Azerbaijan remains one of the most mine-contaminated nations in the world: over 1.5 million mines and other explosive devices were planted across Azerbaijani territories during the Armenian occupation, with more than 13% of the land still heavily mined, the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to the UN Office in Geneva said.
"The ongoing mine threat continues to obstruct the restoration of liberated territories, complicates the return of internally displaced persons, and hampers efforts to locate nearly 4,000 missing citizens," the statement reads.
Mines and traps were placed in civilian-populated areas far from the former contact line. Since 2020, only 6% of the necessary funds for humanitarian demining have been provided from foreign sources, the mission noted.
Since the end of the second Karabakh war, Azerbaijan has cleared approximately 180,000 hectares of land, discovering 56,5 mines and 121,2 explosive objects, the mission recalled.
