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Who Pays For It?

The UNMAS-managed programmes in the field and UNMAS HQ coordination activities are funded by a number of mechanisms, namely: 

  • Appropriations by the UN General Assembly for the Mine Action component of  seven peacekeeping missions, namely MINURCAT, MINURSO, MONUSCO, UNAMID, UNIFIL, UNSOA, and UNMIS; 
  • Funds allocated to UNMAS HQ coordination activities within the UN Peacekeeping Support Account;
  • Contributions of donor governments, organizations and private individuals to the Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action; and 
  • Allocation of funds from other UN trust funds and MDTFs, such as the Common Humanitarian Funds for Sudan and the Peace Trust Fund for Nepal.
The graph below indicates the combined income by funding mechanism in 2009 and six months of 2010, up to 20 June:

                   

The significant share of funding (53%) for the United Nations mine action programmes in 2009 and 2010 represent voluntary contributions to the Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action (the Fund). The Fund was established in 1994 under the management of the Department for Humanitarian Affairs (DHA), which was the focal point for mine action within the UN system prior to the fusion of the DHA mine action elements into those of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in 1997 to form UNMAS.  The Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action was initially established to provide special resources for mine-action programmes and projects, including surveys, mine-clearance, mine-risk education, victim assistance, stockpile destruction and advocacy activities, in situations where other funding is not immediately available. Activities funded from the Trust Fund include, but are not limited to:  
 
  • Assessment missions to evaluate the scope of a mine/ERW problem; 
  • Emergency mine action where rapid intervention is required;
  • Coordination and operational activities in UN-managed mine action programmes and the quality oversight of Landmine Impact Surveys (LIS);
  • Coordination, policy development and implementation, public outreach and advocacy initiatives of the United Nations Mine Action Service; 
  • Development of International Mine Action Standards;
  • Mine action activities of other UN Mine Action Team members.       



The Fund supports activities in all five pillars of mine action: clearance, risk education, victim assistance, stockpile destruction and advocacy for a world free of the threat posed by landmines and explosive remnants of war. In 2009 and 2010 the Fund financed missions to assess the scope of countries' problems with landmines and explosive remnants of war, UN managed field operations, coordination, advocacy and the work of the UN focal point.

The scope of UNMAS programmes has expanded significantly over the years and includes Afghanistan, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lebanon, Nepal, Somalia, Sudan and Western Sahara. Mine action programmes managed by UNMAS as part of DPKO/DFS field operations remain a core activity with programmes currently associated with UNIFIL (south Lebanon), UNMIS (Sudan), UNAMID (Darfur, Sudan), MINURCAT (eastern Chad), MONUSCO (DRC), MINURSO (Western Sahara) and UNSOA (Somalia).  UNMAS also plays a management role in the coordination of mine action activities in Afghanistan on behalf of the Government of Afghanistan.

In addition, UNMAS provides direct support to national/regional programmes in the form of capacity development.  Support programmes include Colombia, Nepal and portions of the work in Somalia and the DRC.

The Fund has also been used by donors to provide funding to national programmes and the work of non-governmental organizations, often through UNDP or UNICEF, in Cambodia, Chad, Lao PDR, Mozambique, and Pakistan.

The total amount contributed by the donors to the Fund since inception to 20 June 2010 totalled about US$ 613 million.

In addition to funding from governments, international organizations and UN associations, mine-action programmes worldwide rely on funding raised by numerous non-profit organizations.

In the spirit of the UN vision towards "a world free from the threat of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), where individuals and communities live in a safe environment conductive to development and where the needs of mine and ERW victims are met and they are fully integrated into their societies", UNMAS aims to continue securing voluntary donations from existing donors and to expand the VTF donor base by exploring new funding opportunities, including support of philanthropies, foundations and endowment funds, private donations and gifts. 

 
Status of the Voluntary Trust Fund  (as at 20 June 2010)

Since its inception, the Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action has received contributions in the total amount of US$ 612,580,964 from donor governments, the European Commission, non-governmental organizations, schools and other contributors. During the period from 1 January 2008 to 20 June 2010 the donors contributed $217,208,134 which represents 35.5% of the total historical contributions since the inception of the Fund. 

The chart below demonstrates the significant growth of 697% in the voluntary contributions between the 1998-1999 biennium and the 2008-2009 biennium.




Below is the detailed information on voluntary contributions received during the period from  1 January 2008 to 20 June 2010 to the Fund: 
                 



The top ten donors contributed 95% of the total amount received during the period from 1 January 2008 to 20 June 2010:


Note: All information presented in this article is in United States Dollars 



  The top beneficiaries of the voluntary contributions for the same period of time are presented below: 


 

The second biggest source of funding (46%) for the UN Mine Action programmes is provided by the General Assembly through annual appropriation for the seven peacekeeping missions with the mine action component in the 2010-2011 peacekeeping year. Those missions are presented on the chart below:   




For more details regarding financing of Mine Action programmes and beneficiaries please refer to the UNMAS annual reports:

UNMAS Annual Report 2008       UNMAS Annual Report 2004

UNMAS Annual Report 2007       UNMAS Annual Report 2003

UNMAS Annual Report 2006       UNMAS Annual Report 2002

UNMAS Annual Report 2005