The HALO Trust
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Humanitarian Landmine and UXO Removal
HALO currently employs over 8,000 men and women working on landmine and UXO clearance in Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Cambodia, Colombia, El Salvador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, Iraq, Kosovo, Laos, Myanmar, Nagorno Karabakh, Somalia, Somaliland, Sri Lanka, Syria, Ukraine, the West Bank and Zimbabwe.
Weapons and Ammunition Disposal
HALO works in a number of countries to secure and destroy stockpiles of ammunition and weapons.
Mine Risk Education
To prevent devastating accidents, our mine risk education (MRE) teams show local people what to look for and encourage safe behavior around mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). Many mine and ERW casualties are children so it’s especially important that children are aware of the danger. Most of our risk education is conducted in schools and community centers, where our teams target young boys, who make up over 80% of child casualties.
Where we work
Awards
Overall Excellence 2012
UK Charity Awards
International Development and Aid 2012
UK Charity Awards
awarded to CEO Guy Willoughby 2009
Robert Burns International Humanitarian Award
For peace and human rights 2001
Lew Kopelew Prize (Cologne)
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Acres of land cleared of landmines and other explosive remnants of war
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This is land cleared of landmines, cluster bombs and other explosive remnants of war which can now be returned to safe use such as farming and infrastructure development.
Number of landmines and other explosive remants of war removed and destroyed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This is the number of landmines and items of unexploded and abandoned ordnance located and destroyed during the year.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our goal is a world free of landmines and all the deadly debris of war that threaten civilians after a conflict. We envisage a world where there are no new casualties caused by the explosive remnants of war (ERW) and where people can return to earn a living through the productive use of their homeland without the fear of unknown hidden hazards. Every day, by locating and destroying these deadly weapons, we reduce violence and poverty in fragile states and allow those affected by war to return home, plant their crops and raise their families in safety.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our strategy to accomplish our long term goal is six-fold:
1. To implement Mine Action to eliminate the threat to lives and livelihoods posed by landmines and all explosive remnants of war. This is done through effective minefield survey, mine and explosive remnant clearance and risk education to help the recovery and development of affected communities. We assist affected countries to comply with Article 5 of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, Article 4 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and Protocol 5 of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).
2. To provide physical security and management of explosive ammunition for the protection of civilians. We do this through our destruction of unsafe, unserviceable and surplus ammunition stocks and the delivery of safe and secure storage and management for the remaining ammunition.
3. To reduce the potential for armed violence in fragile states by destroying small arms and light weapons and other conventional weapons systems. This includes the removal and destruction of Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems (MANPADS), missiles, grip stocks and batteries to enhance security. When appropriate we also help manage these weapons and educate communities and authorities to improve stability. We also contribute to stabilization and consolidation of peace through the hiring of former combatants.
4. To respond rapidly to crises to alleviate immediate suffering and enable broader humanitarian efforts. We maintain sufficient resources to quickly take action for the humanitarian needs of civilians affected by all the weapons of war and to mitigate risk to those civilians threatened by unplanned explosions at munitions sites. In addition, we deploy our assets in support of emergency relief efforts when they occur near our programs.
5. To lead and influence our entire sector as an effective, innovative and committed humanitarian organization. We train and develop men and women with leadership skills to optimize the delivery and impact of our work and achieve best value for money through research and innovation. We participate in knowledge sharing across the sector, promote best practice and assist in building national capacities and strengthening national authorities in the countries where we work.
6. To promote good governance. We are committed to invest and to remain engaged in countries where there is a humanitarian need for our work and to strive for the highest standards of accountability, leadership and management. We also work to expand and diversify funding for the sector.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The HALO Trust pioneered the concept of landmine removal for humanitarian purposes. With over 30 years of experience, we are the oldest, largest and most experienced organization of our kind. HALO commenced demining operations in Afghanistan in 1988 and currently operates with over 8,000 local staff in 23 countries and territories, with ongoing surveys into new regions. We also have over 200 mechanical assets working on programs around the world in a variety of roles to improve the efficiency of the demining process.
