Organizations working on mine action
Mine clearance in Cambodia is carried out by Cambodian government agencies, international organizations, NGOs from around the world, and support from many countries including Japan. Each organization's page shows where it works, its achievements and the technologies it uses.
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AAR Japan
An international NGO born in Japan. Active in Cambodia since 1993, it has supported demining and assisted people with disabilities.
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APOPO
An NGO founded in Belgium that finds landmines with trained African giant pouched rats called HeroRATs. The rats are so light that mines do not explode when they step on them, and they can quickly find explosives by smell. It has been active in Cambodia since 2014.
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Cambodian Mine Action and Victims Assistance Authority (CMAA)
The government authority that manages and coordinates all mine action activities in Cambodia. Nationwide, it oversees the licensing and supervision of clearance operators, risk education, and support for people harmed by landmines.
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Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC)
Cambodia's largest mine action organization, clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance under the Cambodian government. Since it began work in 1992, it has continued making dangerous land safe across the country.
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Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining
An international organization that supports mine action around the world through research on mine action technologies and methods and the development of the IMSMA information management system.
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The HALO Trust
One of the world's largest humanitarian demining NGOs and a British charity. Active in Cambodia since 1991, it works to clear the huge minefield known as the K5 mine belt that remains along the border with Thailand.
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International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)
A citizens' network of NGOs from around the world calling for an end to landmines. It was the driving force behind the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (Ottawa Treaty), and received the Nobel Peace Prize the same year.
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JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency)
The agency that implements Japan's ODA. Since 1998, it has provided the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) with equipment and support for organizational development.
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Japan Mine Action Service (JMAS)
A certified Japanese non-profit organization that supports the clearance of landmines and unexploded ordnance. It began its work in 2002 with UXO clearance in Cambodia.
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Komatsu Ltd.
A Japanese company that makes construction machinery. Using anti-personnel demining machines it developed itself, it works with the NPO JMAS to support demining and community development in Cambodia.
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MAG (Mines Advisory Group)
A demining NGO founded in the United Kingdom in 1989. Active in Cambodia for more than 25 years, it is the only international mine action organization working on both landmines in the west and cluster munitions in the east.
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
The government ministry in charge of Japan's diplomacy. Through ODA (Official Development Assistance), it has supported mine action in Cambodia since 1998.
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Norwegian People's Aid
A Norwegian humanitarian organization founded in 1939. Active in Cambodia since 1992, it focuses on surveying and clearing Vietnam War-era cluster munitions in Ratanakiri province in the east.
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United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS)
The specialized unit that coordinates mine action within the United Nations. In about 20 countries around the world, it coordinates and supports efforts to end the threat of landmines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Projects
- Project for Improvement of Equipment for Landmine and UXO Clearance Activities (Phases 1-7 and others) — A series of projects under Japan's grant aid that have delivered brush cutters, vehicles, mine detectors, and other equipment to CMAC. They have continued since 1998.
- Project for Enhancement of Demining Activities (Phases 1-3) — Grant aid that combined the provision of demining equipment with support for people's livelihoods, such as farmland development and agricultural training on cleared land.
- Integrated Mine Clearance and Mine Victim Assistance (Phases 1-3) — Grant aid that combines clearance in areas with especially serious mine contamination with support for the people affected. It has continued since 2019.
- Research and Development Project for Demining Support Equipment (Phases 1 and 2) — Grant aid for research and development that supported the development of demining machines and mine detectors.
- Project for Construction of a Training Complex and Public Relations Facility for the Cambodian Mine Action Centre — Grant aid to build training and public relations facilities so that CMAC can share its mine action experience with the world.
- Project for Strengthening CMAC's Functions for Human Security — A JICA technical cooperation project that improved CMAC's information management, equipment maintenance, and training management capacity.
- Project for Organizational Strengthening of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre — A JICA technical cooperation project that considered what CMAC should be from 2026 onward and developed the skills of its staff.
- Project for Organizational Strengthening of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre, Phase 2 — An ongoing JICA technical cooperation project that strengthens CMAC's organizational management and helps it build a system for training other countries.
- Museum Development for Raising Awareness of Peace and Human Security through Mine Action (Grass-roots Technical Cooperation) — A JICA grass-roots technical cooperation project, carried out with Okinawa Prefecture, to develop people who can make good use of the public relations facility being built with Japan's grant aid.
- JMAS Landmine and UXO Clearance Operations in Cambodia — Landmine and UXO clearance and reconstruction support in Cambodia, which the Japanese NPO JMAS has continued since 2002.
- Komatsu's Anti-personnel Mine Clearance and Community Development Support — Activities in which Komatsu provides anti-personnel demining machines it developed itself and works with JMAS on mine clearance and building roads and schools.
- AAR Japan's Support in Cambodia (Demining Cooperation and Support for People with Disabilities) — Activities that AAR Japan has continued since 1993, including cooperation in demining, a wheelchair workshop, and education support for children with disabilities.
- Japan-Cambodia Mine Action Training for Third Countries — An initiative in which CMAC, strengthened with Japan's support, works with Japan to train people from countries around the world that suffer from landmines.
- Japan-Cambodia Landmine Initiative — A framework launched in July 2024 for Japan and Cambodia to advance mine action worldwide together, toward a world free of landmines.