A mine clearance agency, or demining agency, is an organization involved in removal of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) for military, humanitarian, or commercial reasons. Demining includes mine clearance (actual removal and destruction of landmines/UXO from the ground), as well as surveying, mapping and marking of hazardous areas.
Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contrast, the goal of humanitarian demining is to remove all of the landmines to a given depth and make the land safe for human use. Specially trained dogs are also used to narrow down the search and verify that an area is cleared. Mechanical devices such as flails and excavators are sometimes used to clear mines.
The broader realm of mine action also includes advocacy, victim assistance, antipersonnel mine stockpile destruction, mine risk education and research. The aim is to clear land so that civilians can return to their homes and their everyday routines without the threat of landmines and unexploded remnants of war (ERW), which include unexploded ordnance and abandoned explosive ordnance. This means that all the mines and ERW affecting the places where ordinary people live must be cleared, and their safety in areas that have been cleared must be guaranteed. Mines are cleared and the areas are verified so that they can say that the land is now safe, and people can use it without worrying about the weapons.
Mine action is a combination of humanitarian aid and development studies that aim to reduce the social, economic and environmental impact of landmines and the explosive remnants of war (ERW).
Humanitarian mine clearance agencies
Humanitarian mine clearance agencies are usually funded by governments and private donations. The main governments that fund humanitarian mine clearance agencies are the United States (US), the European Union (EU), Japan, Norway, and the Netherlands, which accounted in 2014 for 72% off all international funding.[1] Germany, the UK, and Denmark are also significant donors.[2]
APOPO
APOPO trains Giant pouched rats from East Africa to detect landmines.[3] This unusual idea has been developed into a competitive technology by a group of Belgian and Tanzanian researchers and animal trainers. APOPO is a non-profit organization that has partnered with the Belgian Government, Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), the European Union (EU), the Province of Antwerp (Belgium), the Flemish Community, the US Army, the World Bank and private donors. It has further partnered in demining with Menschen gegen Minen (MgM), Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA), Accelerated Demining Programme (ADP), Handicap International (HI) and Empresa Moçambicana de Desminagem (EMD).
APOPO is a registered Belgian non-governmental organisation which trains southern giant pouched rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis. They call their trained rats HeroRATs.
The giant pouched rats of sub-Saharan Africa are large muroid rodents. Their head and body lengths range from 25–45 cm (10–17.5 in) with scaly tails ranging from 36–46 cm (14–18 in). They weigh between 1.0 and 1.5 kg.
The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) is an international organisation working in mine action. Based in the Maison de la paix in Geneva, it is legally a non-profit foundation in Switzerland.
DanChurchAid
DanChurchAid (Folkekirkens Nødhjælp) is one of the major Danish humanitarian non governmental organisations (NGO), working with churches and non-religious civil organizations to assist the poor with dignity. DCA mine action is currently involved in comprehensive mine action programmes in Albania, Eritrea, Lebanon, Sudan and Ingushetia.[4]
DanChurchAid is a Danish humanitarian non governmental organisation aimed at supporting the world's poorest. It was founded in 1922, and is rooted in the Danish National Evangelical Lutheran Church. It is a member of ACT Development - a global alliance of over 140 churches and related humanitarian organisations, working to create positive and sustainable change in the lives of poor and marginalized people.
Danish Demining Group
DDG logo
Danish Demining Group (DDG) was established in 1997 and today functions as a humanitarian mine action unit within the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), hence benefiting from synergies in cooperation. As of August 2012, DDG is operating with clearance of mines and explosive remnants of war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia (including Somaliland), Sri Lanka, South Sudan, Uganda, Ukraine and Yemen. DDG also works with armed violence reduction in several countries.
Danish Demining Group (DDG) is the Human Security Unit under the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), specialised in clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance and reducing armed violence.
Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a private Danish humanitarian organisation, founded in 1956. It serves as an umbrella organization for 33 member organizations.
The concept of armed violence reduction (AVR) has gained significant in importance after the 2006 Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development. According to OECD, more than 740,000 people die each year as a result of the violence associated with armed conflicts and large- and small-scale criminality. Furthermore, armed violence impedes humanitarian and socio-economic development and, hence, it is an obstruction to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
DEMIRA
DEMIRA (Deutsche Minenraeumer e.V.) is an international, humanitarian, non-governmental organization (NGO) registered in Germany. DEMIRA NGO was founded in 1996 in order to provide humanitarian mine clearance, EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), emergency medical aid and disaster relief to people living in postwar countries and to victims of natural disasters and civil unrest.
