Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining
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The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) is an international organisation working in mine action, legally based in Switzerland as a non-profit foundation. It was established by Switzerland and several other countries in April 1998. In March 2003, the GICHD concluded a status agreement with the Swiss Government guaranteeing its independence and freedom of action. The Centre has over 40 staff members and is financially supported by around 20 countries and international organisations.
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[edit] Mission
The GICHD works for the elimination of antipersonnel mines and for the reduction of the humanitarian impact of other landmines and explosive remnants of war. The GIHCD is committed to the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.
[edit] Competence
The GICHD, in partnership with others, provides operational assistance, creates and disseminates knowledge, improves quality management and standards, and supports instruments of international law, all aimed at increasing the performance and professionalism of mine action. Many of the GICHD’s products and services are distributed in partnership with the United Nations and other institutions. The Centre’s activities support all pillars of mine action, except for medical assistance. The competence of the Centre includes antipersonnel mines, all other types of mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in a broad sense of the term, including all forms of mines, booby traps, unexploded ordnance (UXO), abandoned ordnance (AXO) and cluster munitions. The GICHD is responsive across the full spectrum of emergency, reconstruction, peace-building and development situations. It does so by respecting the primary responsibility of affected states for mine action, and by placing emphasis on local ownership and capacity building.
[edit] Partners
The Centre’s main partners are national governments, international and regional organisations, local and international non-governmental organisations, research centres and commercial companies working in the area of mine action and explosive remnants of war.
[edit] Areas of operations
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[edit] Operational assistance
- Install and support the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA).
- Organise short term missions to national mine action authorities and operators to support and advise field operations
- Provide outreach activities and training
- Support the development of national legislation
- Support priority setting based on socio-economic approaches
- Support national authorities in implementing treaty obligations
- Support national authorities in destroying stockpiles of anti-personnel landmines
[edit] Research
- Develop improved methodologies and best practices on manual and mechanical mine clearance, as well as mine detection with animals
- Assess new detection techniques
- Develop improved risk management methodologies
- Publish studies and handbooks in all fields of mine action
- Undertake evaluations to generate lessons learned
[edit] Improve quality management and standards
- Develop International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) on behalf of the United Nations
- Support national authorities in developing national standards (NMAS)
- Develop methodologies for evaluations and strengthening evaluation capacities in mine
- affected countries
[edit] Information management system for mine action
Developed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) for GICHD, the information management system for mine action (IMSMA) is a ready to use computer data base and geographic information system (GIS) with an extensive mapping capability. Designed to provide an information management tool for humanitarian deminers and explosive ordnance disposal specialists, the system assists demining operators with decision-making, coordination and information management tasks in the field. The system is currently in use in more than forty mine action programmes around the world.
[edit] Support to international humanitarian law
[edit] Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on their Destruction, also known as the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (AP MBC), is central to the efforts aimed at ending the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines. The Convention includes a comprehensive ban on anti-personnel mines, a framework of action to address the humanitarian impact of mines and mechanisms to facilitate cooperation in implementing the Convention. The Convention was concluded on 18 September 1997 and it entered into force on 1 March 1999. As of 1 March 2007, 153 states had joined the Convention. The GICHD has observer status at the States Parties meetings of the AP MBC. Since 1999, the GICHD has supported the implementation of the Convention, primarily by hosting meetings of the Standing Committees established by the Convention’s States Parties. In September 2001, the States Parties mandated the GICHD to provide enhanced support to their efforts through the establishment of an Implementation Support Unit (ISU). The ISU duties include support and advice to the Presidency of the Meetings of the State Parties and to Standing Committee Co-chairs, communicating about the Convention and its implementation, and developing and maintaining a Documentation Centre. On behalf of a group of donors, the GICHD administers the AP MBC sponsorship programme. In addition, on an ongoing basis, the GICHD provides expert advice to the States Parties on mine clearance, mine risk education, and stockpile destruction.
[edit] Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
The Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, also known as the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), or Inhumane Weapons Convention, was concluded on 10 October 1980, and entered into force on 2 December 1983. The Convention has been reviewed in 1996, 2001 and in 2006. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the depositary of the Convention. As of 1 March 2007, there were 102 States which were party to the Convention. The GICHD has observer status at the High Contracting Parties meetings taking place in the framework of the CCW. The CCW is a framework convention with five protocols, which ban or restrict the use of various types of weapons that are deemed to cause unnecessary suffering, or affect either soldiers or civilians indiscriminately. The weapons covered include: weapons that leave undetectable fragments in the body (Protocol I - 1980), mines, booby-traps and other devices (Protocol II - 1980, Amended in 1996), incendiary weapons (Protocol III - 1980), blinding laser weapons (Protocol IV - 1995), and explosive remnants of war (Protocol V - 2003). Since 1999, the GICHD has supported the CCW, primarily by providing expert advice in order to promote the development of, and compliance with, the obligations contained in CCW.
