Norwegian NGO Suspends Demining In 13 Countries After US Aid Freeze


A Norwegian aid group has suspended mine clearing activities in 13 countries following the freezing of US foreign aid, one of its directors told AFP on Monday. Last year, Norwegian People’s Aid received $41 million from US authorities to support its demining activities around the world.

On Friday, “we were told that we had to put on hold all activities that had received US support while the US authorities reviewed their aid,” Aksel Steen-Nilsen, Director of Humanitarian Mine Action and Disarmament at the NGO, told AFP.

Read more…
Source: Barron’s News


Sign up for Counter-IED Report Newsletter


Related:

  • UK aid budget cuts have halted vital programmes in Afghanistan

    May 18, 2023

    The UK’s aid watchdog has raised concerns over cuts to the humanitarian assistance budget that have led to vital projects in Afghanistan being halted or delayed. In its report, published on Thursday, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact highlighted that reductions to the UK’s funding commitment for 2022-23 have resulted in programmes for polio vaccinations and ...

  • Denmark to send $250 million worth of military aid in record package to Ukraine

    May 2, 2023

    Denmark will provide Ukraine with the biggest military aid pacakage to date worth $250 million, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation reported on May 2, citing Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen. The package will include mine clearance machines, ammunition, field bridges, and funds for air defense to Ukraine, according to the report. Read more… Source: The Kyiv Independent  

  • Ukraine needs $37 billion for humanitarian demining

    April 4, 2023

    Ukraine needs $37.4 billion to carry out humanitarian demining of its lands, the country’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on April 4, citing an assessment by the World Bank. This sum includes more than $397 million needed just for the current year, according to Shmyhal. The prime minister called on Ukraine’s partners to cooperate, particularly in ...

  • Ukraine Is Top Recipient of US Mine Clearing Aid

    April 4, 2023

    U.S. aid helped Ukraine clear and destroy more than 530 explosive remnants from its land last year, but Ukraine still has massive swaths of territory contaminated with land mines, unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices as a result of Russia’s invasion of the country, according to a State Department report. In an annual report released Tuesday, ...

  • EU gives Ukraine €2bn of ammunition after shell plea

    March 20, 2023

    More than a dozen European Union member states have agreed to supply Ukraine with at least one million artillery shells over the next year. The plan, worth €2bn in total, was agreed in Brussels on Monday. Ukraine had told the EU it needed 350,000 shells a month to hold back advancing Russian troops and launch a ...

  • Cambodia: China donated $13.2 million for demining

    February 13, 2023

    In contributing to attain the goal of Cambodia mine-free by 2025, China has donated $13.2 million for demining in vulnerable areas to bring peace and happiness to Cambodian people. The donation came during the official visit of Prime Minister Hun Sen to China. Ly Thuch, First Vice-President of Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, said ...

  • Borrell announces provision of EUR 25 mln to Ukraine for mine clearance of territories

    February 3, 2023

    Head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, announced in Kyiv on Friday “on the sidelines” of the EU-Ukraine summit on the allocation of EUR 25 million for the clearance of territories under Ukrainian control, the European Union External Action Service (EEAS) has reported. “We will provide up to EUR 25 million to support demining efforts in these ...

  • Australia contributes significantly to Cambodia’s demining

    January 6, 2023

    Australia is one of the longest-standing supporters of mine clearance action in Cambodia, contributing essentially to Cambodian government’s goal to reach mine-free status by 2025. The appreciation was voiced by Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and First Vice President of the Cambodian Min Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) in a farewell meeting here early this week ...

  • Thornhill landmine clearing charity receives Scottish Government backing for Ukraine work

    January 5, 2023

    A Thornhill-based landmine clearing charity has been given Scottish Government funding to continue its work in Ukraine. The Halo Trust is working in the war-torn country to remove explosives left behind by Russia’s invasion and has been handed £300,000 from Holyrood. The money will go towards helping educate local residents and farmers on how to farm safely. Read ...

  • Cambodian Red Cross gives $2m for demining

    December 28, 2022

    The Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) is donating $2 million for demining to help Cambodia achieve its mine-free goal by 2025. A press statement issued after the CRC Annual Meeting on Monday said the $2 million pledge will go to the Samdech Techo plan for mine action under the theme of Providing Safe Ground, Creating Smiles. The statement ...

  • West London barber convicted of funding terrorism

    December 8, 2022

    A west London barber has been found guilty of sending thousands of pounds to fund terrorist activity in Syria, following an investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command. Tarek Namouz, 43 (01.09.79) of west London, was arrested in May 2021 in a pre-planned operation by counter terrorism officers. Material found on his phone indicated his extremist ...

