HALO Trust celebrates 10th anniversary of its activity in Nagorno Karabakh

May 26, 2010 - 16:01 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Khachen village of Askeran region, NKR, will host a ceremony dedicated to the 10th anniversary of The Halo Trust organization’s activity in Nagorno Karabakh.

The ceremony will be dedicated also to two important events: 10,000 mines and 10,000 cluster aerial bombs have been disarmed since the day of the program’s inception in Karabakh.

The ceremony will bring together President of the Republic of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan, Baroness Caroline Cox, NKR government members, as well as representatives of communities, which can safely use lands due to mines and unexploded ordnance clearance by The HALO Trust.

Since 2000, the organization has cleared 4,500ha of affected land in Khachen village and around it, destroying 1,334 cluster aerial bombs and 643 items of unexploded ordnance, the press service of The HALO Trust in Nagorno Karabakh reported.

Mines, cluster aerial bombs and other ordnance were widely used during hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh. After 1993, the number of victims of mines and ordnance explosions was 328 (including killed and injured). Mines and cluster aerial bombs prevented farmers from using huge territories of farmland.

Since 2000, HALO has been the only organization dealing with demining of the NKR territory. It has 210 employees headed by an expatriate. Over ten years, HALO cleared around 23,700ha of affected land, so that local population can safely and effectively use it. In addition to 10,000 mines and 10,000 cluster aerial bombs, the organization has detected and disarmed over 45,000 items of different types of unexploded ordnance.

The further development, rehabilitation and humanitarian assistance immediately depend on continuation of demining works in Nagorno Karabakh. Besides, these works are very important also to reduce the number of accidents as a result of mines explosion.

Around 80% of mine fields and 70% of territories affected with cluster aerial bombs have been already cleared by The HALO Trust in Nagorno Karabakh. The organization believes that the demining works at the rest territories will take from 5 to 6 years. However, it depends on donors’ financing.

The HALO Trust

The HALO Trust is a non-political, non-religious NGO, registered in Britain as a charity specializing in the removal of the hazardous debris of war. The HALO Trust is the biggest humanitarian organization dealing with demining, it has over 7,500 employees in 10 countries of the world.

Currently, The HALO Trust is financed in Nagorno Karabakh by the governments of the U.S. (USAID), Great Britain (DFID) and a private donor from the U.S.

The Foreign Ministry of Holland was financing the organization in 2001-2009. The list of other organizations that financed HALO in Karabakh is as follows: Grapes for Humanity, Actiefonds Mijnen Ruimen, Newman’s Own Foundation, the Co-operative Bank, the Cafesjian Family Foundation, the Howard Family Foundation, the Pro Victimis Foundation and Anti Landmijn Stichting.