[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1113 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1113

    Expressing support for the designation of April 4, 2024, as the 
International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, and 
    reaffirming the leadership of the United States in eliminating 
                   landmines and unexploded ordnance.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 5, 2024

Mr. Bera submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

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                               RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing support for the designation of April 4, 2024, as the 
International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, and 
    reaffirming the leadership of the United States in eliminating 
                   landmines and unexploded ordnance.

Whereas landmines and unexploded ordnance threaten the safety, health, and lives 
        of civilian populations and create humanitarian and development 
        challenges that have serious and lasting social, economic, and security 
        consequences for affected populations;
Whereas demining and clearance of unexploded ordnance enables displaced people 
        to return to their homes and has a direct impact on development outcomes 
        such as food security, school attendance, and economic development;
Whereas people in at least 60 countries and other areas are at risk from mines 
        and unexploded ordnance in their communities;
Whereas more than 135,000 deaths and injuries resulting from antipersonnel or 
        antivehicle mines and other explosive remnants of war have been recorded 
        in the Landmine Monitor database since 2001, and thousands more 
        individuals around the world are killed and injured by such mines and 
        remnants each year;
Whereas, over the past 3 decades, the United States has been the global leader 
        in supporting efforts to clear mine-contaminated areas around the world, 
        dedicating more than $4,600,000,000 for demining and related programs in 
        120 countries and territories since 1993;
Whereas, since 1989, the United States Agency for International Development has 
        allocated more than $337,000,000 through the Leahy War Victims Fund in 
        more than 50 countries to provide artificial limbs, wheelchairs, 
        rehabilitation, vocational training, and other assistance to survivors 
        of accidents caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance;
Whereas landmines contaminate countries in which the United States Armed Forces 
        have been engaged in combat or stabilization operations, including Iraq, 
        Syria, Kosovo, Somalia, and in the Pacific Islands, posing a significant 
        risk to United States military personnel;
Whereas the United States Government expressed its support for the Maputo +15 
        declaration of June 27, 2014, which established the goal ``to destroy 
        all stockpiled anti-personnel mines and clear all mined areas as soon as 
        possible'';
Whereas there are 164 States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the 
        Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and 
        on their Destruction, done at the Oslo Landmine Conference, September 
        18, 1997, although the United States is not yet among them;
Whereas the recent use of landmines, cluster bombs, and other munitions, 
        particularly in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Burma, and Ukraine, has 
        created new humanitarian priorities and funding requirements for 
        demining, while legacy mine contamination remains an urgent challenge 
        impacting millions of people globally;
Whereas Russia's aggression in Ukraine has resulted in an estimated one-third of 
        the territory being contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance, 
        creating a massive need for clearance operations as a prerequisite for 
        Ukraine's recovery, but acknowledging that these needs in Ukraine do not 
        diminish the similarly urgent need for humanitarian demining in other 
        parts of the world;
Whereas additional resources for demining will be needed to achieve a world free 
        of the threat of landmines and other explosive hazards; and
Whereas, on December 8, 2005, the United Nations General Assembly declared that 
        April 4th of each year shall be observed as the International Day for 
        Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to 
        support international humanitarian efforts to eliminate 
        landmines and unexploded ordnance;
            (2) recognizes those individuals in numerous countries who, 
        at great risk to their personal safety, work to locate and 
        remove antipersonnel landmines and unexploded ordnance;
            (3) affirms its support for the goal, as expressed by the 
        Maputo +15 declaration of June 27, 2014, to intensify efforts 
        to clear mined areas to the fullest extent possible by 2025;
            (4) calls upon the United States Government--
                    (A) to continue providing the funding necessary to 
                support international humanitarian demining activities;
                    (B) to maintain its international leadership role 
                in seeking to rid the world of areas contaminated by 
                landmines and unexploded ordnance; and
                    (C) to rededicate itself to addressing legacy mine 
                contamination as an urgent humanitarian priority; and
            (5) reaffirms the goals of the International Day for Mine 
        Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
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