UN teams up with actor Jeremy Renner in new film on Afghanistan

Actor Jeremy Renner, who shot to fame playing a bomb disposal expert in the Academy Award-winning film The Hurt Locker, took a five-day visit to Afghanistan in late 2010 to highlight the efforts of the United Nations to remove landmines.

During his visit, Mr. Renner donned a Kevlar suit and ventured onto a minefield with Afghan deminers. He also joined high school students during a mine risk education session, spoke with landmine survivors and farmers about their experiences, and met staff from the UN Assistance Mission of Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Mr. Renner’s activities on the ground provided him with a behind-the-scenes look into what the UN is doing to tackle the issue of landmines and explosive remnants of war and helped him learn more about Afghanistan through his meetings with a wide range of people on the ground.

A short film on Mr. Renner's visit was recently released, coinciding with the observance of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, which took place on 4 April.

The Mine Action Coordination Centre of Afghanistan (MACCA), with the support of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), coordinates all work carried out by implementing partners of Afghanistan’s Mine Action Programme. UNMAS also funds these implementing partners to remove mines, support victims and conduct mine risk education about the dangers posed by these weapons. The Mine Ban Treaty's goal is to have all landmines in Afghanistan removed by 2013.