英语课程计划-International Mine Day（在线收听）

International Mine Day is on or around April the 4th every year. Its official name is International Mine Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. The aim of this day is to highlight the dangers of mines around the world and to encourage countries to stop using landmines. Landmines kill or injure thousands of people each year. More than one-third of all casualties and deaths are children. Three-quarters of the world’s countries signed the 1999 Mine Ban Treaty. Despite this, people in over 80 countries live with the threat of losing limbs or being killed by landmines. Those most at risk live in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Colombia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

Many events take place around the world on Mine Day. They include conferences with high-level UN speakers, to mine-risk education workshops, concerts, and photographic exhibitions. In 2008, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave a speech in which he said that the numbers of land mine casualties are “dramatically lower than they were only a few years ago." He added that "each year, mine action programmes around the world are clearing landmines from more than 100 square kilometres of land and teaching more than 7 million people how to avoid danger”. The children’s charity UNICEF says it’s possible to clear all mines within a number of years. Do what you can to help make this happen.