From Afghanistan to Ukraine, the survivors of some of the world’s worst conflicts live in fear of landmines killing them or their children.

The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) coordinates the Organization’s work to rid the world of mines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices.

Ahead of Mine Action Week beginning 19 June, which brings major demining stakeholders to Geneva, UNMAS Director of Policy Abigail Hartley sat down with UN News’s Dominika Tomaszewska-Mortimer to express sadness at the deaths last week of 27 civilians – most of them minors – killed by unexploded ordnance in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia.

The UN mine action service veteran also shared her optimism that Ukraine will one day be mine-free, too.