Clearing cluster munitions from Qubrel School in 2005

This IDP lost his fingers to an anti-personnel mine fuse. He picked up an item just outside the IDP camp

A destroyed ammunition storage shed that was later cleared by HALO teams

HALO Kosovo deminer medics conducting casualty evacuation training

Local community attend HALO's Mine Risk Education session

A deminer with metal detector

Deminer candidates learn the technique of manual excavation at HALO's training ground near Hargeisa

At and event sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank andf Yaalpaanam Chamber of Commerce.

HALO operations officer handing over a cleared minefield to the entire family. The yellow stone on the photo indicates the location from where mines were cleared.

Clearance of agricultural land is the highest priority for most Afghan families

The High-Level segment of the Maputo Review Conference on a Mine-Free World took place during the last two days of the Conference.

Several States addressed the conference during the high-level segment, while other delegations signed or witnessed the signing of the Maputo +15 Declaration.

Guy Willoughby of the HALO Trust, signed the declaration on behalf of his delegation.

For more information:

www.maputoreviewconference.org/

All photos are courtesy of the Implementation Support Unit, ISU.

Female deminer conducting clearance in the Masalaaha community

Deminer uses a two-handled scraper to investigate a possible anti-tank mine. These mines can be excavated with aggressive digging drills because initiation requires considerable pressure

An Anti Tank mine strike on a road in Huambo province

A student follows a HALO mine risk education class with the help of a pictorial brochure

Self sufficient mineclearance teams in Abkhazia live as close to the minefields as possible

This school in Arayambo was built in an area previously cleared by HALO

Over 700 delegates met in Oslo for the Fourth Review Conference of the Mine Ban Convention. The Oslo Review Conference on a Mine-Free World is where the international community adopted the Oslo Action Plan which will guide efforts for the next five years.

more info: www.osloreviewconconference.org

Photos are free to use in the context of the Convention.

Please credit Mine Ban Convention ISU.

HALO survey teams scour the country looking for minefields and dangerous ammunition - here they have found anti tank mines littering a toilet

Minister Alistair Burt met resettled families in the Tellipalai area in Jaffna.

Explosive ordnance disposal team unloads 106mm recoilless rounds

HALO employs a system of One Man One Lane ensuring each deminer is responsible for his own lane

HALO’s Colombian Programme Coordinator Manuel talks to children in the village of Aquitania about the problem of mines in the area

HALO deminer removing isolation markers having safely excavated the signal

Deminers board a truck in preparation for the morning shift in Bali Abane

Tourists and pilgrims receive advice from HALO Abkhazia operations staff about the locations of remaining minefields

A HALO deminer working in Mavinga outside the MSF hospital

HALO EOD personnel are trained to deal with explosive items ranging from mines to aircraft bombs and guided missiles

The Minister met a resettled community at Viththakapuram, in Tellipalai, Jaffna.

A BLU-97 cluster munition found on a local football pitch & Austrian KFOR helicopter landing site.

Senior UNOMIG officials are briefed in HALO's office

Deminers check the sensitivity of their Ebinger UPEX 740M large loop detector before looking for anti-tank mines

Deminer candidates at the start of their 3-week basic demining course. HALO maintains a full time training staff and facilities to instruct recruits from rural villages who have no previous experience in demining. For many, this will be their first formal employment. HALO's training programme provides its employees with a transferable skills set, and its policy of employing residents of rural areas means that the salaries its pays out support the same communities it serves through demining.

A HALO sign board honours donor support for clearance in Mali District where HALO has already cleared 15,688 mines from 204 hectares of highest priority land.

P4 anti-personnel mine exposed by deminer at Abudla minefield

A HALO sign board acknowledging which donors have funded clearance

The Head of Lady Tea Shop village, Ali Shezde Muhammad, stands with his assistants and livestock in one of the minefields HALO cleared in his community

UK TV reporter and camera crew interview a mine amputee in Malai District

A BLU-97 cluster munition found close to family home in 2004