I. Representation:
- Representatives from over 60 countries and international organisations participated.
- The conference was opened by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Viola Amherd, and the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal.
- High-level participants of UMAC 2024 included: First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko, Swiss Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Gordan Grlić-Radman, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Elmedin Konaković, Japan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoshifumi Tsuge, UN Deputy Secretary-General and UNDP Deputy Administrator Haoliang Xu, Senior Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia and First Vice President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority Dr. Ly Thuch, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Stanley L. Brown, among others.
II. Financial Commitments:
During UMAC-2024, partner countries announced additional commitments for humanitarian demining, amounting to nearly $70 million. Since 2022, the total partner contribution to humanitarian demining has reached $1.07 billion.
- Switzerland committed 30 million Swiss francs to one of the projects of the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) operating in Ukraine. This funding is part of the previously announced 100 million Swiss francs assistance package.
- Luxembourg allocated $13 million for humanitarian demining projects in Ukraine. The funds will support projects implemented by UNDP’s “Mine Action in Ukraine” project ($10.8 million), HALO Trust ($1.08 million), and through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism ($1.08 million).
- Norway provided an additional $20 million for 2025, increasing its total contribution to $70 million.
- The Netherlands announced an additional $10.8 million for projects in 2025, bringing the country’s total contribution to over $50 million for humanitarian demining in Ukraine.
- Canada confirmed its $24.5 million contribution for demining efforts in Ukraine, first announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in January 2024. This brings Canada’s total contribution to over $50 million.
- The Latvian government allocated over €270,000 for humanitarian demining in Ukraine, to be received by HALO Trust, which conducts clearance lands in several regions affected by the conflict.
III. Additional Agreements:
- Switzerland announced the donation of three GCS-200 demining mashines to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service’s explosive ordnance disposal units.
- During UMAC 2024, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy and Global Clearance Solutions Ukraine Ltd. regarding cooperation in humanitarian demining.
- The governments of Switzerland and the UK are funding a pilot project in the Kharkiv region to prioritise demining operations. The project will last for three months, and a broader initiative was presented to international partners, inviting the UK, Switzerland, USA, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, UN, EBRD, among others, to support it.
- The U.S. announced an initiative to enhance the capacity of private humanitarian demining operators. They plan to assess the needs of Ukrainian operators to strengthen understanding of international donor organisations’ work.
- During the UMAC 2024 innovation financing meeting, participants agreed to create an international technical working group to develop legal, organisational, and other aspects of the global “front-loading” mechanism for financing humanitarian demining. The mechanism will target not only Ukraine but also other countries in need, with the group expected to launch by the end of 2024. Representatives from the UK, Ukraine, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, France, Sweden, and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining participated.
- A final document was signed by 42 countries, committing to support humanitarian demining in Ukraine. A key point emphasised that mine action must remain on the international agenda, with signatories committed to minimising the impact of mines and remnants of war on people’s lives through land clearance and technological innovation.
- Following a meeting with HALO Trust’s CEO James Cowan, an invitation was extended to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, to visit Ukraine to draw international attention to humanitarian demining.
- Switzerland announced the Third Partner Coordination Workshop on Mine Action in Ukraine, scheduled for April 7-8, 2025. The previous workshop was held in Kyiv on April 17-18, 2024.
UMAC
