Azerbaijani official: City rebuilding impossible without demining

The international community must step up coordinated efforts to clear landmines in post-conflict areas, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister said on the sidelines of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku.

Yalchin Rafiyev said that rebuilding cities and restoring civilian life cannot begin in any meaningful way while large areas remain contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

He stressed that even in conditions of adequate financing and established ceasefires, physical reconstruction remains impossible without prior large-scale demining operations, which he described as extremely costly and technically complex.

“Demining should not be the sole responsibility of the state carrying out reconstruction and redevelopment,” Rafiyev said. He added that the United Nations has already recognised mine contamination as a humanitarian issue requiring collective action.

He called for greater international burden-sharing to prevent civilians from continuing to face risks posed by unexploded ordnance in former conflict zones.

“To ensure people are not exposed to these dangers, the international community must work together to help clear mined areas,” he said.

By Aghakazim Guliyev