MMinE-SwEEPER partners JPI Oceans and GEOMAR hosted a side event at the 29th International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors & UN Advisers in Geneva. The event not only fostered the project's engagement on the international stage but also served as a kickstarter to initiate a discussion on reviewing the existing International Mine Action Standard on underwater survey and clearance of explosive ordnance.
From 22-24 April 2026, MMinE-SwEEPER consortium partners GEOMAR and JPI Oceans attended the 29th edition of the International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors & UN Advisers in Geneva, Switzerland. While this high-level three-day conference, organised by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), focuses mainly on developing solutions and shaping international standards dealing with landmines, the MMinE-SwEEPER consortium partners aimed to use this conference as a follow-up to last year's contribution to the GICHD Innovation Conference in Luxembourg to raise awareness of the challenges related to underwater explosive ordnance and promote the efforts of the project, but also those of the wider Munitions in the Sea Community.
Although a large number of side event applications to this prestigious event were submitted, JPI Oceans and GEOMAR were successful in their joint application with the Government of Solomon Islands, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) to host a session on “Underwater explosives – past, present, future“. Around 60 participants followed the side event, which culminated in direct discussions on closer cooperation between the panel contributors and other session participants, whereby GEOMAR and JPI Oceans have also offered support to UNDP in engaging the Munitions in the Sea Community to assist with the analysis of the recent UNDP call on “Affordable Tools to Find and Mark Underwater Explosive Ordnance“. Beyond this, the side event also served as a kickstarter to discuss the initiation of a review process of the International Mine Action Standard on Underwater survey and clearance of explosive ordnance (EO). Furthermore, the MMinE-SwEEPER consortium members were also invited to explore the possibility of contributing to the upcoming review process of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.
Overall, it was a very successful trip, which also allowed us to promote our upcoming Mediterranean/Atlantic Workshop in September in Monte Carlo, Monaco, and helped us to strengthen connections with actors outside of Europe and on the international stage.