Where we work
Where we work
Where we work
Since 1992, NPA has cleared one billion square metres of land and removed more than 2 million landmines and explosives in 45 countries.

Angola
Mine Action and Disarmament in Angola

Zimbabwe
Mine Action and Disarmament in Zimbabwe

Cambodia
Mine Action and Disarmament in Cambodia

Lao People's Democratic Republic
Mine Action and Disarmament in Lao PDR

Palau
Nearly 80 years after the end of World War II, Palau is still contaminated with Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) on land and in the sea.

Thailand
Mine Action and Disarmament in Thailand

Tajikistan
Mine Action and disarmament in Tajikistan

Vietnam
Mine Action and Disarmament in Vietnam

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mine Action and Disarmament in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Kosovo
Mine Action and Disarmament in Kosovo

Peru
NPA assists Peru with disposal of arms and ammunition, and destruction of stockpiled cluster bombs.

Afghanistan
Mine Action and Disarmament in Afghanistan

Iraq
Mine Action and Disarmament in Iraq

Lebanon
Mine Action and Disarmament in Lebanon

Syria
Mine Action and Disarmament in Syria

Yemen
NPA provide mine detection dogs (MDDs) capacity for the Yemen Executive Mine Action Centre (YEMAC)

Mozambique
Mozambique has vast, unknown quantities of poorly managed, unserviceable ammunition that pose a risk of unplanned explosions.

Ukraine
The humanitarian impact of the ongoing conflict and the extensive use of explosive weapons in populated areas in Ukraine has been unparalleled in Europe since the Second World War.
Clearance
Clearance
Clearance
NPA clears landmines, cluster munitions and explosives left after war and conflict.

Mine Detection Dogs
NPA is renowned for its Mine Detection Dogs, bred at the Global Training Center in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Stockpile Destruction
Policy
Policy
Policy
NPA has taken a leading role in the development of international weapons policies.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions
The Convention on Cluster Munitions is the international agreement prohibiting cluster munitions.

Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA)
Explosive weapons with wide-area effects are a major cause of harm to civilians when used in populated areas.

The Mine Ban Treaty
The Mine Ban Treaty was adopted in Oslo 1997, and entered into force in 1999. As part of ICBL, Norwegian People's Aid played a key role in the process.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Norwegian People's Aid are proud members of The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Stop Killer Robots - autonomous weapons systems
We must ban lethal autonomous weapons systems - so-called killer robots - before they are developed, and maintain human control of life and death decisions.

Environmental mainstreaming
We take the lead on environmental protection in the Mine Action and Disarmament sector.
Protection
Protection
Explosive Ordnance Risk Education
Teaching civilians in mine affected communities how to stay safe until land has been cleared.

Conflict Preparedness and Protection
NPA’s approach to civilian self-protection during war and conflict.

New Humanitarian Mine Action Programme in Syria

Norwegian People’s Aid is establishing a Humanitarian Mine Action Programme in Syria.

NTB ynblcz OC6 Hw — One in three populated communities in Syria are affected by explosive remnants after years of war. Photo: AMER ALMOHIBANY / AFP/ NTB

NPA has successfully negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates for the establishment of a humanitarian mine action programme in Syria. The MoU was signed by representatives from NPA and the Syrian Arab Republic on Tuesday 21 December, 2021.

Mine Action is one of the main priorities in the United Nation’s 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria. The UN estimated in 2020 that landmines, improvised mines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war are affecting one in three populated communities in Syria and that one in two people are at risk from the presence of these explosive weapons.

"Particularly affected are areas that experienced intense hostilities, including Aleppo, Daraa, Deir Ezzor, Idlib, Raqqa, and Rural Damascus. This data clearly demonstrates how explosive ordnance contamination continues to be a widespread protection issue in Syria", says NPA’s Director for Mine Action and Disarmament, Per Håkon Breivik.

In 2020, the UN recorded an average of 76 explosions per day in Syria, equating to an explosion every 20 minutes.

"It goes without saying that there is an urgent and massive need to reduce the human suffering caused by the threat from a wide range of complex landmines and explosive remnants of war in Syria", says Breivik.

Several actors, including international non-government organizations (NGOs), are present in areas not controlled by the government to address this.

"In government-controlled areas, however, there has been a critical lack of qualified mine clearance operators, with only one accredited international operator", Breivik adds.

Since January 2019, NPA has maintained a dialogue with international partners, including donors, with regards to initiating humanitarian mine action activities in government-controlled areas of Syria.

"We would like to express our gratitude to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for supporting the establishment of a humanitarian mine action programme in Syria", Breivik concludes.

In 2022, NPA will start the operational phase primarily focusing on survey and clearance of areas as identified under the UN Humanitarian Response Plan and the Humanitarian Needs Overview.