Completion Survey Stocktaking Workshop
These milestone events were organized at the Galle Face Hotel, Colombo, and brought together key national and international stakeholders in a unified effort to take stock, assess progress, and define the path forward toward a mine-free Sri Lanka.
1. Completion Survey Stocktaking Workshop – 28 April 2025
The week began with a Completion Survey Stocktaking Workshop, jointly facilitated by NMAC and GICHD.
Objectives included:
- Providing a comprehensive overview of the current completion survey landscape,
- Summarizing achievements and results since the previous stocktaking in June 2024,
- Identifying operational and strategic challenges to implementing the completion survey.
Participants: Representatives from NMAC, GICHD, Regional Mine Action Offices (RMAO), operations and information management staff from operators (DASH, SHARP, HALO Trust, MAG), and Sri Lanka Army Humanitarian Demining Unit (SLA HDU).
This technical session allowed for an evidence-based update that directly fed into the strategy review process, ensuring that forward planning is rooted in ground realities.
2. Mid-Term Strategy Review Workshop – 29–30 April 2025
The central event of the week was the Mid-Term Strategy Review Workshop, gathering a wide range of stakeholders across government, civil society, and international partners.
Objectives of the review included:
- Looking back: Measuring progress against strategic objectives and targets since the launch of the strategy in 2023.
- Understanding the present: Analyzing sectoral shifts both nationally and globally.
- Charting the future: Determining actionable next steps to ensure Sri Lanka meets its obligations under Article 5 of the APMBC.
Participants: Country directors, programme and operations managers from implementing partners (DASH, SHARP, MAG, HALO), SLA HDU, Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines (SLCBL), and key government ministries including Defence, Foreign Affairs, Education, Environment, Health, Rural development and Social Security and Empowerment, Wildlife, and Finance & Planning.
This forum reinforced collective ownership of Sri Lanka’s mine action strategy and positioned the country to move confidently towards timely completion.
