Nicaragua ratified the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in 1999. The civil war of the 1980s left 16 of its 17 provinces mine-affected, particularly rural and impoverished areas. In 2010, Nicaragua was declared mine-free, having cleared over 179,000 anti-personnel mines from its territory and half a million pieces of unexploded ordnance. All of Central America is now mine-free – a major advance in the fight to rid the world of anti-personnel mines. There should be no new landmine victims in Nicaragua, but at least 1,200 survivors of landmines and ERW will continue to require assistance.
