Strong quality control and management is vital to safe and efficient mineclearance operations

Minister Burt examines a model of the Jaffna district during his visit to the Tellipalai Divisional Secretariat. Also in the photo is British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, John Rankin.

A HALO deminer at work

An armoured CASE 821 Mechanical demining unit

A HALO survey officer taking bearings for minefield mapping

20150618-UNMAS and Article 4 in Camp BSS

A HALO Mechanical armoured vegetation cutter working ahead of the deminers

Belgrade, over the Danube River 🌍❤️🙏⚖️

After 30 years of reflection, research, and life on the road.

I was born in Yugoslavia. I’ve held Yugoslav, Kosovar, and other citizenships throughout my life. I’ve been through a lot , war, border checks, wrongful accusations , and still, I chose peace over hate.

In 1998, my brother and I were stopped several times by Serbian police, accused of things we never did. But instead of hate, I chose patience. Instead of revenge, I chose to serve life.

For 8 years, I worked with The HALO Trust to clear landmines and UXOs in Kosovo. I removed explosives so that children could play freely and farmers could return to their fields. I worked alongside people from many nations ,Serbs, Croats, Americans, Brits , and I learned this: A person is not their flag or uniform, but their heart and actions.

I do not hate anyone. Serbia is not just a government , it's also people, ordinary people like you and me. And Kosovo is not just a land , it’s a hope, a symbol of peaceful coexistence.

Don't blame the many for the actions of a few. Don’t hate, because hate holds us back.

✌️ I choose peace.

💣 I cleared mines so children can run free.

🌍 I’ve traveled far, but I’ve always stayed human.

#FitaKosova #Peace #Memory #DanubeRiver #HALOTrust #BelgradeBridge #KosovoAndTheWorld

Beograd, preko reke Dunav 🌍❤️🙏⚖️

Posle 30 godina razmišljanja, istraživanja i životnog puta.

Rođen sam u Jugoslaviji. Imao sam jugoslovensko, kosovsko i druga državljanstva tokom života. Prošao sam kroz mnogo toga , ratove, policijska ispitivanja, lažne optužbe , ali sam uvek birao mir, a ne mržnju.

Godine 1998, moj brat i ja smo više puta zaustavljeni od strane srpske policije, optuženi za stvari koje nikada nismo uradili. Umesto mržnje, izabrao sam strpljenje. Umesto osvete, izabrao sam da služim životu.

Osam godina sam radio sa organizacijom HALO Trust, uklanjajući mine i neeksplodirana sredstva u Kosovu. Radio sam rame uz rame sa ljudima iz raznih zemalja , Srbima, Hrvatima, Amerikancima, Britancima , i naučio sam da čovek nije njegova zastava ili uniforma, već srce i dela.

Ne mrzim nikoga. Srbija nije samo država , ona su i obični ljudi, kao ti i ja. I Kosovo nije samo zemlja , to je nada za miran suživot.

Ne krivite mnoge zbog dela nekolicine. Ne mrzite ,jer mržnja nas drži unazad.

✌️ Biram mir.

💣 Čistio sam mine da bi deca mogla slobodno da se igraju.

🌍 Mnogo sam putovao, ali sam ostao čovek.

#FitaKosova #Mir #Sećanje #Dunav #HALOTrust #Beograd #KosovoISvet

The Minister is briefed before visting a demining site being cleared by the UK demining agency, the HALO Trust, in Veemankamam, Jaffna. Also in the picture is John Rankin, British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.

A HALO supervisor checks a deminer's lane as part of internal quality management

A casulty evacuation exercise attracts attention

Local people passing a minefield where work is in progress

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.

Aerial shot of HALO Anlong Veaeng Compound in Odtar Meanchey Province

Cambodian Mine Action Authority Vice President and senior Government Minister Prak Sokhonn visits HALO minesite

Location Manager Makara briefing visitors from Japan in a HALO minefield

Although initially planned as a hybrid meeting, the Nineteenth Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the prohibition of anti-personnel mines had to be carried out in a fully virtual format, due to sudden Covid-19 restrictions in The Hague. Over 500 registered delegates from all over the world attended the formal diplomatic sessions from 15-19 November.

Photos are free to use in the context of the Convention, as follows, ®AP Mine Ban Convention ISU, or ®Ottawa Convention ISU. For other uses, please email us: press(at)apminebanconvention.org.

For more information on the meeting: bit.ly/19MSP.

Although initially planned as a hybrid meeting, the Nineteenth Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the prohibition of anti-personnel mines had to be carried out in a fully virtual format, due to sudden Covid-19 restrictions in The Hague. Over 500 registered delegates from all over the world attended the formal diplomatic sessions from 15-19 November.

Photos are free to use in the context of the Convention, as follows, ®AP Mine Ban Convention ISU, or ®Ottawa Convention ISU. For other uses, please email us: press(at)apminebanconvention.org.

For more information on the meeting: bit.ly/19MSP.

Deminers en route to the minefields

Local people passing a minefield in Chitolo

Beneficiaries after hand-over of a HALO task, clearing timber to allow planting of crops

Minister Alistair Burt visited a demining site in Veemankamam, Jaffna, being cleared by the UK demining agency, the HALO Trust.

A deminers' tempory camp built close to the minefields

HALO cleared task sign boards

20150618-UNMAS and Article 4 in Camp BSS

A HALO deminer at work using a metal detector

HALO's WAD teams work with communities to locate and destroy ammunition caches before they fall into the wrong hands

HALO provides explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) services for communities that have discovered ammunition. Here, mines and UXO removed by a local military unit await HALO's disposal.

Yellow sticks (post Feb 2007) indicate mines found and destroyed within the mine site

Local villagers stand on HALO-cleared ground. The sign in the foreground is a Donor Board which shows who contributed to the clearance of the area. HALO operates a transparent system of funds allocation in which donors know exactly how many deminers they pay for, and how many mines and hectares those deminers clear.

20160402-UNMAS International Day of Mine Awareness

Research and Development - HALO remains at the forefront of developing new clearance technologies

Rapid investigation of ‘blue chips’, HSTAMIDS clearance task

Village house inside suspect ground, during demining operations

Livestock merchants load camels on the outskirts of Hargeisa in an area cleared of mines by HALO

Between 2002 and 2007 HALO has destroyed over 10,000 Coalition cluster munitions in Afghanistan

Only through scale can Afghanistan's mines problem be addressed in as quick a time as possible

Minister Burt sits inside heavy demining equipment donated by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) at a demining site in Veemankamam, Jaffna.

The HALO Mozambique operations officer briefing visiting donor representatives

Metal contamination makes manual demining a slow and laborious process

53 International Rotarians from Japan visit tasks where their funding has supported clearance. HALO works with donors of all shapes and sizes to achieve the same objective: getting mines out of the ground, now.

20160402-UNMAS International Day of Mine Awareness

HALO Training Officer shows new deminers how to check the sensitivity of their metal detectors

An anti-tank mine was located by HALO 20m from this house along an old road alignment