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United Nations Mine Action Team (UNMAT)

The United Nations Mine Action Team (UNMAT) in Nepal started its operations from April 2007 to support the Government of Nepal to free the country from the impact of Mines and Explosive Remnants of War.The United Nations Mine Action Team (UNMAT) in Nepal is comprised of personnel from the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Specific Programme priorities include:

  • Provide support to both the Maoists Army and the Nepal Army in meeting their commitments as outlined in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in December 2006.
  • Provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (MoPR)-the government focal point for mine action and chair of the mine action steering committee-in the development and Implementation of a National Mine Action Strategy.
  • Work with the Government and the civil society in order to contribute to the decrease of victim numbers through risk education activities, victim information systems, victim assistance and advocacy for better compliance with international treaties related to indiscriminate weapons

In Nepal, the United Nations Mine Action Team provides support to mine action activities such as clearance of minefields for which a Capacity Development Programme is carried out to assist the NA in the development of its mine clearance capacity. UNMAS and UNICEF, together as UNMAT chair the Mine Action Joint Working Group (MAJWG) in Nepal and work to assist the mine action community in developing an appropriate response to the country’s mine action needs in the areas of clearance operations, victim information systems, Mine Risk Education (MRE), Victim Assistance (VA) and some advocacy. To assure that the cleared land are safe to use UNMAT performs Quality Management (QM) for demining to provide confidence that clearance and quality requirements have been met.