The GICHD is an international expert organisation established by Switzerland and several other countries in April 1998. The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) works for the elimination of anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions and explosive remnants of war. In March 2003, the GICHD concluded a status agreement with the Swiss Government guaranteeing its independence and freedom of action. The Centre has over 50 staff members and is financially supported by more than 12 countries and international organisations. The GICHD is an international expert organisation, registered as a not-for-profit foundation in Switzerland.

As long as there is armed conflict, there will be explosive remnants of war (ERW) which may affect civilians, and expertise will be required to develop solutions to this problem. Over 80 countries continue to be affected by landmines and other ERW.

 

What We Do

The Centre contributes to the social and economic well-being of people and communities in affected countries. The Centre supports the national mine action programmes, while cooperating with other relevant organisations, and follows the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.

The GICHD provides advice and capacity building support, undertakes applied research, disseminates knowledge and best practices, and develops standards. The Centre aims to enhance performance and professionalism in mine action, and supports the implementation of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the Convention on Cluster Munitions and other relevant instruments of international law.

The Centre has developed expertise and is active in all pillars of mine action, as defined by the United Nations:

• survey, mapping, marking and clearance of landmines and ERW
• mine risk education
• victim assistance, including rehabilitation and reintegration
• stockpile destruction
• advocacy in support of a total ban on anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions, and the development of, and compliance with, international legal instruments that address the problems of landmines and ERW

 

 

Programmes

Capacity Development, Training And Transition

The development of national capacities and well-planned transitions from UN-managed to nationally-managed mine action programmes has become more important than ever.
GICHD provides technical advice, training and capacity development support to improve the performance of mine action and related fields such as post-conflict recovery, development and human security, with an emphasis on developing planning capacity, management and governance in the form of:

• Staff development training – delivering tailor-made training support, upon request, to mine affected countries, mine action operators, UN agencies and donors
• Consulting support– providing technical advice on a wide variety of specific mine action specific themes and disciplines.

Evaluations

Since its inception, the GICHD has conducted a range of evaluations each year covering a variety of topics. The GICHD is currently developing a standard methodology for mine action evaluations, and building up its in-house capacity to undertake evaluations and reviews. The types of evaluations the Centre has conducted, or may be asked to conduct, include:

• Review of donor government policies
• Review of national mine action programmes
• Review of UN programmes and projects
• Donor requested evaluations of funded projects
• Technical evaluations (of equipment, procedures, systems, etc.)
• Monitoring projects
• Ongoing monitoring and assistance

Mine Action, Security and Development (MASD)

The purpose of GICHD's Mine Action, Security and Development (MASD) programme is to provide mine action and development practitioners with the information and tools required to link mine action with broader international assistance programmes (development, humanitarian, peacekeeping, post-conflict recovery, human security, armed violence reduction, security sector reform, etc). Our activities are organised around four key initiatives:

• The GICHD documents and gathers research, good practice and lessons learned on Mine Action, Security and Development. The Resources page contains a comprehensive list of MASD-related resources as well as a wider range of mine action-related publications and evaluations.
• We strengthen the capacity of mine action and development organisations to promote human security and development in mine-affected countries and communities through the provision ofGuidelines, training and technical advice.
• We facilitate an Online Forum to share information and promote dialogue on integrating mine action into development.
• We regularly organise Workshops to share experiences and discuss good practice.