The legacy of landmines

Some people call landmines silent killers, others say that they are a cruel legacy of war. No matter the name, their effect is horrendous. Every 22 minutes, one person is killed or wounded by these dangerous devices and many of these victims are children. 1 “Mines may be described as fighters that never miss, strike blindly, do not carry weapons openly, and go on killing long after hostilities have ended,” a Red Cross delegate once said. “In short, mines are the greatest violators of international humanitarian law, and laying them is a monstrous form of terrorism.” 2

In October this year, medical students from several countries met in Sarajevo to take part in the International Student Conference Against Landmines. Organised by Bosnian medical students, the conference had two main aims: to increase the awareness among students about landmines and international humanitarian law and to provide the students with the necessary skills to work for the total ban of landmines worldwide.

There are over 110 million mines laid in over …