minefields — Publications

HALO Trust - Mine Action in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover: Imperatives in 2021 and Beyond

November 2021

The HALO Trust commissioned Samuel Hall to conduct empirical research on mine action in Afghanistan in June 2021, two months before the Taliban takeover of the country. The research involved primary data collection in two rural villages, in order to explore changes at the community level that occurred subsequent to HALO Trust landmine clearance. Samuel Hall had also conducted four prior studies and evaluations on mine action in Afghanistan from 2019-2021. This combined research informed the development of a policy brief, which explores the following areas: the changed political context but enduring humanitarian needs in Afghanistan; mine action in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover; and policy implications and recommendations regarding principled mine action support in Afghanistan and globally.

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Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) - Thirty Years of Impact

November 2021

Due to successive waves of instability and conflict from the 1980s onwards, Afghanistan was heavily contaminated by explosive ordnance (EO). Established to improve this situation, the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) commenced activities in 1988. Samuel Hall was commissioned by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to produce an evaluation taking stock of three decades of work by the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA).

It maintains a focus on impact resulting from MAPA, while also including criteria of relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability. To gather the evidence needed, a mixed-methods methodology was employed, combining different sources of quantitative and qualitative data to gain an extensive understanding of mine action results over time. Data collection took place in 24 communities across eight provinces, representing the different regions of Afghanistan.

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HALO Trust – Impact Assessments of Abandoned Improvised Mines (AIM) & Anti-Vehicle Mines (AVM) in Afghanistan

April 2021

Abandoned Improvised Mines (AIM) have caused over half of all landmine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) civilian casualties in Afghanistan in the last 5 years, killing thousands . Anti-Vehicle Mines (AVM) comprise over half of the remaining suspected and confirmed hazardous areas in the country. The HALO Trust is the major clearance organisation for both types of landmines. The impact assessments were based on primary research directly with communities affected by AVM and AIM and their subsequent survey and clearance.

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HALO Trust – An Independent Evaluation of the HALO Trust 2016-2020 Mine Action Programmes Funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs

February 2021

Between 2016 and 2020, the HALO Trust conducted mine action across eight projects: Afghanistan, Colombia, Kosovo, the West Bank (Palestinian Territories), Somalia, Somaliland, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. With over 16m USD in funding from the Dutch MFA, HALO conducted landmine/ERW clearance, explosive ordnance risk education (EORE), and victim assistance (VA), in order to prevent injuries and death, return land to local communities and increase people's resilience. This independent evaluation assessed the performance of the global programme along OECD-DAC criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, impact and sustainability. It found the programme largely succeeded along these criteria.

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UNMAS/UNOPS - Evaluation of the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA)

October 2014

UNMAS and the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) are in a paradoxical situation. Successful and increasingly efficient over the past six years, the MAPA is now in a delicate position to negotiate the years to come, as it struggles to secure the yearly funding it needs to allow Afghanistan to fulfil its treaty obligations.

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