Fondation Suisse de Déminage (FSD) is a Swiss non-governmental organisation specialising in mine action. Since its creation in 1997, FSD has carried out operations in some 30 countries on four continents. Its programmes include the following four components: humanitarian demining, explosive ordnance risk education, victim assistance, and stockpile destruction and management. Since 1997, more than 1.4 million items of explosive ordnance have been neutralised by FSD.

Based in Geneva, the organisation in 2024 employed close to 1000 staff in seven countries. FSD is a ZEWO label holder since 2003, a Swiss label that certifies organisations are transparent and trustworthy to donors. The organisation also holds the ISO 9000:2015 certification.

History

FSD was founded in 1997 in Fribourg under the name of "Fédération suisse de déminage" by Michel Diot, Henri Leu, Hansjörg Eberle and six other members. The first project aimed to train Bosnian asylum seekers who had fled to Switzerland in mine clearance so that they could participate in the reconstruction of their country.

Between 1998 and 2002, FSD launched additional mine action projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Pakistan, Albania, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Sri Lanka.

In 2001, FSD signed a cooperation agreement with the World Food Programme (WFP) to enable the safe delivery of food aid in Afghanistan and to secure WFP facilities and infrastructure. A similar collaboration was established in Iraq as early as 2003, followed by a series of other agreements between FSD and UN agencies, including in Sudan and Ukraine.

In the aftermath of the attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad, several FSD staff members helped to evacuate survivors from the bombed building and provided first aid to the injured, putting themselves at considerable risk. FSD received a merit award from the United Nations in recognition of the bravery and dedication beyond the call of duty of its team members in Baghdad.

In 2003, the "Fédération suisse de déminage" transformed from an association under Swiss law to a Foundation and was renamed, "Fondation suisse de déminage".

Missions

The main objective of FSD is to protect civilian populations from mines and explosive remnants of war. Its activities include locating and destroying unexploded ordnance and abandoned mines and ammunition, raising awareness of the dangers of explosive ordnance, assisting victims of accidental explosions, and destroying stockpiles of weapons and ammunition. Furthermore, FSD contributes to strengthening national capacities by supporting the development of local mine action actors and the transfer of technical knowledge. FSD is also involved in research projects to continuously search for new technologies to enhance and improve safety and efficiency in mine action, including the use of specialised drones and satellite imagery.

In addition to the clearance of explosive hazards, FSD also extends its mandate to include decontaminating soils of toxic and polluting substances and support to ongoing peace processes in post-conflict areas through reconstruction, rehabilitation and socio-economic development for vulnerable communities and displaced people.

In parallel, FSD integrates food security components into its programmes, particularly through the rehabilitation of agricultural land in areas affected by explosive contamination.

Mine action

Africa

Angola The mine problem in Angola is a result of decades of fighting during the Angolan War of Independence and the subsequent civil war. In 2007, FSD was mandated by the Angolan government to carry out a demining needs assessment.

Burundi Burundi endured a decade of civil war leaving the country littered with explosive remnants of war, placed without a dispersal plan. In 2003, the government ratified the Ottawa Treaty, and the National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) and signed the Geneva Call commitment in the presence of an FSD delegation. Due to a partnership between UNDP, UNICEF, FSD and MAG, with funding from Swiss cooperation and the Government of Burundi, humanitarian mine clearance projects began.

FSD established a project supporting the peace process, based on the creation of a national mine action authority, assessments of the impact of mines on local communities and risk education in mined areas. In 2006, FSD also conducted a general community survey across the country, in which 97% of all mine-affected communities were visited and assessed. The results of this survey formed the basis for demining activities in the following two years. The approach proposed by FSD was based on a partnership with the International Centre for Research and Initiatives for Dialogue (CIRID), a Burundian NGO based in Geneva.

Burundi was declared landmine-free in 2011.

Central African Republic In collaboration with Association FSD France, FSD has been carrying out humanitarian projects in the Central African Republic since 2014, even though the country is marred by a decade-long civil war. An awareness-raising campaign on the risks of handling unexploded and abandoned weapons and ammunition was launched in 2014. Between 2015 and 2017, FSD implemented a project of humanitarian and dignified reburial of people who had been summarily buried outside of recognised cemeteries, as well as armed violence reduction campaigns. In 2017, FSD started a project to rehabilitate Batangafo town located in the Ouahm-Fafa prefecture. Since 2019, FSD has run a programme in support of demilitarisation, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants as part of the Khartoum Peace Agreement, including through the rehabilitation of infrastructure. Activities to support socio-economic development and to promote the reintegration of former combatants are also implemented. Within the framework of its projects, FSD signed an agreement with the "Jeunesse pionnière nationale" to support the training of young people in the implementation of its projects.

