Human Settlements and Urban Issues
Профиль «умного» устойчивого города: НУР-СУЛТАН, КАЗАХСТАН
This Smart Sustainable City Profile presents the outcomes of the city evaluation against the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Smart Sustainable Cities (SSCs) and proposes actions to improve progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Based on the KPI evaluation this profile makes a series of recommendations to further accelerate the progress of Nur-Sultan towards achieving the SDGs. They suggest improvements in areas such as solid waste management public building sustainability urban and spatial planning decent-quality affordable housing and the availability of urban data.
Message from the Director
In 2021 UNMAS strengthened its partnerships with national mine action authorities Member States and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) consolidated its planning processes further digitized its reporting tools and enhanced oversight of its programmes.
UNMAS Annual Report 2021
For twenty-five years the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has helped reduce the impact of explosive ordnance contamination on communities worldwide. The 2021 annual report highlights UNMAS activities achievements funding and expenditures. But in a larger sense it tells the story of advancing fundamental building blocks of peace and security. Around the globe mine action has opened roads ensured more children can safely attend school and provided increased access to water sources farmland markets and health facilities. These efforts have also allowed more displaced civilians to return home free of the fear of explosive threats facilitated the safe delivery of lifesaving humanitarian relief and created a safer environment for peacekeepers. Despite this progress needs continue to grow. In Afghanistan vast tracts of contaminated land have only recently been made accessible to mine action teams. In Ethiopia and Myanmar conflict is not only adding to contamination but forcing fleeing civilians to navigate land littered with explosive remnants of war. The war in Ukraine has seen the use of enormous amounts of ordnance including in populated urban areas which will require mine action for decades to come. The increased use of Improvised Explosive Devices is also having greater impact on civilians and peacekeepers – as recognized by the Security Council and the General Assembly. As this report makes clear mine action makes a real difference in the lives of people and communities.
Yemen
Yemen remains severely contaminated by landmines sea mines IEDs and other ERW which include cluster munitions. Governorates where there has been significant fighting such as Al Bayda Al Dhale’ Hajjah Ma’rib Sa’ada Shabwa and Taiz are the most impacted.
Burkina Faso
Since the spread of armed conflict in Mali to Burkina Faso in 2016 there have been persistent armed attacks in the northern and eastern regions. The number of explosive ordnance-related incidents also increased significantly spreading progressively from the north of Burkina Faso and the regions bordering Mali and Niger to the center and south of the country.
South Sudan
While the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan continued to hold in 2021 limited progress on meeting the benchmarks therein was achieved. Moreover Government efforts to develop a roadmap to elections met with calls by other parties to the agreement for more inclusion in the process. This resulting political impasse increased tensions between Government parties and fuelled subnational and intercommunal violence across the country. The impact of this upsurge in violence was compounded by the presence of mines and ERW with the Greater Equatoria region in the south being the worst affected. The total contaminated area by explosive ordnance in 2021 was estimated to be 17.9 square kilometres restricting the movement of IDPs and preventing the safe return of refugees displaced by conflict.
UNMAS in 2021: Perseverance, Partnership, Progress
Ethiopia
Ethiopia has experienced a series of armed conflicts over the last 50 years which have left behind landmine and ERW contamination.
Nigeria
UNMAS deployed to Nigeria in 2018 following a request by the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.
Occupied Palestinian Territory
The Occupied Palestinian Territory has been occupied by Israel since 1967; the Oslo Agreements (1994 and 1997) transferred security and civilian responsibility of specified areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA). In 2006 Hamas won the Legislative Council elections and took control of the Gaza Strip and approaches for a unified government failed and reconciliation attempts have been stalled in recent years. In addition to the Israeli blockade of Gaza starting in 2007 the escalation and cyclical nature of hostilities in 2008 2014 and 2021 between the two parties has been the main source of ERW contamination. The State of Palestine is a party to the APMBC the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (Protocols I III V).
Foreword from the Secretary-General
For twenty-five years the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has helped reduce the impact of explosive ordnance contamination on communities worldwide.
Cyprus
UNMAS has been a component of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) since 2016 providing dedicated expertise in mine action planning and coordination quality assurance of demining operations and management of mine action information. Since the suspension of UNFICYP demining activities in the buffer zone in October 2017 UNMAS is focused on mapping and survey of explosive threats provision of technical advice and quality assurance on mine clearance to relevant actors in the north and the south mine risk education threat assessment and management and data management of mine action information.
Syria
The Syrian conflict is one of the most devastating humanitarian crises of modern times and the extensive use of weapons has contaminated vast swathes of land with explosive ordnance including landmines IEDs and ERW. While the full scale of contamination is not precisely known in 2021 it was assessed that an estimated one in two Syrians 10.3 million people lived in areas suspected to be contaminated. Areas affected include agricultural land roads private property hospitals schools and other public infrastructure. Meanwhile 14.6 million people in Syria need humanitarian assistance. Twelve million people are food insecure and 90 per cent of the population live below the poverty line. Infrastructure is crumbling destroyed by years of conflict. Economic activity halved during a decade of war regional financial crises corruption sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abyei
Several political developments impacted UNMAS activities in Abyei during 2021. Following the request of the Government of Sudan and consistent with the strategic review of 17 September 2021 work began on the reconfiguration of United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) from a largely single troop contributing country (TCC) mission into a UN multinational peacekeeping force.
Lebanon
Lebanon has more than 6.9 million square metres of confirmed mined area within the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) area of operations including the “Blue Line” which is a demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel. According to the Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC) contamination along the Blue line negatively affects more than 20000 people. It also endangers humanitarian workers and United Nations personnel. Minefields in proximity to the Blue Line UNIFIL bases and patrol routes endanger peacekeepers and limit UNIFIL in its mandate delivery.
Charting paths to transformation: Navigating uncertainty to expand human development
The hero and the villain in today’s uncertainty story is one and the same: human choices.