Issue 5.1 | April 2001 | Information in this issue may be out of date. Click here to link to the most recent issue.

Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining
by Robert Diethelm, Support Director, GICHD

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) was established in 1998 to support the mine action efforts of the international community, in general, and those of the United Nations, in particular. The Centre aims to promote cooperation in the field of mine action in three main areas: research work; operational assistance; and support for the Mine Ban Treaty.

The GICHD contributes to the formulation and development of improved procedures, practices and technologies in mine action.

The studies elaborated by the Centre address actual problems brought up by practitioners in the field or by donors. With its research, the Centre aims to increase the safety of demining and the cost-effectiveness of mine action programs in the field. Examples of the Centre’s current studies are:

• The Revision of International Standards Project provides practitioners and donors with an updated and revised framework of technical and procedural prescriptions for safe and effective mine action.
• The Mine Detection Dog Study analyses existing problems related with mine detection dogs (MDDs) (e.g. training and evaluation) to allow safe and efficient usage of the very promising potential of these animals.
• The Socioeconomic Study provides a framework for measuring socioeconomic impact and value, to help program managers to set priorities and to allocate resources most efficiently.
• The Donor Guidelines Study aims to assist donors in ensuring value for money and quality mine action from funded programs.
• The Training Needs Analysis Study analyses pre-deployment training needs of international experts filling the posts of program managers, technical advisers or similar key positions in field programs.
• The Use of Military Organizations in Humanitarian Mine Action Project aims to examine the practicability of using military organizations, both international and local, for all forms of humanitarian mine action. An appropriate integration of this potential could considerably increase the available work force for mine action.
• The Project on the destruction of PFM-1 mines shall establish how best to destroy stockpiles of such mines, since their liquid explosive filling is both toxic and corrosive.

The GICHD provides specific operational support and assistance for ongoing mine action activities in the field. The Centre develops and disseminates the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) in co-operation with the U.N. Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and other users. One of the key problems in mine action is information (e.g. location of mined areas, types of mines used, location of incidents). The Centre—in close co-operation with UNMAS, and supported by ETHZ Zurich—develops and disseminates IMSMA. IMSMA consists of:

• The “Field Module,” which provides a ready-to-use tool for mine action centers at the national and regional level, to cover their data collection and information management needs, and
• The “Global Module,” which refines and collates data from the field and provides the United Nations with improved capabilities for decision-making related to mine action.

To date, IMSMA is being used in Kosovo, Azerbaijan, Yemen, Chad, Estonia, Somaliland, Southern Lebanon, Eritrea, Nicaragua, Thailand and, on the regional level, in Cambodia.

The Centre provides operational support by providing short-term operational and technical assistance for newly established U.N. mine action programs by deploying members of its staff. In addition, the Centre carries out evaluation missions and provides the framework for the annual UNMAS Geneva Conference, which assembles mine action practitioners in the field, as well as at Headquarters level and provide for a comprehensive exchange of information and experience.

The GICHD supports the implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.

The Centre also hosts meetings within the intersessional work to implement the Mine Ban Treaty. These meetings of the relevant Standing Committees bring together representatives of States Parties, non-States Parties, of international organisations, of NGOs and other experts in order to ensure effective implementation and to report to the States Parties. The Centre also provides technical input to theses activities in the area of mine clearance, victims assistance, stockpile destruction and technology.

The Centre is an independent and impartial specialist organization.

It is supported by 17 governments, and the Republic and Canton of Geneva. The Centre’s budget foresees expenditures of some 7.5 million CHF (about U.S.$4.6 million) for 2001, covered by major contributions from Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as by project oriented funding provided by Germany, Norway, Sweden, the United States, UNDP and the UNTF.

The Centre Staff

The Centre has 20 permanent staff members, including five seconded staff members sent by the Governments of France, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Additional experts work for the Centre on a case-by-case basis.

Contact Information

Robert Diethelm, Support Director GICHD.
Phone + 41-22-906-1689
Fax + 41-22-906-1690

Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining
7bis, avenue de la Paix
P.O. Box 1300
CH-1211 Geneva 1, Switzerland
Phone: +41 22 906 16 60
Fax: +41 22 906 16 90
Website: www.gichd.ch