About Mine Action
The presence of mines and other explosive ordnance is one of the protection risks systematically monitored by country Protection Clusters. Landmines, explosive remnants of war, cluster munitions, and improvised explosive devices continue to endanger civilians during and long after conflict. They inhibit freedom of movement, put civilian infrastructures at risk and limit access to food, water, schools, hospitals and shelter. They are a major barrier to the safe return of refugees and internally displaced persons. Most casualties caused by explosive remnants of war are civilians, including many children. At least 57 states and territories are contaminated with Afghanistan, Myanmar and Syria amongst the most affected.
Mine action is a specialized protection activity that cuts across all spheres of humanitarian action. It helps people return home safely, access essential services, and rebuild their lives by clearing land contaminated with landmines and other explosive ordnance (EO). Mine action opens roads, farms, markets, and critical infrastructure, creating conditions for broader humanitarian assistance and long-term recovery. Through risk education, Mine Action actors help communities recognise dangers and make safer choices. They also advocate for victims and work to strengthen the norms against antipersonnel mines and cluster munitions which are prohibited by international Treaties. Together, these efforts enable the safe return of populations, support humanitarian actions, and help communities rebuild their lives with greater security and resilience.
Mine Action activities are driven by the needs and safety of affected communities and contributes to system-wide efforts to address protection risks.
- Mine action saves lives by reducing the number of accidents through surveys, mapping, marking a well as the actual clearance of explosive ordnance.
- Explosive ordnance risk education reduces the risk of injury by raising awareness of women, girls, boys and men, and promoting behavioural change.
- Victim assistance saves lives through medical care, rehabilitation, psychosocial support, and social and economic inclusion. In many emergencies, services remain limited, and mine action actors play a key role in connecting survivors to assistance and strengthening national systems. Our approach reduces harm and protects rights. It helps people access humanitarian aid and regain their independence with dignity.
Mine Action in the Protection Cluster
Integrated within the Global Protection Cluster and in-country Protection Clusters, Mine Action leads work with national and international partners to assess risks, protect affected communities, advocate for mine action in humanitarian contexts, and ensure coherent mine action response in humanitarian crises settings.
This ensures coordination between mine action partners for successful service delivery on the five mine action pillars in humanitarian emergency settings: clearance, explosive ordnance risk education, victim assistance, stockpile destruction, and advocacy. Mine action is governed by the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) which provide clear authoritative guidance for all areas of mine action designed to improve safety, efficiency, and quality.
The Five Pillars of Mine Action
In its broad sense, clearance includes surveys, mapping and minefield marking, as well as the actual clearance of mines from the ground. This range of activities is also sometimes referred to as “demining”. Once the land is deemed safe through all reasonable effort, as per the International Mine Action Standards on land release, civilians can to return to their homes and everyday routines without the threat of landmines and unexploded remnants of war.
Explosive Ordnance risk education refers to activities aimed at reducing the risk of injury from mines and unexploded ordnance by raising awareness and promoting behavioural change through public-information campaigns, education and training, and liaison with communities.
Risk education ensures that communities are aware of the risks from mines, unexploded ordnance and/or abandoned munitions and are encouraged to behave in ways that reduce the risk to people, property and the environment. Objectives are to reduce the risk to a level where people can live safely and to create an environment where economic and social development can occur free from the constraints imposed by landmine and ERW contamination.
Risk education, along with demining, contributes to limiting the risk of physical injury from mines and unexploded ordnance that already contaminates the land. Advocacy and the destruction of landmine and stockpiles focus on preventing future use of mines.
An EORE advisory group was established to increase the quality and coverage of EORE programmes, promoting effective behaviour change strategies, strengthening the cadre of EORE experts, addressing contextual sensitivities, advocating to member states including donors, and securing buy-in from highest levels on the importance of coordination. An additional technical group was created in 2026 under the EORE AG, the Early Response Network for EORE-CPP (ERNE). ERNE serves as a technical hub, pooling expertise from members, monitoring pre-identified contexts, producing evidence-based tools and messaging, and supporting actors at field level to strengthen their response, it helps streamline decision-making, reinforce technical foundations of emergency responses, and support timely, context-specific interventions when hostilities escalate, in particular in contexts with low or no capacity.
Advocacy refers to activities undertaken to mobilize support for mine action and to convince Member States to accede, ratify and implement the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and other relevant international agreements such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Victim assistance is a core component of mine action. It is an obligation of States Parties bound by:
- The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC), Article 6 states that “Each State Party in a position to do so shall provide assistance for the care and rehabilitation, and social and economic reintegration, of mine victims and for mine awareness programs.”
- The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), Article 8 in Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War of contains a similar provision.
- The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), Article 5 sets out obligations regarding victim assistance for states members to the convention.
- The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
According to The International Mine Action Standards (IMAS 13.10), “VA (Victim Assistance) requires a long-term commitment. As such, the ultimate responsibility to provide services for direct and indirect EO victims rests with State entities such as ministries responsible for health, social affairs, education, labour, human rights and social protection.”
Assistance is provided through a number of concrete actions to meet the immediate and long-term needs of mine accident survivors, their families, mine-affected communities and persons with disabilities. Assistance includes, but is not limited to, emergency and continuing medical care; physical rehabilitation; psychosocial support and social inclusion; and laws and public policies that promote effective treatment, care and protection for all disabled citizens.
Find the most recent engagements related to victim assistance by State Parties to the APMBC in the 2025-2029 Siem Reap-Angkor Action Plan and the CCM’s 2021-2026 Lausanne Action Plan.
Stockpiled antipersonnel landmines far outnumber those laid in the ground. In accordance with Article 4 of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, State Parties must destroy their stockpiled mines within four years after their accession to the convention.
There are many options available to states in destroying their stockpiles. Stockpiles are usually destroyed by the military, but an industrial solution can also be employed. The techniques used vary depending on the make-up of the mines and the conditions in which they are found. The complete destruction cycle involves aspects such as transportation and storage, processing operations, equipment maintenance, staff training and accounting, as well as the actual physical destruction.
for more information
Ms. Christelle Loupforest
Mine Action Lead in the Global Protection Cluster and UNMAS Representative in Geneva