Aid Effectiveness in Insecure Areas

The issue of aid effectiveness in conflict-affected and insecure areas is receiving increased attention within the development community. The Paris Declaration on Aid EffectivenessPrinciples for Good International Engagement in Fragile States and Situations and the recent Accra Agenda for Action signal donor and recipient commitment to improve the effectiveness of aid. Conflict-affected countries often present aid-effectiveness challenges that require special attention—but what does this mean for countries affected by mines and explosive remnants of war? This article examines recent developments, highlighting some implications for mine action

Mine-action Funding: GICHD Survey of Donor Countries

A recent survey of donors conducted by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining found that, while short-term donor support remains strong, levels of funding may decrease and become more unpredictable over the coming years

The Role of Mine Action in Curbing the Small Arms Threat

This article’s purpose is to share concrete examples of how mine-action organizations are playing an increasingly visible role in curbing the threat of small arms and armed violence more broadly, and to examine the reasons behind this trend

Mine Action and Land Rights in South Sudan: Key Findings and Recommendations

In March 2013, GICHD and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) undertook a joint mission to South Sudan on land rights and mine action in order to provide mine action organisations with analysis on land related conflict and practical guidance on how they can ensure their mine action operations “do no harm” and take land issues into consideration. This report summarises the key findings and recommendations from that mission

Evaluation of the Albanian Mine Action Programme

The evaluation is to generate recommendations for the Government of Albania, AMAC and AMAE to further develop the national mine action structure and programme in order to develop a mine action system which ensures meaningful consultation across concerned ministries and with key stakeholders. The evaluation is to generate recommendations for the Government of Albania, AMAC and AMAE to further develop the national mine action structure and programme in order to develop a mine action system which ensures meaningful consultation across concerned ministries and with key stakeholders. The general approach was for a multi-staged process, facilitating the emergence of a common understanding between the Evaluation Team and AMAC, AMAE and UNDP personnel concerning the priority evaluation issues as well as how best to obtain the evidence required to derive conclusions relating to those issues

Land Rights in Mine-affected Countries

Land rights in conflict and post-conflict environments is an increasing area of concern within humanitarian and development communities. When conflicts end, land rights may be threatened, especially for women, subsistence farmers and other marginalized populations. Secure land rights are, therefore, a critical issue for humanitarian response, sustainable peace-building and longer-term economic recovery, particularly in countries where agriculture is key to livelihoods. While mine-action activities such as priority-setting, survey and clearance bring mine-action organizations into direct contact with land-rights issues, most tend to avoid these issues. This article looks at how mine-action organizations can better address land issues

Mine Action and Land Issues in Columbia

The purpose of this report is to examine the key links between land issues and mine action in Colombia and to provide practical ‘do no harm’ guidance to mine action organisations to ensure that mine action facilitates the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), promotes tenure security and contributes to longer term socio-economic recovery

Mission Creep or Responding to Wider Security Needs? The Evolving Role of Mine Action Organisations in Armed Violence Reduction

Since the late 1980s, mine action organisations have focused their efforts on reducing the social, economic and environmental impacts of anti-personnel mines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) through a broad range of activities, including survey, clearance, mine risk education (MRE), victim assistance, stockpile destruction and advocacy. In recent years, an increasing number of mine action organisations are using their mine action technical expertise and their capacities to operate in difficult environments to reduce armed violence and promote public safety. Several organisations now have armed violence reduction (AVR)-related policies, programmes and staff in place. Some may argue that this shift towards AVR is a diversion from the core mandate of mine action organisations. But does this represent a loss of focus and thereby ‘mission creep\u27 on the part of these organisations? This practice note examines the factors underlying the evolving role of mine action organisations, discusses how these new programmes are contributing to the wider domain of AVR and explores whether these new programmes have resulted in a loss of organisational focus

Mission creep or responding to wider security needs? The evolving role of mine action organisations in Armed Violence Reduction

Since the late 1980s, mine action organisations have focused their efforts on reducing the social, economic and environmental impacts of anti-personnel mines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) through a broad range of activities, including survey, clearance, mine risk education (MRE), victim assistance, stockpile destruction and advocacy. In recent years, an increasing number of mine action organisations are using their mine action technical expertise and their capacities to operate in difficult environments to reduce armed violence and promote public safety. Several organisations now have armed violence reduction (AVR)-related policies, programmes and staff in place. Some may argue that this shift towards AVR is a diversion from the core mandate of mine action organisations. But does this represent a loss of focus and thereby ‘mission creep’ on the part of these organisations? This practice note examines the factors underlying the evolving role of mine action organisations, discusses how these new programmes are contributing to the wider domain of AVR and explores whether these new programmes have resulted in a loss of organisational focus