You are warmly invited to a Press Briefing by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) on Tuesday, 29 September at the UNMISS Tomping Juba conference room. 

With the end of the rainy season, access is opened up to areas of the country that have been inaccessible for some time, and the United National Mine Action Service (UNMAS) are initiating full scale mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance operations once again. 

Landmines are often described as ‘sleeping soldiers’ and these weapons can kill or maim indiscriminately, decades after the conflict has subsided. This explosive legacy of war not only threatens to physically harm populations, the presence of mines and UXO blocks access to vital resources, inhibits humanitarian actors from delivering assistance and acts as a barrier to recovery and development. 

The briefing will discuss the presence of landmines and UXO in South Sudan, and will be presented by the head of UNMAS in South Sudan, Tim Lardner. Tim Lardner will explain the role of UNMAS and its history in South Sudan. Colleagues will learn about the extent of contamination from landmines and UXO and the multiple ways UNMAS is working to address this threat, all year round. 

The briefing will be held on: 

Date:  Tuesday, 29 September 2015 
Time:  10:00am
Venue: UNMISS Tomping, Juba Conference Room 

Please confirm attendance by contacting: Shantal Persaud, Public Information Officer UNMISS on Mobile: +211(0)912 177 592 / +211(0) 912 062 596 / ext 2596. Email: persaud@un.org or Iulia Toma, Public Information Officer UNMAS on Mobile: Mobile: +211 (0) 959 002 709 Email: iulia.toma@unmas.org 

For more information about UNMAS in South Sudan visit 

www.unmas.org/southsudan 

Globally, UNMAS can be followed on: 

Facebook: UNMAS                                                                                                     

Twitter @UNMAS