The overall goal of this project is to protect civilians from the threat of explosive ordnance (EO) and to enable humanitarian, socio-economic and reconstruction efforts. The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) programme in Iraq will implement this project mainly in the Southern region of Iraq to clear minefields consisting of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, and explosive remnants of war (ERW), to enable productive agriculture and housing opportunities for Iraqis. The project will also provide explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) in the retaken areas of Iraq to first provide life-saving EORE messaging to those at risk and secondly, to create a partnership between international and national non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to increase the capacity of national NGOs in an effort to build a sustainable national mine action response. A similar methodology in the retaken areas will be awarded for explosive hazard management (EHM) partners for clearance operations. Finally, this project will contribute to the technical support (TS) of the Directorate of Mine Action (DMA).

EU Contribution

7 M EUR

Start – end

2021 - 2022

Location

Countrywide with a specific focus on the Liberated Areas (Anbar, Babel, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninawa, Salah Al-Deen, and Baghdad) and the Southern Governorates of Iraq (Basrah, Missan, Muthanna)

Beneficiaries

The direct beneficiaries of the technical support pillar is the Government of Iraq, namely the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Centre (JCMC), the Department of Mine action (DMA), the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Ministry of Interior (MoI).

Explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) activities benefit populations affected by EO in areas retaken from ISIL.

Through Explosive Hazard Management (EHM), the direct beneficiaries are the residents of the Shatt al Arab area of Basra Governorate and the surrounding villages, along with communities and returnees living in the retaken areas of Iraq, the location to be determined during the inception phase.

Implementing partner

United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) programme in Iraq

Funding Instrument

Development and Cooperation Instrument