Award-winning British actor and Mines Advisory Group (MAG) Ambassador Rosamund Pike is visiting Sri Lanka as the country enters the final stretch of a decades-long effort to clear landmines and explosive remnants of war. Only around 20.8 square kilometres of contaminated land now remains, representing less than 10% of the areas originally identified as contaminated. Most of the remaining land is located in the North and parts of the East. Sri Lanka has cleared more than one million landmines and over one million other explosive remnants of war, while almost one million people have settled on land declared free of contamination. Landmine casualties have also fallen sharply, from 252 in 2002 to just two in 2024, reflecting the impact of clearance operations and mine-risk education in schools and communities. More than 90% of the land released through mine-action programmes was classified as high priority. Pike is visiting minefields in the Mannar and Mullaitivu districts, where she is meeting Sri Lankan deminers and families whose lives have been affected by landmine contamination. She is also attending a risk-education session at a school. More than 2,000 people have worked in Sri Lanka’s demining sector, including conflict survivors and former combatants. Their involvement has also contributed to reconciliation, reintegration and economic recovery in communities affected by the conflict. The final phase is significant internationally, with Sri Lanka on course to become one of the first countries affected by large-scale, heavy landmine contamination to complete clearance. The milestone comes as the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention faces growing challenges, with several countries moving to withdraw from the treaty and others signalling possible changes to their commitments. Completing clearance is also expected to support development in Sri Lanka’s North and East by releasing remaining land for infrastructure, housing, agriculture, tourism and private investment. During her visit, Pike is expected to meet Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, the Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, and officials of the National Mine Action Centre. “Seeing MAG’s work in Sri Lanka gives me confidence that the end to such tragedies is in sight,” Pike said. British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Andrew Patrick described the country’s progress as a “remarkable achievement,” crediting Sri Lankan deminers, the government and international partners. MAG began working in Sri Lanka in 2002 and currently operates in Mannar, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara. Its teams have made approximately 103 square kilometres of land safe for communities.I can also make the headline sharper around the “less than 10% remains” or “final stretch to mine-free Sri Lanka” angle. (Newswire) The post Award-Winning Actress Rosamund Pike to Visit Sri Lanka appeared first on Newswire.