In 2024, FSD continued supporting communities in Bangui and Bouar through vocational training in trades such as agriculture, sewing, and IT. Special attention was given to women, people with disabilities, and former combatants. Support was also provided to schoolchildren and orphans.

Chad The explosive contamination of Chad is largely as a result of the 1973 Chadian–Libyan War and 30 years of internal conflict. The contamination is a permanent threat to the local populations, and has a negative impact on the socio-economic development of Borkou, Ennedi and Tibesti, which are among Chad's poorest regions.

From 2017 to 2022, FSD was part of the PRODECO clearance project, launched in 2017 by the European Union, in consortium with three other organisations: Humanity and Inclusivity, MAG and Secours Catholique Développement (SECADEV), a local victim support NGO. Within the framework of this project, the role of FSD was to provide administrative, logistical, managerial and technical support to the national mine action authority (HCND - High Commission for National Demining). FSD also provided technical support to update the national demining database (IMSMA) used for the collection of clearance data and the production of maps and reports. The project came to an end in 2022.

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of Congo has experienced numerous conflicts of varying intensity since 1996 without the extent of actual mine contamination being known. FSD's involvement in the country dates back to November 2003, at the request of UNMAS, and aimed to set up two emergency demining teams benefitting local communities and humanitarian aid organisations in Bunia. The deployment and mission orders of the teams were placed under the responsibility of the Mine Action Coordination Centre (UNMACC) established by the UN in Kinshasa within its peacekeeping force, MONUSCO. FSD recruited and trained around twenty local staff. Operations were suspended in 2005 due to lack of funding.

Libya FSD began demining operations in 2011 and after several deployments and varied operations, left the country in 2018. To coordinate the mine action response after the first Libyan Civil War in 2011, the UN and international NGOs joined forces to form a "Joint Mine Action Coordination Team" (JMACT) of which FSD was a member. The USA-funded FSD's programme to locate and destroy explosive remnants of war in Libya's ex-combat zones to prevent possible weapons, such as anti-aircraft missiles, from falling into the hands of terrorists. The programme started in 2011 and initially included two combat clearance teams before focusing efforts around the city of Sirte after the death of Colonel Gaddafi. From 2013 to 2018, FSD conducted its humanitarian clearance activities from Tripoli and ammunition management and storage disposal and training in Hun and Waddan for a mixture of Libyan police and military engineer personnel.

In 2013, under a separate programme, FSD implemented a country wide survey of former Libyan ammunition storage areas based out of Benghazi under funding from the US Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Fund (NDF). This provided data on quantities of ordnance that had been stored, the state and security of storage facilities and informed future ordnance management and disposal needs.

Mali After a decade of conflict between multiple armed groups and the 2020 Malian coup d'état, Mali faces an ever-growing threat from explosive devices. In 2014 this was initially from conventional weapons, mines and ordnance but quickly grew into armed non-state actors using improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Mali does not have a national mine action authority and therefore remains dependent on external entities to coordinate demining efforts. From 2013 to 2014, FSD carried out an explosive ordnance risk education project and an ammunition safety management project in collaboration with UNICEF, UNMAS and other international actors. This programme enabled the training of several experts on-site to ensure a sustainable transfer of skills.

Mozambique When FSD's programme started in Mozambique in 2006, the country was one of the most heavily mined in the world. FSD's project provided technical support and capacity building in humanitarian demining, victim assistance and mine risk education to the Regional Office of the National Institute for Demining (IND). In 2008, the IND team trained by FSD achieved promising results, marking the end of this project. In 2015, Mozambique was declared landmine-free.

Sudan Since its independence in 1956, Sudan has experienced several civil wars, which have left a legacy of mines and explosive remnants of war. FSD was mandated in February 2004 through UNOPS to support the Sudanese mine action authorities and UNMAS, thus sending teams to the Nuba Mountains region. Additionally, FSD started a skills transfer partnership with the Khartoum-based NGO FPDO (Friends of Peace and Development Organization). In May 2006, FSD trained national staff to conduct mine clearance in the Kassala and the Red Sea State. At the same time, FSD conducted missions to support disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration for development efforts around the Darfur and Malakal.

South Sudan