The HALO Trust is a non-political, non-religious, non-governmental mine clearance organisation registered in Britain and United States. Founded in 1988, it is the largest humanitarian demining NGO in the world with over 8,000 deminers and support staff operational in over 20 countries. By early 2006 HALO has cleared over 5,000,000 mines and UXOs around the world. HALO's mission statement: "Getting mines out of the ground, now[5]".[citation needed]
Humanity and Inclusion
Humanity & Inclusion (formerly Handicap International) is one of the 6 founding members of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. Handicap International France and Belgium are involved into Mine Risk Education and demining projects in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Mozambique, and Somalia.
Horizon
Horizon Organisation for Post Conflict Environment Management (OPCEM) is an ex-servicemen's endeavour NGO (Charitable Trust) founded by senior retired Indian Army Officers in 2001. Horizon OPCEM is the first Indian NGO by, of and for Indian Ex Servicemen, dedicated to Post Conflict Environment Management with core competence in Humanitarian Demining. Founded by retired officers of the Indian Army in 2001, it was registered as a Society on 16 Jan 2002. Horizon OPCEM has done 7 Humanitarian Demining Projects in Sri Lanka and has received funding from the Norwegian People's Aid.[6]
INTERSOS
INTERSOS is an independent no-profit humanitarian organization committed to assist the victims of natural disasters and armed conflicts. It was founded in 1992 with the active support of Italian Trade Unions. INTERSOS has a flexible operational structure, with the central headquarters in Rome which is in charge of planning and coordination of operations, and various field offices in the countries of operation.
Japan Mine Action Service
Japan Mine Action Service(JMAS) is a Japanese Nonprofit organization established in 2002 that is headed by a mine expert who retired from the Self-Defense Force. The JMAS is active mainly in Cambodia and Afghanistan.
Mine Awareness Trust
The Mines Awareness Trust (MAT)[7] is a charitable organisation that endeavours to save the lives and limbs of ordinary people from the unexploded debris of war. Ben Remfrey formed the Trust in May 1999 as a direct response to the war in Kosovo.
Mines Advisory Group
The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) has operated since 1989. Having worked on a variety of conflict-related projects in around 35 countries, MAG was co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded for their work with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. MAG has worked in over 40 countries since 1989 and currently has operations in Angola, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Honduras, Iraq, Lao P.D.R., Lebanon, Libya, Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.[8]
Mineseeker Operations and Mineseeker Foundation
Mineseeker Operations[9] and Mineseeker Foundation[10] claim that they can locate mined areas more quickly and at a fraction of the cost of systems currently employed, using techniques that are significantly safer for the operators than most other methods. Initially the company will focus on identifying designated mined areas where there are, in fact, no mines, in order to release this land back to the community for agricultural or commercial development and rapidly reduce the overall scale of the clearance problem.
Menschen gegen Minen (MgM)
Menschen gegen Minen (People against Landmines) was founded on January 16, 1996 in Germany. The goal was to establish a humanitarian mine clearance organization which would offer its services to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dedicated to re-establishing the infrastructure of dangerous regions in post war scenarios. Hendrik Ehlers and Hans Georg Kruessen founded MgM together with others in 1996. Today they are Managing Directors and active Managers of all demining operations at the same time. They have been working since 1992 in the field of humanitarian mine clearance and the destruction of dangerous ammunition in Southern Africa. They possess a wealth of practical experience through operations management, mined area survey, demining and the destruction of explosives (EOD).
No More Landmines was a United Kingdom-based humanitarian landmine relief charity. The charity focused on landmine and unexploded ordnance removal, mine risk education programmes, and rehabilitation of survivors of landmine injuries. No More Landmines was established in May 2005 as the UK administrator of the United Nations AssociationAdopt-A-Minefield campaign, which has cleared over 21 million square metres of affected land since 1999. The trust ceased trading on 15 June 2009 and passed its assets on to the Mines Awareness Trust.
