29th International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors & UN Advisers

Room: B

• From the onset of the war to response and recovery. Gender and women's empowerment should be at the centre of all actions. Integrating women's empowerment into locally led humanitarian mine action is sustainable and efficient. Sharing these inclusive practical practices enhances efficiency and improves outcomes in HMA for recovery and peacebuilding in crisis- or war-affected countries.

Participating Member States and organizations 

• Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine
• Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
• UN Women
• NGO Girls
• Croatian Center for Testing, Development and Training
• Geneva International Center of Humanitarian Demining

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 Room: C

• Localisation is central to achieving sustainable, nationally led mine action, yet its meaning and approach remain inconsistent across the sector. This session aims to discuss approaches to localisation, share practical experiences from donors, national authorities, national NGOs, and International operators, and explore pathways that strengthen national ownership, promote local leadership, and ensure sustainable investment. It seeks to engage donors, affected states, national authorities, and local and international practitioners committed to strengthening effective, sustainable mine action.

Participating Member States and organizations 

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
• Mine Action Centre of the Republic of Serbia
• Mines Advisory Group International (MAG International)
• Ukrainian Deminers Association
• Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)

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 Room: E

• What does it take to make cities safe again after conflict? Explosive hazards in homes, streets and critical infrastructure are blocking returns, humanitarian access and recovery. This session will explore how mine action can unlock progress, drawing on Sudan, Gaza, Syria and Iraq. It will highlight practical lessons and priority actions for national authorities, operators and donors working to link mine action with safe returns, service restoration and reconstruction.

Participating Member States and organizations 

• National Mine Action Authorities of Sudan 
• Directorate of Mine Action, iraq
• UNMAS (Sudan/OPT/Syria/Iraq)

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 Room: F

• Mine Action operators often work around some of the world’s most significant sites. While the removal of landmines and ordnance delivers the first phase of recovery, returning communities seek solace in cultural familiarity. This session will discuss the role that mine action plays in the protection of cultural heritage, and seeks to open a discussion on the simple measures required to protect cultural heritage in operations, and support the sector’s intent to build more stable and resilient communities. 

 Participating organizations

• Blue Shield International (Organizer)
• UNESCO
• The HALO Trust

Purpose of the session:

Land release is central to the effectiveness, credibility and sustainability of mine action, influencing how contamination is understood, how resources are prioritised and how land is safely returned to communities. This plenary will consider the strategic role of land release through the lens of revised IMAS 07.11, and explore how standards, evidence, technology and financing can strengthen national ownership and improve programme outcomes.

Moderator: 

• Ambassador Tobias Privitelli, Director, Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)

Speakers:

• Mr. Fadi Alsaleh, Director, Syria Mine Action Centre
• Ms. Angela De Santis, Deputy Head of Operations, Fondation Suisse de Déminage (FSD)
• Mr. James Cowan, CEO, The HALO Trust
• Mr. Armen Harutyunyan, Head of Research, Innovation, Standards, and Operations, GICHD
• Mr. Rabie Al Jawashi Program Manager / Founder, Free Fields Libya

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 Room: B

• One year after major shifts in Syria’s operational context, explosive ordnance contamination continues to pose a widespread threat to civilians and to safe returns, livelihoods and recovery. This session will reflect on progress achieved, highlight remaining challenges, and explore priorities for scaling mine action. Bringing together national and operational perspectives, it will engage donors, policymakers and humanitarian actors on how to sustain and strengthen the response.

Participating Member States and orgnaizations 

• Syria National Mine Action Centre
• Syria Mine Action Area of Responsibility 
• DanChurch Aid
• Danish Refugee Council
• Humanity & Inclusion
• ITF Enhancing Human Security M
• ines Advisory Group
• Norwegian People’s Aid
• The HALO Trust
• ReachOut
• Roj Mine Control Organisation
• SafeLand Organisation
• United Nations Mine Action Service

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More information coming soon.

