When an armed conflict ends, it is not always the end of danger for those who suffer most from the consequences of war. It is always the innocent victims, mainly women and children, who continue to pay a high price for the senseless barbarity of those who used weapons instead of words and sowed with bombs the path that should always belong to dialogue, peace and words.
Today, it is estimated that more than 100 million landmines and other explosives are still buried. This makes it difficult for displaced populations to return and increases the death toll from past armed conflicts. And all this is happening in a context where, unfortunately, peace is not always secure.
Efforts to locate and deactivate mines and explosives, ensuring safe access to medical centres, schools and homes that millions of people were forced to leave because of the war, are still totally inadequate and coordinated programmes are needed to prevent innocent victims from suffering the mistakes and horrors of the past in the present.
Let us not forget that the only possible way to guarantee the future of humanity has been, is and always will be the way of peace.
A path that must be safe.