GICHD

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) is an expert organisation founded in 1998 and headquartered at the Maison de la paix in Geneva, Switzerland. It works to reduce the harm caused by landmines, cluster munitions, explosive remnants of war (ERW), and poorly managed conventional ammunition stockpiles. The Centre operates as an independent, non-profit foundation under Swiss law, funded primarily by Switzerland and a group of donor states, and governed by a multinational Council of Foundation.

GICHD's core functions include:

• Operational research and standards development: It hosts the secretariat that maintains the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) on behalf of the United Nations, and contributes to the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG).
• Capacity development: Training national mine action authorities and mine action centres in affected states, and advising on land release methodology, information management (notably the IMSMA database system), and gender and diversity mainstreaming.
• Policy and diplomacy support: Providing technical input to states parties to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (Ottawa Treaty, 1997), the Convention on Cluster Munitions (2008), and Protocol V of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

The Centre does not itself clear minefields. Instead, it acts as a knowledge hub linking operators (such as HALO Trust, MAG, NPA, and UNMAS), national authorities, donors, and treaty bodies. It also houses thematic programmes on the environment, urban explosive ordnance, and the gendered impact of contamination.

GICHD is closely associated with the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), with which it shares the Maison de la paix campus. Its director and senior staff frequently brief diplomatic conferences in Geneva, including the annual Meetings of States Parties to the Ottawa and Oslo Conventions.