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Room: E

• To highlight how explosive ordnance contamination constrains early recovery in contexts where the full scope of mine action cannot yet be implemented, and to present adaptive solutions applied in Gaza under severe operational constraints. The event will showcase coordinated and integrated approaches combining enabling EOD, EORE–CPP, and victim assistance, demonstrating how these pillars work together to support humanitarian access, protect civilians, and enable early recovery efforts in a highly complex operational environment.

Participating organizations 

• United Nations Mine Action Service
• Humanity & Inclusion 
• The HALO Trust
• Norwegian People’s Aid

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 Room: F

• Places, people and results in the spotlight rather than technical aspects of mine action. Provides an insight into the life and struggles of rural communities. Links clearance to recovery, telling the stories and hearing the voices of rural households and small-scale farmers through immersive video clips of mine action successes. Reviews rural community engagement and livelihood, production, and food security results through activities of the United Nations, civil society, and state implementing arms of Ukraine.

Participating Member States and organisations 

• State Emergency Services of Ukraine (SESU)
• World Food Programme (WFP)
• Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)
• Centre for Humanitarian Demining (CHD)
• Ukraine Demining Association (UDA)

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 Room: B

• The Sri Lanka Completion Survey Process (SLCSP) is a nationally led, evidence-based approach to verify that previously mined or explosive-contaminated areas are safe for civilian use. Launched in 2023, it systematically assesses around 1,400 Grama Niladhari divisions using GIS-based mapping, quality assurance, and community engagement. The process ensures credible, transparent land release, supports APMBC Article 5 compliance, identifies residual hazards, and contributes to safe resettlement, livelihoods, and sustainable development offering practical insights for other mine action programmes.

Participating Member States and organizations 

• National Mine Action Center (NMAC), Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, Sri Lanka
• Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining 
• MAG International

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 Room C

This session addresses the "precision paradox" in humanitarian mine action, where overhyped AI marketing masks critical technical limitations. We aim to bridge the gap between "black-box" algorithms and the ground truth of the minefield by promoting transparent, human-centred AI development. This event targets donors, technology providers, and demining practitioners. Together, we will explore how a "One Humanity" approach ensures that technology serves as a consultant to human judgement, protecting lives through meaningful accountability.

Participating organizations 

• Subsphere Corporation 

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 Room: E

• This side event highlights how mine action supports reconstruction and recovery in post-conflict settings, emphasizing coordination between mine action, development, and urban recovery actors. It aims to enhance understanding of mine action as a key enabler of reconstruction, promote the exchange of practical experiences, strengthen cooperation between institutions and partners, and increase recognition of its role within broader recovery and development frameworks.

Participating organizations:

• The Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ANAMA);
• ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC);
• Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD);
• Mine Action Review/Norwegian People’s Aid;
• ITF Enhancing Human Security

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 Room: B

• In a few short years, drones of all kinds have revolutionised how wars are fought. Mine Action has yet to catch up with the latest developments, especially when it comes to classification, reporting and training. The objective of this side event is to initiate a sector-wide discussion and garner suggestions about the best way to address the rapidly evolving challenges posed by drone-delivered explosive ordnance.

Participating organizations 

• United Nations Development Programme (organiser)
• Ukraine National Mine Action Centre 
• United Nations Mine Action Service
• United Nations Office for Project Services
• Global Clearance Solutions

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 Room: E

• This panel will explore the key alignments and differences between mine action responses and counter-IED efforts. It will examine how each approach addresses strategy, planning, and operational challenges, particularly in contexts where humanitarian principles must be upheld while prioritizing the protection of civilians.

Participating Member States and organizations 

• Burkina Faso National Commission for Arms Control (NMAA) (TBC)
• UNMAS - Somalia
• UN Office of Mine Action and Police (OMAP) (TBC)
• The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)
• Mines Advisory Group

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 Room: F

Humanitarian mine action is increasingly relied upon as a life-saving component of emergency response, protecting civilians and responders in armed conflict and climate-related hazards. This session examines real examples of emergency preparedness and response spanning risk education, survey, explosive ordnance disposal, victim trauma care, and more. We will also explore coordination, conflict sensitivity, and do no harm. It is meant for operational agencies, coordination bodies, national authorities, and donors working in humanitarian response.

