Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining - GICHD

24/08/2026

Last week, we facilitated a visit with Ukrainian authorities to Germany and the Netherlands to exchange experience on the management of underwater explosive ordnance contamination and explosive ordnance disposal techniques.

❗In 🇺🇦, around 14,000 km² of water areas, including lakes, rivers, canals and the sea, are contaminated by explosive ordnance. This is a serious risk to civilian safety and restricts access to waterways.

Clearing Ukraine’s maritime and inland waterways makes navigation safer. Clearance is also essential to operating humanitarian maritime corridor, creates stable export routes, and boosts the recovery of economic activity in Ukraine’s coastal regions.

🇩🇪 and 🇳🇱 have extensive experience dealing with underwater ammunition and unexploded ordnance dating back to the Second World War. They continue to develop and apply innovative technologies and equipment, advanced survey and disposal techniques, and strong cooperation between national authorities and technical partners.

For the GICHD, it's a privilege to facilitate exchanges like this, connecting countries, expertise and practical solutions to strengthen Ukraine’s capacity to address explosive hazards.

21/08/2026

🇨🇭: What happens at the Annual Ambassadors’ Conference ?

This week, our Director, Ambassador Tobias Privitelli, has been exchanging with the hundreds of people behind Swiss diplomacy. This yearly event brings together ’s diplomatic network to reflect on the opportunities and challenges shaping Swiss foreign policy: strengthening alignment and drawing on insights from realities on the ground.

For the GICHD, these conversations are an important opportunity to connect mine action and ammunition management with Switzerland’s foreign policy priorities and with the Ambassadors and partners working around the world.

🚨 Why does this matter? More than 100 million people are currently threatened by landmines, cluster munitions and other explosive ordnance in over 60 countries and territories. At the same time, Switzerland continues its long-standing commitment to reducing these risks, and has been supporting our work for nearly 30 years.

With at the heart of international efforts to address these threats, Switzerland’s commitment has helped turn international norms into practical action.

We thank Switzerland and the dedicated teams across its diplomatic network for their continued support and partnership with the GICHD!

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport DDPS, Swiss Development & Cooperation.
📸 EDA/Pascal Lauener.

20/08/2026

🇸🇾: The Syrian National Mine Action Center has reached an important milestone in their IMSMA Core implementation process. National Data Requirements for Explosive Ordnance Risk Education , Victim Assistance, and Land Release have been validated during a 5 day workshop in Damascus earlier this month with agreement to proceed to implementation in IMSMA Core. The focus will now be on the technical work: developing the forms, database, and associated applications and information products, followed by testing, piloting, and system launch.

This success is thanks to the hard work of members of technical working groups from the Mine Action Area of Responsibility for Syria, who diligently drafted the data requirements in the weeks leading up to the workshop, which meant during this workshop participants could focus on validation rather than building from scratch.

Attendance was strong throughout, with 30–40 participants each day and excellent representation from organisations working in Syria, particularly local organisations, and a good mix of information management and operational staff. This cooperation is crucial to IM systems design–input from operations dictates what data needs to be collected, while IM builds the system to collect it.

This workshop is just one part of a much larger process. With IMSMA Core in place, historical data and situational maps being produced, system development now beginning in earnest, and a capacity strengthening programme being planned, the Syrian National Mine Action Center starts to gain an overview of the mine action programme in their country, the foundation for ensuring efficient and effective operations in Syria.

A big thank you to the Syrian National Mine Action Center, the Mine Action , and UNMAS.

We are grateful to Auswärtiges Amt 🇩🇪 for supporting mine action efforts in Syria through this activity.

19/08/2026

Protection of humanitarian workers in mine action has always been non-negotiable. Lessons from tragic accidents have driven stronger safety measures, from personal protective equipment guidance and operational norms to the development of International Mine Action Standards and country-specific national mine action standards , all to protect the experts who dedicate their lives to making others safe.

Yet in recent years, we have seen shocking attacks against mine action professionals such as in March 2025 when two UNMAS employees were killed in central Gaza, most recently in June which killed and injured Norwegian People's Aid employees in Kherson Oblast. This is unacceptable. Under international humanitarian law, civilians, including humanitarian personnel, must be respected and protected, and humanitarian relief must be allowed to reach those in need.

Now is the time to rally behind humanitarian workers and ensure international humanitarian law is respected and upheld.

Another grim record for humanitarians.

More than 1,100 aid workers were killed, wounded, kidnapped, detained or arrested in 2025.

Gaza, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan saw the highest number of casualties.

Far too often, States were responsible for the killings of aid workers.

Behind every number is a life, a family, a person who was there to help.

Aid workers are not targets. The rules of war are not optional.

Impunity must end. Perpetrators must be held to account.

18/08/2026

Authorities in 🇸🇴 have been advancing their mine action efforts. We sat down with Dahir Abdirahman Abdulle, National Director General of Somali Explosives Management Authority (SEMA) who told us about his work in mine action, the current situation in Somalia, latest progress on information management including the benefits of using data in mine action.

We thank Federal Department of Foreign Affairs 🇨🇭 and Auswärtiges Amt 🇩🇪 for supporting our work in Somalia.

07/08/2026

🇺🇦: a proud moment to have participants take our IMSMA Core Administrator Course at The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (ДСНС України) Lviv State University of Life Safety (Львівський державний університет безпеки життєдіяльності) for the first time. IMSMA-related topics have recently been introduced into the curriculum across SESU educational institutions.

