Mine clearance agencies

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. 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 thoroughly verified so that they can say without a doubt that the land is now safe, and people can use it without worrying about the weapons.

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. Germany, the UK, and Denmark are also significant donors.

APOPO trains Giant pouched rats from East Africa to detect landmines. 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).

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 poorest of the poor with dignity. DCA Mine Action is currently involved in comprehensive mine action programmes in Albania, Eritrea, Lebanon, Sudan and Ingushetia.

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