Participating organizations 

• Humanity & Inclusion (HI)
• Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS),
• The Explosive Weapons Trauma Care Collective (EXTRACCT),
• Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA),
• United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC),
• United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS)

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 Room: B

• Syria’s widespread explosive hazards continue to endanger civilians and block access to land, services, and livelihoods. This session will explore how integrated humanitarian mine action can support recovery, self-reliance, and community resilience. It aims to bring together donors, United Nations agencies, and practitioners to discuss practical approaches and the need for predictable, multi-year funding to enable safe, sustainable recovery.

Participating organizations 

• Danish Refugee Council, DRC (Syria)
• Humanity and Inclusion, HI (Syria)
• Further panelists to be confirmed

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 Room: C

• Given pressures on development funding, Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) must diversify its funding streams. Other sectors have benefited from using outcome-based finance to attract new funding. Drawing on two pilot outcome-based finance mine action projects in Cambodia (APOPO) and Syria (DCA) and the expertise of GICHD’s innovative finance secretariat, the panel will consider the potential for HMA outcome-based finance projects to attract additional funding from governments and the private sector.

Participating Member States and organizations 

• United Kingdom, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
• DanChurchAid (DCA)
• APOPO
• Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)

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 Room: E

• Using the Korea–Vietnam Peace Village Project as a case study, the event will examine the enabling factors that allowed mine action to be successfully integrated with development activities such as climate-resilient housing, community health stations, and climate-resilient agriculture. The discussion will highlight how coordination mechanisms, national ownership, financing modalities, and deliberate sequencing between land release and development investments can transform mine action from a standalone activity into a foundation for sustainable development. The event aims to provide practical lessons and replicable approaches for countries and organisations seeking to operationalise the mine action–development nexus in other contexts.

Participating Member States and organizations 

• Viet Nam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC)
• United Nations Development Programme Vietnam (UNDP)
• Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)

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 Room: B

To highlight how explosive ordnance contamination constrains early recovery in contexts where the full scope of mine action cannot yet be implemented and to present adaptive solutions applied in Gaza under severe operational constraints. The event will showcase coordinated and integrated approaches combining explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) – conflict preparedness and protection (CPP) – and victim assistance, demonstrating how these pillars work together to support humanitarian access, protect civilians, and enable early recovery efforts in a highly complex operational environment.

Participating organizations 

• Handicap International - Humanity & Inclusion
• United Nations Mine Action Service 
• The HALO Trust
• Norwegian People’s Aid

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 Room C

Sea mines and other underwater explosives remain an overlooked legacy of past and current conflicts. Millions of tonnes of munitions lie corroding on the seafloor and in inland waters, posing risks to ecosystems, coastal communities, the blue economy and maritime security. Governance and responses remain fragmented and largely reactive. This side event will examine underwater explosives as a multisectoral challenge and explore risk-based approaches to monitoring, clearance and maritime security governance.

Participating organizations 

• Ministry of Police, National Security and Correctional Services, Government of the Solomon Islands 
• GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
• United Nations Development Programme
• United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
• JPI Oceans

 Room: F

• This session explores how Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam are working together, with support from Japan, to address shared unexploded ordnance challenges in the region. It highlights why cooperation among neighbouring affected countries matters and how practical exchange can improve survey, clearance, and future regional collaboration. The session is intended for national mine action authorities/centres, partners, and practitioners interested in regional approaches that can strengthen cooperation and improve responses to shared contamination challenges.

Participating Member States and organizations 

• ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC)
• Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC)
• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
• Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Programme (UXO Lao) 
• Viet Nam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC)

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More information coming soon