"Pyramid of shoes": 25 years later, civilians still victims of antipersonnel mines

The "Pyramid of shoes" celebrates 25 years. As every year, the NGO Handicap International will erect, on Saturday, September 28 in several French cities, shoe pyramids, symbols of the indignation of citizens against bombs and unexploded ordnance (MLA).

Since 1995, the massive engagement of citizens via the "Pyramid of shoes" has already made it possible to mark international law. In 1997, the Ottawa Treaty Against Anti-Personnel Mines was ratified, followed in 2008 by the Oslo Treaty against Bombs and Clusters.

Nevertheless, these weapons still kill or maim thousands of civilians every year around the world.

In Syria, Iraq, Yemen ... Every day, about 60 people die as a result of antipersonnel mines and cluster munitions, often referred to as "cowardly weapons". In 2017, they killed more than 7,000 people, according to Handicap International.

Iraq is one of the most affected territories, in the grip of repeated wars. The fighting against the Islamic State organization has left many unexploded bombs that are still causing more civilian casualties, some of which remain severely mutilated.