FSD

🌲 "I know every birch, every tree where these mushrooms grow."

Kateryna knows her local forest well. She spent years walking among its trees, listening to the birds and foraging for mushrooms. But a few years ago, she stepped on a landmine. An activity that had once brought her joy suddenly became a source of fear.

🎥 Watch Kateryna’s story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVhJ4qgPx7g&t=54s

Kateryna’s story: how forest grew dangerous in Ukraine Kateryna has always loved forests, taking walks, and foraging surro...

🧑‍🎓 FSD Back at EPFL

FSD is pleased to be returning to EPFL this year. Matt Wilson, FSD's COO, gave a presentation to a group of students, introducing them to mine action, the threat posed by landmines and unexploded ordnance, and the importance of our work in safely disposing of these items.

We’re grateful to Mariazel Maqueda López, Head of the PeaceTech Division, Klaus Schönenberger, Director of EssentialTech Centre, and Solomzi Makohliso, Deputy Director, for welcoming us.

Nous sommes ravis de participer cette année aux Automnales à Genève aux côtés de Swissint, du Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining - GICHD, d'UNOPS et de DEMUNEX.

Du 6 au 15 novembre, venez découvrir le déminage humanitaire et le travail accompli pour rendre les terres et les communautés plus sûres.

𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝘁, 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲́ 𝗱'𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀

Cette année, nous accueillons Swissint, le centre de compétences de l'Armée suisse pour la promotion de la paix, en tant qu'invité d'honneur.

À quoi ressemble vraiment une mission de paix ? Pendant dix jours, un stand immersif apporte des réponses concrètes : véhicules, tour d'observation de l'ONU, postes de simulation et réalité virtuelle, aux côtés de militaires ayant servi sur le terrain. Certaines animations sont en accès libre, d'autres à heures fixes.

Autour du stand, le Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining - GICHD, la FSD, l'UNOPS et le commandement DEMUNEX donnent à voir le travail du déminage humanitaire : sécuriser un chemin, rouvrir un accès à l'eau, permettre à une communauté de revivre.

Un engagement souvent évoqué, rarement montré d'aussi près.

📅 6–15 novembre à Palexpo
👉 Programme sur automnales.ch

💥 What Are Improvised Explosive Devices?

What does 'improvised' mean? Why do improvised explosive devices pose such a challenge? And how can they be safely dealt with?

👉 Read the latest Mine Action 101 article: https://fsd.ch/en/improvised-explosive-device-ied/

What Is an Improvised Explosive Device (IED)? Learn what an improvised explosive device (IED) is, how it is used, why it poses a major threat to civilians and how FSD helps reduce the risk.

"For me, normality means being able to live without fear." — Siham, FSD deminer in Iraq

In Iraq, many families are still unable to return home or go about their daily lives safely because of improvised explosive devices left behind by conflict.

FSD’s all-women demining team is currently working in the Dibis district to clear contaminated areas and make them safer for local communities.

Having experienced the effects of conflict themselves, the women on the team are deeply motivated to help their communities return to normal life.

👉 Read the full story: https://fsd.ch/en/in-iraq-these-women-are-giving-land-back-to-families/

Project supported by Etat de Genève.

FSD's All-Women Demining Team in Iraq The work of FSD's all-women demining team in Iraq is essential to allow the return of displaced people and enable families to rebuild their lives.

🧸 This is not a child's toy.

This anti-tank missile was found unexploded near a pastoral path in north-eastern Afghanistan in 2019. Potentially unstable, it had to be destroyed where it was found.

Some explosive items can look like ordinary objects. In areas affected by conflict, recognising the danger can be a matter of life and death.

The Only Way Out campaign shines a light on the dangers that remain long after the fighting has stopped and why humanitarian mine action is essential to making affected communities safe again.

Learn more about the campaign: https://fsd.ch/en/the-only-way-out/

Getting FSD’s HQ operations team in the same room can be a logistical operation in itself! Today, we managed it in rainy Geneva — for a day of updates, ideas and a catch-up between field trips.

"Our aim is to make mine action the first stage of reconstruction, not a separate job that comes before it." — Angela De Santis, FSD Deputy Head of Operations.

Angela De Santis joined the panel “Survey and Clearance in Urban Areas – Case Studies” at the GICHD Innovation Session, where she presented FSD’s experience in Ukraine and explored how rubble removal and mine action connect to reconstruction.

Ukraine’s reconstruction needs are vast. Yet contractors cannot safely begin work on sites where explosive ordnance may be buried beneath rubble. Clearing these hazards therefore needs to be considered as an integral part of the reconstruction process.

In her presentation, Angela highlighted several practical challenges:
🔹 Unknown contamination: Where troops were based or am******on was stored, the type and amount of explosive ordnance is hard to predict. That drives risk, pace and cost.
🔹 Funding and timing: Clearance and reconstruction are usually funded separately and on different timelines. A cleared site that waits a year for a builder is a wasted investment – and a site awaiting clearance holds up the builder.
🔹 Scale: The need across Ukraine is immense and will extend well beyond the current 2028 horizon.

Thank you to the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining - GICHD for organising this insightful panel and creating space to discuss how innovation and mine action can support recovery in urban areas.

📷: © GICHD/Antoine Tardy

💥 FSD’s EOD Team Completes Its First Operational Task

After months of training, certification, and practical preparation, FSD’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team successfully carried out its first operational task in Ukraine.

During a clearance operation, the team of four safely disposed of an anti-tank shaped-charge round which had been discovered by FSD deminers.

This is an important milestone for FSD: with its own certified EOD team, the organisation can now manage the entire process using its own resources, making operations faster and reducing risks to people on the ground.

"Previously, we had to call in the State Emergency Service or the police for final disposals — this took time, and in the meantime the discovered items remained on the site, posing additional risks. Now, we have a complete closed-loop cycle: from survey and the decision to clear an area, to the detection, identification, and disposal of explosive ordnance," says Serhiy Kolobylin, FSD Operations Officer.