Guinea-Bissau

After a decade-long suspension, mine action operations resumed in 2023 and continued into 2024, focusing on survey and spot task destruction of explosive ordnance, including two anti-personnel (AP) mines. However, owing to a lack of sustained funding, and despite confirmation that two of the nine confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs) contain AP mines, technical survey (TS) and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) ended in July 2024, followed by the suspension of non-technical survey (NTS) in December.

On 19 April 2024, Guinea-Bissau requested a new deadline of 31 December 2027 to meet its Article 5 clearance obligation under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC). The three-year extension was granted at the Fifth Review Conference in November 2024. The accompanying work plan aimed to complete national NTS by end 2026, with TS and clearance to follow. The extension period is also intended to develop a sustainable national capacity for survey and clearance, along with a strategy to address residual threats post-completion.

• Guinea-Bissau should pursue resource mobilisation efforts, both nationally and internationally, to maintain operational momentum and avoid setbacks in 2025.

• The government should allocate consistent annual funding to the National Mine Action Coordination Centre (CAAMI) to ensure institutional continuity and avoid operational disruption.

• Guinea-Bissau should continue with survey to gain a clearer understanding of the nature and extent of the contamination. Preliminary findings suggest that AP mined areas may be few in number and extent, while explosive remnants of war (ERW) are more widespread.

• Guinea-Bissau should urgently conduct TS in all new areas identified through NTS in 2024.

• Guinea-Bissau should develop a residual risk management strategy and ensure that national capacities are adequately resources to address these risks in a sustainable manner.

• Guinea-Bissau should ensure that Article 7 reports provide comprehensive data on AP mined areas cancelled by NTS, reduced by TS, and cleared, specifying the number of AP mines destroyed.

Click here to download the "Clearing the Mines 2025" report for Guinea-Bissau.