Making Land Safe In Nagorno Karabakh

Nagorno Karabakh is a remote and beautiful place in the South Caucasus, a land of forest and mountains. However, its people have been haunted by the presence of landmines for more than two decades as a result of the 1988-94 Nagorno Karabakh War. In fact, there have been more landmine accidents per capita in Karabakh than anywhere else in the world. A quarter of the victims are children.

Like Oksen Baghdasaryan, most Karabakhis living in mined areas are dependent on agricultural land or woodland to support their families.

“I am the only resident left in the village. Fourteen families with twenty children lived here, but they moved to other villages where development is possible without the landmines.”

Oksen Baghdasaryan, Nagorno Karabakh

Our Work

Clearing landmines & explosives

Teaching people how to stay safe

Since 2000, HALO has cleared almost 500 minefields in Nagorno Karabakh, making land safe and transforming the lives of more than 130,000 people. We visit schools and communities to teach people, especially children, how to stay safe until all the landmines are gone.

But landmines are not the only challenge. When fighting broke out briefly in 2016, homes and gardens were left strewn with yet more explosives—threatening the lives of local people. We reacted immediately, working with the Rescue Service to remove the dangerous items.

We continue to work to make Karabakh safe, clearing minefields and responding to emergency callouts by members of the public.

OUR IMPACT

“When you’re clearing mines, I know you’re not clearing it just for people like me, but for the whole community. It’s a powerful mission that you’re carrying out here, and it means safety for my kids, for their kids, for all of Karabakh.”

Mikhail Merjumian, Nagorno Karabakh

Mikhail Merjumian, who lost his leg in a landmine accident, is now benefitting from safe access to cleared land. He loves to have his two granddaughters, Ani and Ana, to come and stay. Previously, he always had to warn them to stay away from the minefield. Now, like the children from the local school, they can play freely and safely.

Stories from Nagorno Karabakh

Living Under the Shadow of Landmines in Nagorno Karabakh

With HALO My Dream Came True

Celebrating Valentine’s Day in Nagorno Karabakh

When A Child's Game Turns Deadly

Bombs Among the Vines in Nagorno Karabakh

Meet Sirun, Deminer for HALO Nagorno Karabakh

Rob Syfret

Programme Manager

Rob joined HALO in 2015 and trained in demining in Cambodia, EOD in Nagorno-Karabakh and weapons destruction in Cote d’Ivoire before joining the embryonic Syria program. In 2016 he became Operations Manager HALO Sri Lanka. He returned to the Syria Program in August 2017 to help design and implement a new remotely managed clearance project. Rob has also worked in Yemen, on IED Disposal operations in Iraq, and spent six months working in Libya which included the development of an innovative urban damage assessment technique now being used in other programmes across the Middle East. Before joining HALO he served in the military and studied history at Glasgow University.

Oliver Gerard-Pearse

Operations Manager

Oliver passed his operations training in Cambodia and IMAS EOD Level 3 in Nagorno Karabakh. Since then, he has worked in Georgia and in Ukraine, where he helped develop clearance procedures in this challenging environment. He was seconded to Sri Lanka to manage HALO’s work in the north before returning to Nagorno Karabakh in 2019 to establish and manage the ongoing national survey project. As Operations Manager, he is responsible for all operations on the programme. Outside HALO, Oliver will often be found on skis, up a mountain or both.

Alina Aslanian

Programme Officer

Alina joined HALO in 2018 as a Programme Officer in Nagorno Karabakh. Prior to HALO, she worked for International Organisation for Migration in Thailand.

Gala Danilova

Administrator

Gala has worked for The HALO Trust since 2002 and currently serves as the Programme Administrator. She is responsible for conducting all the administrative and financial duties of the HALO NK programme. In addition to her work for HALO NK, Gala has also worked for HALO Abkhazia as a Mine Risk Education Assistant (2004-2005) and for HALO USA as a fundraiser amongst the Armenian Diaspora (2007-2008). Gala has a degree in history and international relations and is EOD II trained.

Koen van der West

Survey Manager

Koen passed his operations training in Cambodia, Abkhazia and Nagorno Karabakh in 2019. He first joined HALO Nagorno Karabakh as a Field Officer and is now managing the national survey, which aims to identify all of the remaining contamination. Before joining HALO, Koen worked as an Assessment Officer for IMPACT Initiatives in Bangladesh and Iraq, conducting research on the humanitarian needs of conflict-affected displaced populations. Koen holds a Master’s degree in International Humanitarian Action and has worked for NATO and UN OCHA.

Nagorno Karabakh