Norwegian People's Aid
Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) is one of Norway's largest non-governmental organisations, founded in 1939. Based upon the principles of solidarity, unity, human dignity, peace and freedom, NPA is involved in more than 400 projects in 30 countries. NPA has been involved in mine action since 1992. Cambodia was the first country where NPA started mine clearance and the organisation has grown considerably since then. NPA sits in the CC of the ICBL and the core group of LM and participates in different activities with SWG and SAC. As of December 2011, NPA was involved in mine action in sixteen countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
Response International
Response International is a UK registered charity established in 1993 to support victims of violent conflict. Over the last decade successful multi-sector programmes have been implemented in Angola, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Lebanon and Pakistan. The objective of these programmes is to design and implement projects that offer immediate relief to victims of conflict and provide sustainable conditions to enable longer term development. Response International's projects have included landmine clearance and landmine awareness and victim rehabilitation.
Stiftung Sankt Barbara Deutschland - Saint Barbara Foundation (SBF)
Stiftung Sankt Barbara Deutschland - Saint Barbara Foundation (SBF) is a humanitarian foundation registered in Germany. Since 1995 SBF clears landmines and ERW and supports different projects in rehabilitation and assistance for mine victims. Former countries of engagement were Angola, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somaliland, actually SBF is working in Libya. SBF's projects include landmine clearance, landmine awareness and victim rehabilitation.
Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD)
The Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) was formed in 1997 in Geneva, Switzerland. FSD is a humanitarian organisation specialising in the removal of the hazardous remnants of war, such as land mines, unexploded shells from artillery and tank fire, air-dropped bombs, and all manner of dangerous, unexploded military ordnance. FSD's work is conducted for humanitarian purposes. FSD is a non-political, non-aligned, independent, non-government organisation based in Geneva.
FSD also conducts disaster relief work, with major interventions in Sri Lanka following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and during the January–March 2008 cold weather crisis in Tajikistan. FSD has conducted interventions in 21 countries since 1998, and is currently engaged in implementing 5 programmes worldwide, these are Lao, Lebanon, Sri-Lanka, Sudan and Tajikistan. FSD also conducted support operations for the World Food Programme (WFP) as a stand-by partner from 2001.
Commercial mine clearance agencies
Commercial mine clearance agencies are profit-making organisations.
6 Alpha Associates
6 Alpha Associates provides independent consultancy in mine clearance, unexploded ordnance (UXO) and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). The company is based in the UK and operates globally, primarily working with the energy, extractives and construction industries. 6 Alpha also provides advice on security, risk management, business continuity and crisis management.
G4S Ordnance Management
G4S Ordnance Management is a commercial leader in the environmental remediation of landmine, unexploded ordnance (UXO) and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) pollution, clearing battlefields and the management of conventional weapons. Over the past 14 years, G4S Ordnance Management has operated in over 20 different countries including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chile, Cyprus, Iraq, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Mozambique, Nepal, Sakhalin Island (Russia) and Sudan. G4S Ordnance Management was originally part of ArmorGroup International, which was acquired by G4S plc in April 2008.
BACTEC International
BACTEC rebranded to become SafeLane Global on October 1, 2018. It is an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and landmine clearance company. BACTEC was established in 1991 to provide risk mitigation services for unexploded ordnance and landmine clearance, supporting construction projects and worldwide explosive ordnance clearance initiatives.
Crosstech SA
Crosstech SA is a commercial company that is 100% owned by the FSD. It was set up to serve the needs of customers (such as the UN in Sudan) who prefer to deal with a commercial entity, rather than a non-governmental organisation. The aim of Crosstech SA is to provide mine action services, and to provide services to FSD. Even though Crosstech SA is a commercial company, it has to exercise its activity under the supervision of the Swiss government's department for foundations.
The Development Initiative
The Development Initiative (TDI) is a project management organisation providing expertise in managing difficult projects in remote, extreme or post-conflict environments. TDI provided landmine clearance, battle area clearance, explosive ordnance disposal and consultancy, detection dogs, logistics and remote operations support. TDI has experience of working in theatres such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Laos, Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Taiwan and Kuwait.