Over the last two weeks, university lecturers, together with participants from two other organisations, have been mastering IMSMA Core to support the Ukrainian national mine action programme in taking data-driven decisions. Course objectives were focused on strengthening participants' skills in:

▪️ Configuring IMSMA Core according to the needs of their organisations,
▪️ Management of users, groups, permissions and content;
▪️ System configuration tailored to organisational requirements;
▪️ Design of forms for data entry;
▪️ Creation of maps and apps for data visualisation and validation;
▪️ Configuration of dashboards for reporting purposes;
▪️ Design of data management processes within the IMSMA Core environment.

Participants now will go back to their roles, equipped to administer and tailor IMSMA Core so that the information it holds is reliable, accessible and directly usable for operational and strategic decision-making.

The participating lecturers will also be able to use the knowledge and course materials to further develop this part of the curriculum and strengthen IMSMA-related education for future mine action professionals in Ukraine.

We thank Canada’s Foreign Policy—Global Affairs Canada 🇨🇦 and Federal Department of Foreign Affairs 🇨🇭 for supporting this academic milestone contributing to Ukraine's national mine action strategy.

07/08/2026

Demine Ukraine and Minesight have brought together innovators from around the world through the Minesight Innovation Challenge — an international engineering competition focused on one of the most difficult and high-risk stages of humanitarian demining: excavation.

The Challenge aims to support the development of compact, remotely operated excavation systems that can reduce manual work, improve safety for deminers, and help accelerate clearance operations. More than 90 teams from 10 countries took part in the Challenge. Following an independent evaluation process, five finalist teams were selected to advance to the next stage: prototype development and field testing.

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining - GICHD is proud to contribute as part of the Challenge’s independent international jury, working alongside mine action and technology experts to assess submissions against operational criteria, including:
✔️ Clearance efficiency
✔️ Safety
✔️ Cost-effectiveness
✔️ Remote operation
✔️ Ease of use
✔️ Manufacturability

Rigorous expert evaluation helps ensure that promising ideas are assessed not only for their innovation, but also for their potential relevance to real humanitarian demining operations.
Congratulations to the five finalist teams: AUTOGENBOT , Kaban Diger, Badger, Water-Jet Excavation for Mine Exposure (WExMEx), and Active Alliance LLC / Trembita Tech.

We look forward to following the next phase of the Challenge as the teams move toward prototype development and field testing.

The Minesight Innovation Challenge is implemented by Minesight in partnership with the national platform Demine Ukraine, with the support of the Благодійний Фонд Сергія Притули / Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation and the Міністерство економіки, довкілля та сільського господарства України.

Learn more about the Minesight Innovation Challenge: https://www.minesightchallenge.com

06/08/2026

Protection challenges related to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) shape the operating environment for mine action in 🇸🇸. Entrenched gender inequalities, weak institutions and legal systems, discriminatory social norms, and limited access to healthcare and justice services continue to drive SGBV, particularly against women and girls. When it comes to moving safeguarding from a reactive response to a routine part of operations, South Sudan leads the way! Operators are increasingly building safeguarding and accountability into the way operations are run. This includes:

🔸 Adoption of a National Technical Note for Mine Action on
safeguarding, alongside requirements for all operators to
develop and implement safeguarding and protection from
sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) policies with a zero tolerance
approach.

🔸 Training staff on expected behaviour and reporting
responsibilities.

🔸 Holding staff, partners, and contractors accountable for
safeguarding standards.

🔸 Monitoring whether safeguarding systems are in place
and working.

Learn more and browse the key insights and implications in our short case study: https://link.gichd.org/SouthSudan_ProtectionChallenges

We thank Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 🇦🇺 for supporting our series of case studies demonstrating the positive results of applying inclusive approaches in mine action.

03/08/2026

Our Mine Action Innovation Hub webpage is live!

Innovation in mine action is no longer a choice but a vital part of making mine action more efficient and effective. Reducing the threat of landmines and other explosive ordnance calls for new ideas, methods and technologies that prove effective in real-world operations.

Check our the hub page now learn about:

🔻 The Hub's Strategic Approach 2027–2030 sets out a shared vision to accelerate needs-based innovation and strengthen the effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of mine action worldwide.

🔻 The Research Agenda for Mine Action Land Release, a sector-wide effort that identifies priority research and innovation needs to improve the safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of land release operations.

🔻Upcoming events including the 2026 Innovation Session in September which will address one of the most pressing challenges facing the sector today: explosive ordnance contamination in urban areas.

🔻News and opportunities.
https://www.gichd.org/our-response/innovation-hub/

We thank Luxembourg Aid & Development 🇱🇺, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs 🇨🇭, and European Commission Service for Foreign Policy Instruments 🇪🇺 for supporting the Innovation Hub.

01/08/2026

On 1 August, the Swiss National Day 🇨🇭, the three Geneva Centres, DCAF, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, and Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining - GICHD celebrate 's 🇨🇭 commitment to investing in the different layers of sustainable peace.

We thank Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport DDPS, and Swiss Development & Cooperation for their unwavering support and partnership for nearly 3 decades.

Lasting peace is not one action, but rather built layer by layer through:
🔸 Making the land safe and reduce risks to communities
🔸 Strengthening security sector governance and reform
🔸 Building knowledge, leadership, and dialogue