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About MAG

MAG (pronounced "Mag") – Mines Advisory Group – is a neutral and impartial humanitarian organisation that clears the remnants of conflict for the benefit of communities worldwide.

Saving lives and limbs...

We work in current and former conflict zones, to reduce the threat of death and injury from remnants of conflict. These include anti-personnel and anti-vehicle landmines, as well as rockets, missiles, mortars, grenades, ammunition, small arms and light weapons, and many more types of deadly items. So we don’t just carry out plain landmine or bomb clearance – some of our projects aren’t even about landmines.

We educate people living, working and travelling through contaminated areas, to minimise the risks of them, their friends and families being killed or maimed.

...and building futures...

We focus on the many millions of people who benefit from our work. We release reclaimed safe land back to the local population, enabling recovery and assisting the development of affected populations.

More than this, we tackle poverty by training and employing staff from the local populations, in order to build a robust and sustainable national workforce. More than 90 per cent of our 2,300-plus staff around the world are natives of the countries in which they work.

...worldwide

MAG has worked in 35 countries since 1989 and currently has operations in Angola, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Gaza, Iraq, Lao P.D.R., Lebanon, Rwanda, Puntland State of SomaliaSri Lanka, Sudan and Vietnam.

See this page for a timeline: MAG's history: year-by-year

MAG is co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded for its work with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines [www.icbl.org], which culminated in the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty – the international agreement that bans anti-personnel landmines, sometimes referred to as the Ottawa Convention.

We don’t have large marketing campaigns or spend vast amounts on fundraising or self-promotion, but we do try and build awareness of our work simply because we see daily how vital it really is on the ground.


Find out more

Development impact

MAG’s work is not just about removing landmines, weapons and small arms but about making a significant and positive difference to people living with the remnants of conflict. Find out more

 
MAG (Mines Advisory Group) Laos

National importance:
capacity building

MAG wants to maximise the longer term  impact of our work by improving the skills and broadening the experience of countries' workforces. Find out more

MAG (Mines Advisory Group) Cambodia

Regional stability

Regional stability is essential for poverty reduction in the world’s most vulnerable nations. Unregulated arms can lead to a culture of fear and violence, insurgency, terrorism or, ultimately, widespread conflict. Find out more

MAG (Mines Advisory Group) Sudan
   

Frequently Asked Questions

How is MAG funded? How does MAG choose where to work? What is MAG America? How difficult is it to detect and disable landmines? What kinds of methods are currently used? Where does my money go?

Get the answers to these and many more Frequently Asked Questions here


Publications

Download Annual Reviews, MAGazines, reports from MAG's countries of operations and more here

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Did you know...?

 

  • More than 70 states are believed to be affected by mines


  • At least 25 states are affected by uncleared submunitions


  • Explosions in poorly managed ammunition storage areas killed and injured hundreds of people in 2007 and 2008, contaminating previously safe land


  • More than a third of central Vietnam is still contaminated by unexploded ordnance


  • Nearly 100,000 households in Burundi are thought to possess small arms and light weapons, increasing the risk of a return to conflict at a time of ongoing political insecurity

Sources

Enews and MAG mail


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