Horizon Assignments
Horizon Assignments (India) Pvt Ltd was founded as an adjunct to Horizon OPCEM with a view to realizing its objectives of service to humanity and supplement its funding. The Organisation was registered on 23 Oct 2003 under Companies Act 1956. The organization is ISO 9001-2008 certified and accredited globally by United Nations for Humanitarian Demining. HORIZON has undertaken 16 demining projects in Sri Lanka from 2003 till 2012 and a project in Jordan in 2006-07. Horizon had received funding from The Government of India for the demining projects in Sri Lanka. Since September 2012, Horizon is working on Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) / UXO survey and detection as a part of soil remediation project under taken by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India for Kuwait Oil company (KOC) at Kuwait. In Nov- Dec 2014, HORIZON successfully completed UXO Anomaly Avoidance Project for AMEC's Soil sampling Activity. In Kuwait, Horizon has carried out EOD/UXO survey of more than 400,000 sq m and Radiological Survey of more than 270,000 sq m area. HORIZON has so far detected and destroyed around 124,630 land mines/UXO's/devices and have cleared 100,050,554 sq m of infected area along with Radiological Survey of more than 320,000 sq m of area in Kuwait Oil Company. Horizon's website is www.horizon-groupindia.com.
Mechem Demining
Mechem Demining is a division of the South African state-owned aerospace and defence equipment company Denel. Active in the field of humanitarian demining since 1991, Mechem utilises the considerable experience gained through three decades of involvement with the SANDF and other clients in providing landmine countermeasures and mine resistant vehicles and equipment. Mechem's demining operations are in full compliance with the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).
Mine Clearing Corp.
Mine Clearing Corp. is developing a landmine detection and mapping system. The system will scan contaminated areas using an Unmanned Airborne Vehicle using patented sensor arrays and GPS software. The results will produce a detailed map of land mine locations thus increasing the productivity of landmine detection.
Minefree
Minefree is Israel's biggest demining contractor. MINEFREE is specialized in conducting high complexity projects in the fields of demining, UXO Clearance, BAC, Stockpile Destruction and EOD. MINEFREE's leadership consists of ex-IDF Generals, holding more than 40 years experience in combat engineering related fields.
MineTech International
Along with BacTec, MineTech International rebranded to become SafeLane Global in 2018. It was established in 1989 and is a mine and unexploded ordnance clearance company. It works for commercial companies (mainly from the oil and gas industry) and humanitarian organisations to enable them to conduct business in countries plagued by mines and UXO.
MineTech offers services including manual, mechanical and canine mine detection and clearance, mine risk education and explosive detection dog teams. Its Headquarters are in the UK, and it has a canine training school in South Africa.
RONCO Consulting
RONCO Consulting has undertaken mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance operations in over 35 countries since 1989. RONCO employs nearly 200 technical advisors skilled in the training and implementation of mine/UXO clearance and disposal and improvised explosive ordnance disposal programs. RONCO specializes in the following fields: Manual Demining, Mine Detection Dogs, Explosives Detection Dogs, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Improvised Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Basic /Advanced Trauma Life Support, Security Management. Ronco was acquired by G4S/Wackenhut in March 2008.
Tactical Solutions International, Inc.
Tactical Solutions International, Inc. (TSI) provides security solutions and both humanitarian (Mine Awareness/Risk Education)and commercial mine and Unexploded Ordnance clearance, primarily for the construction and Oil & Gas sectors. TSI personnel were instrumental in the initial Humanitarian Demining efforts within Cambodia and Laos in concert with the national Mine Action Centers, UN and the US DoD. Drawn primarily from allied Special Operations Forces, TSI management, advisor/trainer/mentors and mine/UXO Clearance Technicians provide a turn-key weapons clearance solution in all post-war environments.
TSI is a US Corporation, registered in Wyoming, USA. It also maintains operational branches in Iraq, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates.
Ukroboronservice
Ukroboronservice is a Ukrainian state-owned company for export and import of military and special purpose products and services that includes a Humanitarian Demining Centre.[11] The center performs Manual and Mechanical Demining, demining with the use of MDD and EDD, EOD, IEDD, BAC, MRE, First aid courses, Refresher trainings.[12]
Military mine clearance agencies focus on the process undertaken by soldiers to clear a safe path so they can advance during conflict. The military process of mine clearance only clears mines that block strategic pathways required in the advance or retreat of soldiers at war. The military term used for mine clearance is breaching. This process accepts that limited casualties may occur.
Area cleared
The survey teams of MCPA have identified, marked and mapped more than 280 million square meters of mine contaminated area and about 199 million square meters of former battle area contaminated by UXO.
Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the military fields of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and improvised explosive device disposal (IEDD), and the public safety roles of public safety bomb disposal (PSBD) and the bomb squad.
The HALO Trust is a non-political and non-religious registered British charity and American non-profit organization which removes debris left behind by war, in particular land mines. With about 6,000 deminers worldwide, HALO's largest operation is in Afghanistan, where the organization operates as an implementing partner of the Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan (MAPA).