HALO has a long track record of success and we are known for producing high-quality, large-scale and cost-effective clearance. This is principally due to our emphasis on the development of locally recruited staff. These staff members are managed and mentored by a small team of dedicated and experienced international managers. This ensures that overheads are kept low and the maximum amount is spent on clearing mines and unexploded ordnance. In mineclearance, size counts. The more deminers we can employ means the mine-impacted countries can be cleared in a shorter timeframe.
The first step to solving the global landmine problem is to correctly identify the minefields and prioritize the allocation of donor resources. HALO has developed a method of more accurately surveying these hazardous areas which has significantly reduced the prospect of mineclearance work required around the world. Our approach has dispelled the notion that the mine problem is intractable and has paved the way for realistic and precise planning.
HALO has a proven record as a standard-setter in innovation and best practice in the mine action sector and continues to innovate to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of mineclearance and development activities. HALO's techniques and standards have become benchmarks for the industry and we remain at the vanguard of mine action through constant analysis of new trends and ideas. Our rigorously-developed views frame discussions within the sector and over time HALO's positions often become accepted wisdom.
HALO's global income and expenditure total approximately US$60 million per year. HALO is a longstanding, trusted implementing partner to the US Government's State Department, who are the world's largest contributor to mine action and conventional weapons destruction, and many governments and global institutions, including the UK, Switzerland, Finland, New Zealand, Japan, the European Commission and the United Nations.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
For the past 30 years, we have helped millions of families to return home safely. Over 1.6 million mines, 12 million items of larger caliber ordnance, 55 million bullets, 3,400 heavy weapon systems and 193,000 assault rifles have been located and destroyed. Over 12,500 minefields and 9,038 miles of road have been made safe. Over 452,000 acres of former minefield and battlefield have been returned to local communities for productive use.
We have made tremendous progress so far. Fewer people were killed or injured in 2013 than in any previous year. West Kabul has been rebuilt; Abkhazia and most of Georgia are Mine Free. Mozambique, once one of the world's most mine impacted countries, will be declared Mine Free in 2015 – a significant milestone towards our long term goal. In Sri Lanka we are working on the last of the dense barrier minefields in the Northern Province, where our work has so far enabled the safe resettlement of over 190,000 people displaced by the long civil war. In Afghanistan, despite the security challenges, we continue to expand our geographical reach, employing thousands of men of 'fighting-age'.
Yet much work remains to be done. Explosive remnants of war still injure and kill people in places like Cambodia, Angola and Laos, decades after war has ended. Colombia and Myanmar are just now opening up with peace and displaced people want to go home, but mines literally stand in their way. We are still working to clear Africa's most mined town, Cuito Cuanavale in Angola, and have just begun on the dense barrier minefields on Zimbabwe's borders. In Somaliland hard-to-find minimum-metal anti-tank mines still block hundreds of miles of roads. In Afghanistan our current work plan extends to 2023.
The overarching goal of Mine Action is to declare a country Mine Free – or clear of all known minefields. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines issued a completion challenge in 2014 calling on countries, and the mine action community, to reach the goal of Mine Free status by 2025. In the vast majority of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, clearance can be completed before 2025, with many finishing long before that date. We will assist these countries to set and implement their mine action programs towards this ambitious goal. We believe that with properly targeted and large-scale mineclearance it can be achieved, but the risk is the lack of public will and funding to finish the job.
As the global threat from landmines recedes, we have adapted and grown our programs to reduce casualties caused by unexploded ordnance littering former battlefields and to counter the threat posed by badly secured and increasingly unstable Soviet-era ammunition. The numbers of casualties from unplanned explosions in munitions stores now rival those of landmines and other explosive remnants of war. We will continue and grow our work to destroy weapons and ammunition, as part of formal demobilization, disarmament and reintegration processes.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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The HALO Trust
Board of directorsas of 08/22/2023
Anastasia Staten
The HALO Trust (USA), Inc.
Nick Nobbs
The HALO Trust USA
Amanda Pullinger
The HALO Trust USA
Rexon Ryu
The HALO Trust USA
Andrew Lyons
The HALO Trust USA
Nigel Robinson
The HALO Trust USA
Bradley Tirpak
The HALO Trust USA
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes