Mines Advisory Group

The problem:

Every 20 minutes, an innocent person somewhere in the world is killed or injured by a landmine or unexploded bomb; these explosive weapons left behind after forgotten wars claim the lives of thousands of people every year. Many of them are children.

The solution:

MAG (Mines Advisory Group) is a neutral and impartial humanitarian organisation clearing the remnants of conflict for the benefit of local communities worldwide. MAG is co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded for its work with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which culminated in the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty - the international agreement that bans anti-personnel landmines, sometimes referred to as the Ottawa Convention.

MAG assesses the impact on people of mines, unexploded ordnance (ie. unexploded bombs, rockets, missiles, mortars, grenades) and 'small arms and light weapons' (including rifles, machine guns, hand-held grenade launchers, portable anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, portable launchers of anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles) and takes a humanitarian approach to clearing them: ie. it's not how many mines we clear that matters, but how the clearance will benefit people's lives.

Because of this, MAG is a pioneer in mine action clearance: we recruit and train local staff, create multi-skilled demining teams, provide emergency response, give mine risk education in schools and villages, and keep abreast of new advances in mine clearance technology. We are also one of the few mine action organisations in the world to recruit women and mine survivors as deminers.

Landmines, unexploded ordnance and other remnants of conflict affect people's lives in different ways. They cause death, but mostly injury; cause economic strain on land, roads, in hospitals; deny access to water, schools, homes; promote fear and risk-taking; restrict movement; and deny refugees and displaced people relief and aid.

MAG has worked in around 35 countries since 1989 and currently has operations in Angola, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Vietnam.


Registered Charity No. 1083008.

To learn more about our work take a look at our website.