U.S. Conventional Weapons Destruction in Africa: Reducing the Threat of Explosive Hazards, Promoting Recovery in Conflict-Affected Countries

Across Africa, landmines and other explosive hazards from a wide range of conflicts impede economic development, post-conflict recovery, food security, and conservation. These explosive hazards, or even their suspected presence, can block access to infrastructure, basic services, and fertile farmland, and remain a dangerous reality for many civilians in Africa. Poorly secured government stockpiles of small arms, light weapons, and ammunition also threaten stability and human security across Africa. Illicit diversion of weapons and ammunition to destabilizing actors such as terrorists and transnational criminal organizations threaten the socio-economic fabric of civil society and fuel both local and regional conflicts. Substandard management of aging, unserviceable, and unstable ammunition can lead to catastrophic accidental explosions like the March 2021 blast in Bata, Equatorial Guinea.

Since 1993, the United States has provided more than $594 million to support conventional weapons destruction programs throughout Africa to return previously contaminated land to safe and prosperous use, prevent the illicit diversion of small arms and light weapons, and support government efforts to secure their stockpiles.

In fiscal year 2023, the United States contributed $28.84 million to support activities in 26 countries in Africa. With this assistance, the U.S. government accomplished the following key achievements:

• Cleared 3,791,437 square meters (937 acres) of land of explosive hazards;
• Destroyed 15,079 landmines;
• Destroyed 6,137 explosive remnants of war;
• Provided explosive ordnance risk education to 99,309 individuals;
• Conducted 1,138 explosive ordnance disposal callouts in response to urgent requests for unexploded ordnance to be investigated and rendered safe;
• Destroyed 1,823 obsolete or unserviceable small arms and light weapons ;
• Marked 12,578 government-owned small arms and light weapons for accountability purposes;
• Destroyed 166.44 metric tons of unserviceable ammunition;
• Trained 447 personnel in physical security and stockpile management;
• Built or rehabilitated 42 armories.

The United States is the world’s leading financial supporter of conventional weapons destruction, providing more than $5.09 billion in assistance to over 125 countries and areas since 1993. For more information on U.S. humanitarian demining and conventional weapons destruction programs, see the latest edition of our annual report, To Walk the Earth in Safety.

For additional information or to request a printed copy of To Walk the Earth in Safety, please contact the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, at pm-cpa@state.gov, and follow us on X (Twitter) @StateDeptPM. The report is also available on the Department of State website at https://www.state.gov/to-walk-the-earth-in-safety/.