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Eliminating The Silent Killers In many areas of the world, people are paralyzed by land mines and unexploded ordnance. Known as the "silent killer", mines are found everywhere: in homes, schools, a farmers field, beside roads, atop mountains and beneath the surface of lakes. Clearing mines is a slow, painstaking, and dangerous job that could take up to 50 years in some of these areas. Producing and installing a land mine costs less than $5, but removing it can cost up to $1,000. Yet until demining is completed, many essential facilities remain out of bounds. CIDC is a demining facilitator. The Global Landmine Problem Landmines are indiscriminate Hidden weapons designed to be self-activated by their victims. Mines are easy and cheap to make and deploy, but difficult and expensive to detect and destroy. Tens of millions of mines remain buried in the ground in over 80 countries. They kill or maim up to 20,000 people each year. Many victims are women and children. Landmine Impacts Innocent civilian victims (and consequent strains on social and healthcare systems). Population displacement and political instability. Blocked access to: Water. Land needed for agriculture, grazing Hunting and foraging. Social and economic infrastructure. Transportation routes. Landmines severely impede development. Safe travel. Food security. Refugee and IDP returns. Ethnic reintegration. Post-conflict reconstruction. Development. Industrial and social infrastructure. Landmine facts: 70+ countries world wide affected by landmines 110 million + landmines buried world wide 100 million landmines stockpiled 100,000 landmines removed annually 2-5 million landmines planted annually There are 360 different types of anti-personnel mines currently in use around the world there are approximately 100 companies in 55 countries that produce landmines At the present effort of demining it is estimated it will require 1,100 years and 33 billion U.S. dollars to eradicate the landmines that now lay planted. Affected Countries and Territories: Afghanistan Angola Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Cambodia China Croatia Chad Costa Rica Cyprus Denmark El Salvador Egypt Eritrea Ethiopia Ecuador Falkland Islands / Malvinas Georgia Germany Guatemala Honduras Israel Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Latvia Laos Liberia Malawi Mozambique Namibia Nicaragua Rwanda Sierra Leone Somalia Sudan Sudan Vietnam Western Sahara Yemen Yugoslavia Zimbabwe Sources: Landmine Data Base, Department of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations and Hidden Killers: The Global Landmine Crisis, United States Department of State. SIGN THE PETITION TO CALL ON CANADA TO STOP CLUSTERS AND START A NEW TREATY. Signatures will be collected and presented to the Government of Canada on December 3rd, 2007 The 10th anniversary of the day the world responded to Canada's challenge to come to Ottawa and sign a treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, which became the most rapidly ratified disarmament treaty in history. ©Canadian International Demining Corps 2008