Humanitarian demining / Unexploded Ordnance Disposal (UXO) of civil areas and unexploded ordnance risk education

Expected Outcome:Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Improved, modern and validated tools, skills, methodologies and innovative training curricula for practitioners involved in humanitarian demining and Unexploded Ordnance Disposal (UXO) of civil areas, taking into account all applicable legislation and fundamental rights;
• Improved education activities aimed at reducing risks of injuries from anti-personnel mines and other unexploded ordnance;
• Enhanced understanding of the key challenges and best practices related to humanitarian demining and to unexploded ordnance risk education taking into account the experience of Ukrainian participants;
• Evidence-based support to policy-makers on shaping of the EU mine action.

Scope:In post-conflict areas, lives of civilians are in danger and the return of economic activity is hindered because the land is contaminated by anti-personnel mines and other unexploded ordnance. The EU provides a continuous support to humanitarian demining activities in heavily mine-affected countries and regions all over the world, thus promoting peace, security, post-conflict reconstruction, as well as social and economic rehabilitation. In Ukraine, mine action is a critical aspect of the humanitarian emergency response, the goal of which is to support the return of the civilian population and the rebuilding of crucial civilian infrastructure. As part of their mine action operations, EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries, such as Croatia, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Armenia also strive to make their land completely free of anti-personnel mines and other explosive ordnance.

Humanitarian demining is not to be confused with military demining, which is the process undertaken by soldiers to clear a safe path so they can advance during conflict.

Various humanitarian demining initiatives have been developed, which often incur high costs and are typically slow because no mistakes are allowed. In addition, due to a large diversity of contaminated areas, types of anti-personnel mines and of their deployment methods, as well as a more complex contamination that includes unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices, there is no single solution to the problem. Finally, new anti-personnel mines are being developed and new mine deployment techniques being used. Therefore, new, improved, innovative or disruptive solutions, accompanied by related training curricula, are needed to enhance humanitarian demining activities in civil areas. Since the aim of humanitarian demining is to restore peace and security, it has to be complemented by an adequate risk education, raising awareness of civilians of the risks from anti-personnel mines and other unexploded ordnance, which will help them act in such a way that will reduce the risk to people and the environment. A range of risk education initiatives exist, but they usually lack, among others, collaboration with related Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), sustainability, and a comprehensive needs assessment aiming to improve their effectiveness. Within this topic, improved, modern and validated tools, skills, methodologies and innovative training curricula for practitioners are expected, which are adapted to regional and cross-border contexts.

Proposals should also explain how they will plan and/or carry out demonstration, testing or validation of developed tools and solutions. Furthermore, proposals should outline the plans to develop possible future uptake and upscaling at national and EU and international level for possible next steps once the project is finalised. Proposals should also consider, build on if appropriate and not duplicate previous research, including but not limited to research by other Framework Programmes’ projects[1]. Proposals are also expected to connect and create synergies and explore complementarities with other related initiatives in humanitarian demining and in explosive ordnance risk education.

Activities proposed within this topic should address both technological (humanitarian demining) and societal (explosive ordnance risk education) dimensions in a balanced way.

To ensure the active involvement of and timely feedback from relevant security practitioners, proposals should plan a mid-term deliverable consisting in the assessment, performed by the practitioners involved in the project, of the project’s mid-term outcomes.

Within this topic, the European Commission encourages all potential participants to create, where possible, opportunities for the affected persons and entities, in particular Ukrainian national mine action authorities, researchers and innovators, demining agencies or companies as well as NGOs.

[1] Such the TIRAMISU and DBOX projects funded under FP7; projects MUNIMAP, BASTA, ExPloTect; project(s) funded under HORIZON-CL3-2023-BM-01-02 – “Identify, inspect, neutralise Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) at sea”; project(s) funded under EMFAF-2023-PIA-FLAGSHIP-MUNITION – “Regional flagship projects supporting a sustainable blue economy in EU sea basins – submerged munitions in the Baltic Sea”; project(s) funded under PPPA-2024-MUNITIONS – “Saving our Seas – Reducing the danger of munitions dumped in European seas”.