The deadly legacy of landmines

More than two decades since the adoption of the landmark Mine Ban Treaty and the creation of the UN Mine Action Service, millions of landmines have been destroyed, but land in nearly 70 countries globally is still contaminated and innocent people continue to be killed or maimed. Marked annually on 4 April the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action draws awareness to why landmines are one of the most insidious and indiscriminate weapons of war.