Funded by the European Union (EU) and the US State Department and carried out by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in partnership with ANAMA, the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF) and the Mine Advisory Group (MAG), Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), the opening ceremony of the project "supporting the safe return of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) through Capacity Building" was held.
On June 16, representatives of ANAMA, EU, UNDP, US Embassy, IEPF and MAG took part in the opening ceremony of the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF) at the Tartar Regional Vocational Training Center. At the event, Samir Poladov, Chairman of ANAMA's Board of Directors, Umud Mirzayev, President of IEPF, Udriste Oana, Official of the European Union Representation in Azerbaijan,Phillip Tissue, Advisor on Political Affairs of the US Embassy, greeted the guests and talked about the mine problem of Azerbaijan and the steps taken in this direction. It was stated that gender does not matter in the fight against the threat of landmines, that women face the threat of landmines even more among the displaced people who returned to their native land, and the importance of increasing their awareness.
Within this project, distinguished by the creation of the first women's demining teams in Azerbaijan, it is planned to create a total of 4 demining groups, 3 of which are composed entirely of women. Starting today, the trainings will start and will last for 6 weeks, 40 women selected from different regions of the country participate in the trainings. Women who successfully complete the training will be accredited by ANAMA and awarded with a certificate in accordance with International Demining Standards to begin field operations.
During the event, rats and dogs, which are also components of the project and have just been brought to the country by the “APOPO” Organization for demining activities, were also demonstrated.
