Prince Harry made a trek through Angolan minefields Friday in honor of his mother, Princess Diana, as well as to draw attention to the continued problems the country faces in decommissioning land mines, according to the BBC.
The Duke of Sussex visited Angola as part of a 10-day tour of southern Africa, 22 years after Princess Diana visited the country, the BBC reported.
Photographs of Diana’s visit in 1997, showing her walk through a live minefield, sparked a global movement that culminated in an international treaty banning the use of land mines later that year, according to CNN. Diana’s death came just months before the treaty was signed.
Harry visited the site of his mother’s walk, which has been completely transformed since then — in place of the minefield, there is a bustling city street, which has been named Princess Diana Street, according to the BBC.
“It’s been quite emotional retracing my mother’s steps along this street 22 years on ... and to see the transformation that has taken place from an unsafe and desolate area into a vibrant community of local businesses and colleges,” Harry told local residents on Friday, according to CNN.
Both Harry and the charity The HALO Trust (which Diana worked with at the time and Harry now supports) praised Princess Diana for her efforts on Friday, CNN reported.
“The results we have now is because of Diana’s input,” Valdemar Goncalves Fernandes, HALO Angola’s operations manager, told CNN. “She made the donors aware that the international community is also part of this problem and that they could help.”
HALO Trust says that close to 100,000 land mines have been decommissioned in Angola since 1994, according to CNN. The group says that there are still nearly 1,200 minefields to clear in Angola.
Prince Harry has been vocal in his support of de-mining efforts. He gave a speech in London in June urging the international community to continue to support these efforts, CNN reported at the time.
Earlier Friday, Harry visited a minefield in Dirico which is still being cleared, according to the BBC.
“Land mines are an unhealed scar of war,” Harry said in a speech at Dirico, the BBC reported. “By clearing the land mines we can help this community find peace, and with peace comes opportunity.”