of millions of refugees, stifled agricultural productivity, and crippled Mozambique’s post-war economic recovery.Call for a Global Ban: HRW utilized its findings from Mozambique to demand a comprehensive international ban on the production, stockpiling, transfer, and use of antipersonnel landmines.The Path to Clearance. When the report was published in 1994, HRW warned that clearing the mines could take decades due to the lack of international coordination and local infrastructure. This work was further complicated over the years by extreme weather events, such as severe flooding in 2000, which caused unmapped landmines to shift downstream into previously safe civilian areas.Despite these immense hurdles, intensive international demining efforts led by organisations like The HALO Trust proved highly effective. Following more than twenty years of rigorous clearance operations, Mozambique formally declared itself free of all known landmines in September 2015 (SL#125/12).…