UXO/Demining Caucus Celebrates Mine Awareness Day 2025
On April 7th, the UXO/Demining Caucus hosted a reception and exhibition to celebrate International Mine Awareness Day, which was on April 4th. The United States is the global leader in demining and related programs, including weapons security, and Mine Awareness Day is a time to recognize and reaffirm that commitment, celebrate what it has achieved, and look forward towards the work still to be done.
The event welcomed leading demining partners and members of the broader community to celebrate the work of the demining sector in clearing landmines and securing weapons around the world. The event featured exhibitions from leading demining groups including The HALO Trust, the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), PeaceTrees Vietnam, APOPO, Humanity & Inclusion, Legacies of War, the Marshall Legacy Institute, the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation, and JMU’s Center for International Stability and Recovery (CISR).
The event also featured exhibitions from the Department of Defense, including the Army’s Humanitarian Demining Research and Development program, which showcased innovative equipment for demining, and a group of demining and EOD personnel from the Geographic Combatant Commands, which showed the critical juncture between humanitarian and military demining. There were also live demonstrations of a demining dog, trained and led by the Marshall Legacy Institute, and an African giant pouched rat trained for demining by APOPO (now living at the Maryland Zoo).
Attendees heard from speakers from the UXO/Demining Caucus including Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Chrissy Houlahan and David Valadao, UXO/Demining Caucus member and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, Representative Ami Bera, and UXO/Demining Caucus Member and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast. All four speakers reaffirmed the importance of U.S. demining programs not just to saving lives, and creating global stability, but also making America stronger abroad, safer at home, and able to prosper economically and diplomatically.
Closing out the speaking program were the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Laos, Mr. Somphay Vongmahachack, and the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Vietnam, Ms. Ms. Nguyen Thuy Hong. Both gave moving remarks on the importance of clearing landmines and other UXO to the ongoing partnership between our countries, especially as we approach the 50th anniversary of the ending of the Vietnam War.
The HALO Trust would like to thank the UXO/Demining Caucus, all our speakers, and all exhibiting partners for making this celebration a success.
Watch a video of all speakers and scroll through photos and demonstration videos from the event, below.
Watch the full Mine Awareness Day event video:
Click through the event photo album:
