Institutional reform in mine action: the time for change

Maksym Tkachenko, Co-founder of the Public Union Ukrainian Demining Cluster

Ukraine faces an unprecedented challenge — the world’s largest mine contamination. According to international assessments, hazardous areas exceed the size of several European countries, and clearance may take decades. This requires long-term investment and a comprehensive approach to mine action — one that includes not only the removal of explosive ordnance but also the restoration of normal life on contaminated territories.

In such circumstances, the effectiveness of every action, transparency of processes, and clarity of governance become matters not only of safety but of national economic development.

That is why the Humanitarian Demining and Recovery Association and the Ukrainian National Association for Humanitarian Demining have initiated a comprehensive institutional reform of the mine action sector — a transformation aimed at changing how the sector is planned, funded, and coordinated.

The Old System has Exhausted Itself: Reform is Inevitable

The current mine action governance structure remains fragmented: responsibilities are dispersed across multiple agencies, processes are duplicated, decisions are delayed, and the absence of a single point of accountability creates serious risks of inefficiency and loss of international support.

The Accounting Chamber of Ukraine and a recent analysis by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) both confirm: the sector’s current institutional architecture no longer corresponds to the scale and urgency of today’s challenges.

According to TBI, the sector’s institutional capacity directly depends on a comprehensive approach that includes strong institutions, improved coordination, local workforce development, and technological modernization. Integrating these elements is essential to ensure an effective and sustainable clearance process.

A Sector in Crisis: Fragmented Responsibility and Economic Imbalance

Despite a rapid increase in the number of humanitarian demining operators, the current market is unable to meet the needs of the state and local communities.
Responsibilities are blurred across government bodies, and the absence of standardized rules forces operators to work in a high-risk environment, where quality and safety often depend on who procures and who controls the work.

Systemic Barriers to Market Development

• No single governance and coordination authority.
  Overlapping mandates lead to duplicated processes, conflicting decisions, and competition for resources.
• A market without stable pricing rules or quality standards.
  Procurement often prioritizes the lowest price over safety and operational performance.
• Financial instability and donor dependency.
  Operators work in a high-risk sector with no access to credit, insurance, or investment tools; farmers and communities lack the resources to fund clearance.
• Technology gap and lack of innovation support.
  There is a critical shortage of modern equipment. Most work is still performed manually by sappers — the slowest and riskiest method.

While the world transitions to robotics, sensor systems, drones, and remotely operated platforms, Ukraine continues operating with outdated tools amid 21st-century challenges.

Key barriers include:
– regulatory constraints blocking rapid certification and deployment of innovations;
– lack of development funding for R&D and modernization;
– high investor risk due to unclear rules of economic return.

All this unfolds against the backdrop of tens of thousands of square kilometers of potentially hazardous territory. Without reform, the market is structurally incapable of delivering the required pace of clearance.

Associations Take the Lead: Strategic Initiative Instead of Bureaucratic Inertia

At the Institutional Mine Action Reform Conference, the associations presented a concept for a modernized system built around four core pillars.
This is not a political manifesto — it is a professional action plan developed by practitioners and industry experts.

1. Single Regulator — A Center of Accountability, Trust, and Coordination

The reform proposes establishing the National Mine Action Agency with special status.
This body would shape policy, coordinate interagency cooperation, oversee monitoring and evaluation, and ensure public accountability through advisory councils.
For the first time, the state would have a single point of responsibility for mine action policy implementation.

2. Unified Information System — The Digital Foundation of Transparency

A nationwide digital platform will fully integrate sector processes: from planning and accreditation to reporting, quality control, and donor oversight.
Transparency becomes a built-in standard — not an optional feature.

3. Financial Instruments — The Economic Backbone of the Sector

The reform introduces a functioning humanitarian demining market with real economic incentives: mandatory liability insurance, financial support mechanisms for operators, and inclusion of mine action in the state loan program “5-7-9%.”
This marks a shift from donor dependency to a sustainable financing model, where safety becomes an investment in national recovery.

4. Special Legal Regime “Demine Ukraine” — A New Governance Ecosystem

The proposed legal and digital framework creates a shared operational environment where the state, operators, donors, and communities work under unified rules and one platform.
It is not merely a legislative initiative — it is the architecture of a new system of trust.

Reform Philosophy: From Chaos to System, From Crisis to Development

This is not a cosmetic update — it represents a new economic philosophy for the sector, where every hryvnia spent has measurable impact and every stakeholder carries clear responsibility.

Separating combat, operational, and humanitarian clearance eliminates institutional conflicts, improves efficiency, and defines the key metric of success — safe, usable land.

The guiding principle: from words to action. From chaotic coordination to systematic governance, where accountability is measured by results, not titles.

The Result — Transparency, Efficiency, and Safe Recovery

The reform will establish a transparent, accountable, and anti-corruption system aligned with international standards and donor expectations.
It will eliminate conflicts of interest between security agencies and humanitarian operators while preserving the integrity of national security and civil protection systems.

Ultimately, it creates a new balance between the state, the market, and society — turning mine action into a cornerstone of Ukraine’s recovery.

Partnership and Technology: A Reform Born from the Ground Up

The Ukrainian Demining Cluster — a community of innovative companies, operators, engineers, and researchers — fully supports this initiative.

Mine action reform is not merely a governance shift. It is a security and economic transformation — the foundation for post-war recovery through modern technologies, digital solutions, and new financing tools.

The fact that this initiative emerged not in government offices but within professional communities is the strongest evidence of the maturity and leadership of Ukraine’s humanitarian mine action sector.