  • Cambodia: Mine-free Kingdom 2025 goal gets big funding boost via new sub-decree

    December 5, 2022

    The government has established the “Mine-Free Cambodia 2025 Fund” to achieve the goal of clearing the Kingdom’s remaining landmines by 2025, in a bid to provide security and harmony for people from all walks of life. The sub-decree establishing the fund, signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on December 3, said it would be used to ...

  • Canada to provide C$15 million for Ukraine demining

    December 5, 2022

    The Government of Canada said Monday that it will grant 15 million Canadian dollars (10.5 million euros) to Ukraine for the purchase of equipment needed for humanitarian landmine clearance. Specifically, the assistance will help fund the detection and removal of landmines, unexploded ordnance and other explosive remnants of war, ‘The Globe and Mail’ has reported. In this ...

  • The Government of Italy continues its support to explosive hazards management activities in Iraq

    November 23, 2022

    The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) welcomes an additional contribution of EUR 1,000,000 (approximately USD 999,500) from the Government of Italy, which will support life-saving mine action activities in Iraq. Activities will include delivering sustainable and efficient explosive hazard management and providing technical and advisory support to national mine action authorities. Iraq suffers from various ...

  • France Renews its Commitment to Protecting Civilians Impacted by Explosive Ordnance in Iraq

    November 15, 2022

    The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) welcomes the contribution of EUR 500,000 (approximately USD 495,370) from the Government of France, which will support the Government of Iraq in its efforts to protect civilians impacted by the threat of explosive ordnance and enable humanitarian action, peacebuilding and socio-economic development. Legacy landmine contamination and other explosive remnants ...

  • Cambodia: $18M donated to demining drive

    November 15, 2022

    The Samdech Techo for Mine Action Project, which was established in early July, has so far received contributions of nearly $20 million from various philanthropists. The donors aim to join the government as it works to achieve its goal of a mine-free Cambodia by 2025. Senior Minister Ly Thuch, first vice-president of the Cambodian Mine Action ...

  • Belgium provides an additional EUR 1,000,000 for UNMAS activities in Iraq

    November 15, 2022

    The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq welcomes an additional contribution of EUR 1,000,000 (approximately USD 980K) from the Government of Belgium, which will support the Government of Iraq in protecting civilians impacted by the threat of explosive ordnance and enabling humanitarian action, peacebuilding and socio-economic development. Thirty-seven years of conflicts, with the most ...

  • Germany once again allocates 95.000 Euros to support Mine Victims in BiH

    October 13, 2022

    The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Thomas Fitschen signed an agreement yesterday with the local non-governmental organization “Mine Detection Dog Center” (MDDC) on the provision of funds in the amount of 95,000 euros for victims of mines in BiH. As part of the embassy’s humanitarian project, the German Embassy ...

  • Project raises 100,000 USD for mine clearing activities in Vietnam

    September 23, 2022

    An event held by the “Restoring the Environment and Neutralising the Effects of the War” (RENEW) project in Washington D.C. on September 22 completed its target of raising 100,000 USD for mine clearing activities in Vietnam’s central province of Quang Ngai. The event, taking place in both virtual and face-to-face forms, saw the participation of US ...

  • Pakistan: Rs173m allocated to boost Bomb Disposal Squad’s capacity

    September 20, 2022

    The government of Punjab with a spending of Rs173 million is planning enhance the capacity of the Bomb Disposal Squad, an important wing when it comes to dealing with terror threats. Around Rs27 million will be spent to acquire 16 bomb disposal response vehicles, The Express Tribune has learnt. Over Rs27 million will be spent on ...

  • UK Ambassador to Ukraine sees landmine clearance funded by the British Government

    August 23, 2022

    The UK’s Ambassador from Her Majesty’s Government in Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, visited the British mine clearance charity The HALO Trust at work on a minefield in northern Ukraine yesterday, to mark the 6-month anniversary of the invasion of Kyiv and showcase UK aid for HALO’s work. The minefield visited by Ms Simmons was in a forest ...

  • ‘I can’t keep risking my life for €36’ – Soldier forced to leave dream Defence Forces role

    August 15, 2022

    A former army bomb squad expert has said he was holding an Improvised Explosive Device in his hands the moment he realised he had to leave the Defence Forces for better pay. Mark Keely is now earning three times his military salary after resigning his position in the Defence Forces and taking on a new role ...