4 April – International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action
The United Nations General Assembly at its 60th session in December 2005 passed a resolution on the assistance in mine action (A/RES/60/97) by which April 4 is declared International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
Landmines and explosive remnants of war cause huge humanitarian and developmental difficulties with serious and long-term social and economic consequences. Mines represent a threat to the safety, health and living of the population as well as participants in the humanitarian missions, peace-keeping operations and rehabilitation programmes.
Croatia, but also the entire world, has been marking April 4 for the seventh time. In the previous years, the central marking ceremony was held in different towns and municipalities of Our Beautiful. This year the central event will be organized in Zagreb, at Cvjetni trg, in front of the statue of the poet Petar Preradović on April 4, from 09,00 to 15,00 hrs.
Besides the organizer, Croatian Mine Action Centre, the event will also be attended by the students of the international elementary school ‘’Matija Gubec’’ from Zagreb and representatives of the Croatian Lottery. Besides CROMAC’s promotional material, the students will decorate the exhibition stall with their imaginative art works. The colleagues from the Croatian Lottery will donate the lottery tickets ‘Square of happiness’’.
9th International Symposium ‘’Humanitarian Demining and Equipment Exhibition 2012’’ Held
The 9th International Symposium ‘’Humanitarian Demining and Equipment Exhibition 2012’’ was opened on 24th April 2012 in the morning hours in the Solaris Hotels Resort in Šibenik. During the official opening ceremony, the symposium participants, 227 people from 45 countries, were addressed by the director of the Croatian Mine Action Centre Mr. Zdravko Modrušan, the County Prefect of the Šibenik-Knin County Mr. Goran Pauk, director of the Office for Demining at the Government of the Republic of Croatia, H.E. Dr. Bernd Fischer, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Croatia. The Symposium was opened by the special envoy of the President of the Republic of Croatia Mr. Franko Vidović who wished the participants successful work and a pleasant stay in Croatia.
Right after the opening ceremony began the first plenary session with planned topics and presentations.
Meeting with Colleagues from Neighbouring Countries
Director of the Croatian Mine Action Centre Mr. Zdravko Modrušan held a meeting with his colleagues, directors of mine action centres from the region during the 9th International Symposium ''Humanitarian Demining and Equipment Exhibition 2012'' held from 24 to 26 April 2012 in Šibenik, Croatia. Besides the CROMAC director Modrušan, the meeting was attended by the director of mine action centre from the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mr. Dušan Gavran, the Republic of Serbia Mr. Petar Mihajlović and from the Republic of Montenegro Mr. Veselin Mijajlović. It was a good opportunity for experience exchange in the field of mine action, analysis of joint co-operation so far and proposal of further activities aimed at enhancement of co-operation. The guests expressed their satisfaction with the hospitality of the hosts and organization of Symposium. It was agreed to hold another meeting very soon and promised to return to Šibenik next year, to the next symposium.
Round Table on Underwater Demining
On Wednesday, April 25, 2012 in the afternoon hours, there was the round table on underwater demining held in line with the Symposium agenda. The moderator was Mr. Veselin Mijajlović, director of the Regional Centre for Underwater Demining from Bijela, Montenegro.
During the introductory part, there was a documentary ‘’Mine Hunters’’ presented. The film was made by the colleagues from Italy and it demonstrates how underwater demining is conducted, together with divers and diving equipment owned by the Centre for Underwater Demining on the territory of the coastal area of Montenegro. According to Mr. Mijajlović, the Centre has demined ca. 2 million square meters and took out 120 tons of explosives in the past ten years. They have so far worked in Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina but the Centre is ready to conduct underwater demining operations anywhere in the world.
Croatian Delegation in the Republic of Azerbaijan
Croatian delegation consisting of Mr. Zdravko Modrušan, director of the Croatian Mine Action Centre, Mrs. Nataša Mateša Mateković, head of Plan and Analysis Department and Mrs. Đurđa Adlešič, director of ''Croatia without Mines'' – Trust Fund for Humanitarian Deminng of Croatia visited the Republic of Azerbaijan in the period from 17 to 18 April, 2012. Among other things, there was a working meeting with the heads of Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) held in the ANAMA’s headquarters in Baku. Director of ANAMA Mr. Nazim Ismaylov with associates attended the guests and held a presentation on mine action in the Republic of Azerbaijan. A day before this meeting, the Croatian delegation visited the demining worksite located ca. 30 km from Baku. At the end of the visit, directors of both centres expressed their satisfaction with the co-operation between the two centres so far and extended their wish to further improve the co-operation in the future, especially due to the fact that both centres are highly respected within the international mine action community.
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Dear readers,
The period of intensive international activities, primarily the activities relating to the 9th International Symposium ''Humanitarian Demining 2012'' held in Šibenik is now behind us. The Symposium was held from 24 to 26 April, 2012 in the Solaris Hotels Resort. This year's Symposium was the most successful one ever not only in terms of topics under discussion but also the number of participants (230 from 45 countries). I would like to take this opportunity of thanking everybody who were with us in Šibenik and participated in the work of the Symposium. I hope to meet you next year at the same place with new topics, experiences and mine action-related news.
The end of Symposium does not mean that we have suspended our international activities. On the contrary, we are currently the hosts to the delegation from Iraq. They are attenders of the training course entitled ‘’Use of machines in humanitarian demining’’ taking place in Topusko. Next week, we expect the arrival of the delegation from Russia.
Our humanitarian demining operations are in full swing and, thanks to the favourable weather conditions; we successfully reach the planned values.
Sincerely,
Zdravko Modrušan
Delegation of Libya in CROMAC
Today, April 10, 2012, delegation of Libya visited the Croatian Mine Action Centre. The hosts informed the delegation members about the organization and work of the Centre and the entire mine action in the Republic of Croatia. The Libyan delegation consists of the representatives of the Libyan Mine Action Centre, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Interior and Aman Foundation. The guests will be staying in Croatia for seven days. During that time, they intend to visit the manufacturers of demining machinery and equipment as well as several demining sites.
There was also a press conference held hosted by CROMAC director Mr. Zdravko Modrušan and director of ‘’Croatia without Mines’’ – Trust Fund for Humanitarian Demining of Croatia Mrs. Đurđa Adlešič. They spoke of the existing co-operation between Croatia and Libya. Field Demonstration at Gaj Test Site near Skradin
As part of the International Symposium ‘’Humanitarian Demining and Equipment Exhibition 2012’’, there was a field demonstration of the work of demining machines held at the Gaj test site near Skradin. It was participated by several demining machine manufacturers with nine machines of different type. The field demonstration was attended by ca. 200 symposium participants. After the demonstration, the participants held comprehensive talks with the machine manufacturers about the technical characteristics of the exhibited machines. The entire event was media covered.
22nd SEEMACC Session
On Monday, April 23, 2012, just before the beginning of the Symposium 'Humanitarian Demining and Equipment Exhibition 2012'' in Šibenik, in the Solaris Hotels Resort, there was the 22nd session of the South Eastern Europe Mine Action Co-ordination Council (SEEMACC) held. It was attended by representatives of mine action centres from the South-Eastern Europe, Azerbaijan and ITF Enhancing Human Security from Ljubljana, Slovenia.
The main topic under discussion was the proposal of the SEEMACC Strategy 2012-2015. Representatives of mine action centres reported about the current situation in mine action on the territory of SEEMACC members. The special emphasis was put on the future SEEMACC role within the region. The Iraqi delegation joined the session and was informed about the work of SEEMACC.
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