Message on the International Mine Awareness Day

国际提高地雷意识和协助地雷行动日致辞

4 April 2020

2020年4月4日

Decades ago, millions of landmines were buried in countries across the world. From Cambodia to Mozambique, in Angola and in Afghanistan, thousands of lives were lost, with others altered forever because of one unlucky step. The outcry by civil society in the early 1990s drove the multilateral system to take a stand against the use of anti-personnel mines, leading to the Mine Ban Convention of 1997 and other crucial frameworks. Today, many countries have declared themselves mine free – with others well on the way.

几十年前，世界各地埋设了千百万枚地雷。从柬埔寨到莫桑比克，从安哥拉到阿富汗，成千上万的人们因为地雷失去了生命，还有人因为迈错了一步而永远改变了人生。1990年代初期民间社会发出了强烈的抗议呼声，促使多边体系采取反对使用杀伤人员地雷的立场，1997年《禁雷公约》及其他重要框架就此应运而生。今天，许多国家宣布已经清除了地雷，而其他国家的清除工作也在积极进行。

Now, the world is facing a daunting pandemic. The dangers posed by COVID-19 are forcing every country, and every person, to take steps that would have seemed unimaginable mere weeks ago. It is for this reason that this year's observance of the International Day for Mine Awareness has been scaled back. The football tournaments, due to take place on land cleared of explosive ordnance, have been cancelled; the events aimed at bringing together the mine action community will take place virtually, if at all.

当前，世界正面临一场令人生畏的大流行病。面对2019冠状病毒病带来的危险，每个国家、每个民众被迫采取了就在几周前都难以想象的措施。正因为如此，今年国际地雷意识宣传日的活动规模被迫缩小。原定在清除了爆炸物的场地举行的足球比赛已经取消；为地雷行动界召集的活动也将取消，或者改为在线活动。

Yet, even in the midst of an unprecedented crisis, we cannot let this Day go unnoticed, nor can we allow the rights of persons with disabilities to go unacknowledged. Mines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices threaten some of the most vulnerable people in society: women traveling to markets, farmers herding cattle, humanitarian workers trying to reach those most in need.

然而，我们即使身处前所未有的危机，也要纪念这个国际日，并重申残疾人的权利。地雷、战争遗留爆炸物和简易爆炸装置威胁着社会中的最脆弱群体——去市场购物的妇女、放牧的农民以及试图救援最有需要人们的人道主义工作者。

Moreover, the achievements of the mine action community show that, in working together, we can reach milestones once seen as impossible – a timely message for our efforts today to suppress transmission of the pandemic.

此外，地雷行动界的成就表明，通过共同努力，我们能够实现过去认为不可能实现的目标——这为我们今天遏制大流行病传播的努力发出了及时的信息。

So let us remember the people living under the shadow of explosive ordnance, from Syria to Mali and elsewhere. As many people around the world work safely from home, they will remain exposed and vulnerable. And, when the world emerges from today's crisis, they will continue to need our support.

因此，我们不应忘记叙利亚、马里和其他地方在爆炸物阴影下生活的人们。现在，世界各地的许多民众在家安全工作，但依然处于暴露状态，易受伤害。到世界摆脱危机的明天，他们仍将需要我们的支持。