Unexploded ordnance, unexploded bombs (UXBs), or explosive remnants of war (ERW) are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation, sometimes many decades after they were used or discarded. UXO does not always originate from wars; areas such as military training grounds can also hold significant numbers, even after the area has been abandoned. UXO from World War I continue to be a hazard, with poisonous gas filled munitions still a problem. When unwanted munitions are found, they are sometimes destroyed in controlled explosions, but accidental detonation of even very old explosives also occurs, sometimes with fatal results.
United States Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians render safe all types of ordnance, including improvised, chemical, biological, and nuclear. They perform land and underwater location, identification, render-safe, and recovery of foreign and domestic ordnance. They conduct demolition of hazardous munitions, pyrotechnics, and retrograde explosives using detonation and burning techniques. They forward deploy and fully integrate with the various Combatant Commanders, Special Operations Forces (SOF), and various warfare units within the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Army. They are also called upon to support military and civilian law enforcement agencies, as well as the Secret Service.
The Swiss Foundation for Mine Action is a Swiss non-governmental organization involved in mine action. FSD is politically, ideologically and religiously independent. FSD is based in Geneva, has national field offices in its countries of operation as well as a logistical and administrative support office in Manila. From 2005 FSD was joined by its French partner FSD France, and from 2007 by CROSSTECH SA, a mine action company which is fully owned by the FSD.
William Dennis Goodchild Hunt MBE served a full career in the British Army as an Ammunition Technician (AT) and Ammunition Technical Officer (ATO) and served in the UK, mainland Europe as well as the Middle and Far East.
The region of Nagorno-Karabakh is considered to be one of the most heavily mined regions of the former Soviet Union. Mines were laid from 1991-1994 by both Azerbaijani and Armenian forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
DEMIRA, or Deutsche Minenräumer e. V., is an international, humanitarian, non-governmental organization (NGO) registered in Germany. DEMIRA was founded in 1996 in order to provide humanitarian mine clearance, EOD, as well as emergency medical aid and disaster relief to people living in postwar countries, and to victims of natural disasters and civil unrest.
The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) is a non-governmental organization that assists people affected by landmines, unexploded ordnance, and small arms and light weapons.
Operation Kiribati Assist is the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) contribution to a request from the Government of Kiribati to assist in the disposal of World War II unexploded ordnance (UXO) from locations throughout Kiribati.
The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is a service located within the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations that specializes in coordinating and implementing activities to limit the threat posed by mines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices.
SM-EOD is a system for selective and contact-free disposal of mines, unexploded ordnance (UXO) and improvised explosive disposal (IED) that is either covered with soil or underwater. In the earlier days, the systems were marketed by the Schweizerische Munitionsunternehmung company (SM), with this product family being for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD). The SM-EOD product family consists of 5 different calibers, all of them are non-magnetic hollow charges mounted on a tripod. The models range from SM-EOD 20, SM-EOD 33, SM-EOD 33P, SM-EOD 67, SM-EOD 130 to SM-EOD 190 representing the largest charge. The devices are pointed at the object to be disrupted at an appropriate distance, depending on the type of ordnance. The charge is initiated either electrically or pyrotechnically. The systems can be used underwater to a dept of 80 m and comply with MIL- and NATO specifications.
Golden West Humanitarian Foundation is an American Non-profit (501C3) organisation that develops technologies to address the technical limitations of humanitarian mine clearance. The Golden West Humanitarian Foundation is based in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.
The Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR), formerly the Mine Action Information Center (MAIC), is a public policy center at James Madison University that manages information, conducts training, holds conferences and workshops, and performs research relevant to humanitarian mine clearance, victim assistance, mine risk reduction and other explosive remnants of war (ERW).
MineWolf Systems provides machines and services for the mechanical clearance of landmines and other explosive devices. Its customers are mine clearance agencies in the commercial, humanitarian and military demining field. British company Pearson Engineering Ltd, a leading provider of Combat Engineer equipment, announced acquisition of the IP and Assets of MineWolf Systems in 2016.
Legacies of War (Legacies) is a non-profit, non-partisan project dedicated to raising awareness about the history of the Vietnam War-era bombing during the Secret War in Laos. Through the use of art, culture, education, and advocacy Legacies works towards the clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO), providing medical services for victims of UXO, and promoting a lasting legacy of peace and hope in Laos.
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