Afghanistan

A rocky hillside with ancient-looking stone ruins carved into the cliff face, while a white construction vehicle and a worker stand at the base — Mechanical operations at Shahr-e Gholghola - an archaeological site located in Bamyan, Afghanistan. UNMAS

About

The Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) was established in 1989. In 2012, the Afghan Directorate for Mine Action Coordination (DMAC) began to execute aspects of the programme management of the MAPA in direct collaboration with UNMAS and obtained ownership on 1 June 2018 after a progressive transition when DMAC absorbed all Afghan technical mine action personnel previously employed by UNMAS. At the request of the former Afghan Government, UNMAS stayed to provide continued technical support. After August 2021, the DMAC was no longer able to carry out the daily coordination of mine action operations. In the absence of a strong coordination function, the operations of MAPA were at risk of failing to address humanitarian priorities, duplication of effort, lack of adherence to safety standards and IMAS and NMAS, and inability to record clearance and issue land release certificates. UNMAS continued to support the coordination of the humanitarian mine action sector through the provision of technical assistance to MAPA by directly contracting technical consultants, and from October 2023, through the setting up of the UNMAS-led Mine Action Technical Cell.

United Nations Security Council resolution (SCR) 2822 (2026) paragraph 2(d), mandates the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to ‘advise on and coordinate explosive ordnance threat mitigation measures in support of humanitarian and development initiatives, and support the coordination of the humanitarian mine action sector...’.

Needs: IMSMA data indicates that explosive hazards are blocking approximately 126.24 sq.km of agricultural land, 756.98 sq.km of grazing areas, 156.36 sq.km of housing areas and public facilities, and 30.27 sq.km of irrigation canals and roads. Furthermore, there are 369 educational facilities and 198 health facilities across Afghanistan located within 1 km of hazardous areas.

Mine Action is among the severely underfunded sectors in Afghanistan, with several donors having either stopped or significantly reduced their contributions. There are 6 national implementing partners with 30 years of experience in mine action. Two of these organizations do not have active projects as of January 2026, while the others are on the verge of closing, as they were mostly dependent on UNMAS-supported mine action interventions.

MAPA workforce: There has been a 92.3% decline in the size of the MAPA workforce since 2011, when the program received its highest funding and employed more than 14,900 people. Currently, only 1,145 people are employed under MAPA. Despite mine action services having more access than at any time in recent history.

Impact

Since 1989, about 45,941 Afghan civilians have been recorded to have been killed or injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). The average monthly civilian casualties from explosive devices in Afghanistan currently stand at around 40 individuals. ERW from armed clashes caused nearly 86% of the casualties recorded during January to December 2025. Approximately 70% percent of the casualties were children in 2025.
Humanitarian mine action partners in Afghanistan have cleared more than 13.3 million items of ERW, some 761,000 anti-personnel (AP) mines, some 34,300 anti-vehicle (AV) mines, and some 15,355 Abandoned Improvised Mines since 1989. A total of 36,600 hazardous areas have been cleared or otherwise canceled since 1989. This represents over 4,500 square kilometers of land released for productive use to 3,251 gazetteer communities.
Some 4,843 identified hazards remain, representing nearly 1,070 km2 of land, threatening about 1,565 communities, impeding safe movement of civilians and humanitarians, reducing safe access to socio-economic opportunities and impeding development.
Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) has reached 10.7 million beneficiaries (1.67 million women, 1.87 million men, 2.88 million girls and 4.28 million boys) since the start of the program.

Activities

Explosive ordnance threat assessments to humanitarian partners

UNMAS via the MATC provides explosive ordnance threat assessment to UNAMA, UN agencies and other humanitarian partners by developing and sharing information management products; advises and coordinates mitigating measures - such as survey and clearance, explosive ordnance disposal, and risk education that are bilaterally funded by donors to humanitarian mine action organizations - against explosive ordnance threat, as a Mission component.

Technical support to the coordination of the MAPA

UNMAS supports the coordination of the humanitarian mine action sector. Since October 2023, the UNMAS-led Mine Action Technical Cell has been carrying out successfully essential coordination functions including planning and prioritization, quality management, hotline and Quick Response Team management, and information management, which backstopped impactful humanitarian mine action operations in the country, ensuring humanitarian prioritization of mine action, and facilitating overall humanitarian response.

Funding

UNAMA implements its mine action mandate in Afghanistan with three staff, supplemented by voluntary funds administered by UNMAS to deliver the Mine Action Technical Cell (MATC) project. The MATC ensures that operational NGOs are accredited and operating in accordance with relevant standards, focused on humanitarian priority tasks and releasing land for civilian use. The UNMAS role in Afghanistan extends beyond coordination alone and includes the implementation of operational mine action activities where funding is available and humanitarian needs require it. UNAMA and UNMAS ensure mine action is included in humanitarian appeals and need assessments and support the submission of reports to disarmament treaty bodies.

UNMAS thanks the following donors for their generous support in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026: Denmark, Germany, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the UN Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF), Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan (STFA) The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Republic of Korea.

UNMAS also thanks the following donors for continued bilateral support to the MAPA: The United States of America, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), European Union (EU) Japan, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Slovenia, PATRIP, AHF, and UNDP.