MINE
ACTION
Clearing land, protecting communities, rebuilding the future. Since 1999 we have been making contaminated areas safe, so that communities can return, live and rebuild in safety.
Mine Action
Clearing the ground, protecting communities,
supporting victims
Since 1999, HAMAP-Humanitaire has been working to give communities back the land that conflict took from them.
Bringing life back to territories scarred by war. Our story begins in 1999 with a clear commitment: to fight anti-personnel mines and other explosive ordnance. It is from this founding mission that the name HAMAP comes, Halte Aux Mines Anti-Personnel. More than twenty-five years on, we continue that commitment, running clearance operations in the Middle East, in Ukraine and in other regions affected by conflict. Every mine removed, every piece of land made safe and every person reached with risk education helps restore the safety and dignity of affected communities and give them a future to look to.
We work to give communities back land that is safe and usable, so that they can recover their livelihoods, rebuild their homes and allow displaced people to return for good. Returning land means making life, work and hope possible again.
Our teams locate, identify and destroy the mines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war that threaten civilians. Every clearance operation helps make homes, schools, essential infrastructure and farmland safe.
Clearance alone is not enough. We also carry out explosive ordnance risk education with the most exposed communities, to reduce accidents, protect children and build community resilience.
Our conviction
Because clearance is not simply about removing explosives: it is about letting families come home, farmers work their land and whole communities rebuild their future.
Our mission
FREEING
CONTAMINATED LANDFour pillars for a world without mines
In line with the Ottawa Convention (1997) and the Oslo Convention (2008), HAMAP-Humanitaire is engaged in humanitarian mine action (HMA) with a clear aim: to make land safe and return it to local communities, while raising awareness among vulnerable groups.
Anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions and explosive remnants of war continue to kill and maim civilians long after fighting ends. HAMAP-Humanitaire works in conflict-affected countries to clear the ground, protect communities and give them back access to their land.
IRAQ Clearance operations in the Sinjar area
The pillars of HMA
Our projects are built around four of the five core pillars of humanitarian mine action.
Our approach
Strengthening civil society
We build the capacity of local actors by passing on organisational and technical skills, to support their independence and the durability of the work. This approach is fully part of a drive to localise aid and to make interventions last.
Support to local institutions
We support local authorities with technical and material assistance, enabling them to exercise their responsibilities in full and in line with international standards, and to manage residual risk sustainably.
Mainstreaming gender
Communities are at the heart of our work, with gender systematically mainstreamed to ensure inclusive action that meets the needs of women and of the most vulnerable groups.
Protecting the environment
We use clearance methods that respect ecosystems, aiming to return safe land without environmental damage, to limit the effects of climate change and to strengthen community resilience.
What sets us apart
THE VALUE
WE ADDFour cross-cutting commitments, present in every one of our projects
Humanitarian and development nexus
Building a lasting link between humanitarian action and development. We support communities from emergency through to resilience and long-term development.
Building the capacity of local actors
We place local organisations at the heart of our work, to encourage ownership and make it last.
Supporting the local economy and youth employment
Our projects contribute to local economic development and create opportunities for young people.
Promoting inclusion, empowerment and social cohesion
We make sure that every intervention encourages participation, equal opportunity and living together.
Our countries of operation
6 COUNTRIES,
ONE STRUGGLEDiscover our clearance operations country by country
Ongoing
Present since 2017: our flagship programme in Sinjar and the protection of archaeological heritage in Dhi Qar governorate.
Ongoing
A new programme built on localisation: risk education, surveys and clearance in the areas where displaced people are returning.
Ongoing
Building a Ukrainian capacity for humanitarian land and underwater demining, a pioneering position.
Flagship programme
SINJAR, IRAQ2019-2024: clearance and reconstruction with our partner SHO
The Sinjar programme is emblematic of HAMAP-Humanitaire's commitment to protecting communities affected by conflict. Over five years, our teams and our local partner SHO carried out major clearance operations in the Sinjar area, deeply marked by the violence perpetrated by Daesh. This work helped create the conditions for a safe and lasting return of Yazidi communities displaced since 2014, supporting the social and economic reconstruction of the area.
SINJAR, IRAQ Clearance team in the field
Capacity building
EMPOWERING OUR PARTNERS
FOR LASTING IMPACTTraining, supporting and passing on skills for lasting impact
Capacity building is at the heart of our work. At HAMAP-Humanitaire we are convinced that lasting impact comes from developing local skills. Our aim is not only to run clearance operations, but to enable national actors to manage them independently, safely and effectively.
We support our partners at every stage of their development: organisational structuring, technical skills, procedures that meet international standards, and support towards accreditation.
A partner of HAMAP-Humanitaire since 2019, the Iraqi organisation SHO is a perfect illustration of this approach. Thanks to long-term technical, operational and institutional support, SHO obtained its official accreditation in humanitarian clearance and now runs its operations entirely independently. This success shows how effective the transfer of skills can be, and reflects our commitment to building lasting local capacity in conflict-affected countries.
IRAQ The SHO team during clearance operations in Sinjar
Our four-step approach
From the initial assessment to the partner's full independence.
Assessing existing capacity, identifying needs and setting out a tailored capacity building plan.
Training teams, technical support, developing procedures and institutional support.
Measuring progress, adjusting activities and quality control of operations.
Gradual transfer of responsibility until full operational and institutional capacity is reached.
Our ambition
To help strong local organisations emerge, able to protect their communities for the long term and to contribute to the reconstruction of their country.
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