Focus areas

The Mine Risk Education (MRE) Programme developed by UNICEF Sri Lanka, in partnership with the Government and other local and UN organisations, has two main goals:

·         To minimise deaths and injuries from landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), a legacy of more than two decades of conflict which came to an end in 2009; and           

·         To reduce the social and economic impact from landmines and ERW.

Communication strategy
An effective MRE programme will usually have more than one target public:  

·         The first and most important audience includes the members of communities who are at risk from mines and ERW;

·         The second audience can be school-teachers, role models, or local leaders who will encourage community members to engage in safe behaviour;

·         The third audience may be politicians, or the mass media, who can promote changes in policy or legislation to support mine safety;

·         The fourth audience is humanitarian workers and government staff, who should receive safety briefings about the threat of mines and ERW.

MRE attempts to promote the adoption of safer behaviour by at-risk groups.