Project profile — Mine Action in Northwest Syria II

This project aims to reduce the vulnerability of targeted communities affected by conflict in 10 districts of Northwest Syria by addressing mine action needs. Project activities include: (1) locating, identifying, and recording explosive ordnance contamination by conducting non-technical surveys; (2) clearing explosive ordnance contamination; (3) recruiting new mine action volunteers, focusing on increasing and retaining women recruits; (4) providing clearance, survey, and refresher training to new recruits; and (5) providing explosive ordnance risk education through age-appropriate and gender-sensitive risk awareness sessions, focusing in areas with suspected or confirmed explosive ordnance contamination.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) improved access by targeted communities, including women and girls, to critical infrastructure; (2) increased ability of targeted communities to undertake inclusive mine action activities; and (3) increased international attention on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in northwest Syria.

Results achieved as of January 2025 include: (1) improved the White Helmets’ ability to report explosive threats by creating an interactive map with data from over 24,700 incident reports; (2) delivered 4,907 risk education sessions to 105,049 people (3,584 men, 6,035 women, 53,299 boys and 42,127 girls) across 12 districts, helping them stay safe from explosive hazards; (3) restored safe access for 14,345 people (3,528 women, 3,878 men, 3,342 boys and 3,597 girls) through clearance of key infrastructure. This includes 173 homes, 5 schools, 2 government buildings, 96 roads, 9 industrial sites, 3 health facilities, 1 market, 3 drainage systems, 1 irrigation system, 1 bridge and 1 place of worship; and (4) completed over 13,420 community explosive hazard assessments, leading to 1,706 clearance tasks that removed dangerous unexploded weapons and made communities in northwest Syria safer.