Assistance to Mine-Affected Communities (AMAC)

Assistance to Mine-Affected Communities project (AMAC) undertakes studies of communities affected by landmines, with the aim of exploring the potential offered by local resources and local competence in humanitarian mine action (HMA). AMAC works in close partnership with HMA practitioners, both in order to learn from their experiences and to engage in a dialogue that can have an immediate impact on their field operations.

The project is based on the conviction that improved assistance to mine-affected communities must start with a deeper understanding of local responses to landmines: it is imperative for the successful design of HMA projects that community capacities are properly understood. Rather than viewing people in such communities as passive victims, AMAC acknowledges their importance as active subjects. The challenge is then to find ways in which social structures and dynamics within which mine action agencies operate can act as resources in the mine action process.

The project conducts case studies in mine-affected countries, including Angola, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Mozambique, Sri Lanka and Sudan. Four sets of issues are at the core of the study:

• the impact of landmines on the community
• the community in the demining process
• the organization of humanitarian demining
• the peacebuilding role of mine action   

The project is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Additional funding sources are currently being sought.

Project leader of the AMAC project has been Kristian Berg Harpviken, from the start in 1999 to 01 May 2006. From this date, Harpviken is still project researcher, while Kjell Erling Kjellman takes over as leader of AMAC.