U.S. Embassy calls on VR to approve amendments to mine action law as soon as possible

04.04.2019 11:55

Ukrinform

The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has called on the Verkhovna Rada to approve amendments to the law on mine action to allow direct donor funding.

The embassy published the statement on its Twitter account on April 4.

“Mines are the #1 threat to civilians in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian parliament must pass the amendment to allow continued direct donor funding to demining NGOs. Otherwise Ukraine risks losing donor funding and more lives will be at risk,” the statement reads.

As Ukrinform reported, Iryna Herashchenko, First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada and president’s representative on the peaceful settlement of the situation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, stated on March 22 that the bill (No.10180) on amending the Law of Ukraine "On Mine Action in Ukraine" to improve the mechanisms for attracting financing for mine action activities was registered.

The Verkhovna Rada passed the Law "On Mine Action in Ukraine" on December 6, 2018. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the law on January 22, 2019. The text of the document was published in the official parliament’s newspaper Holos Ukrainy on January 24, 2019. It came into effect on January 25, 2019.