The National Mine Action Centre (NMAC), in collaboration with GICHD, organized a Completion Survey Stock-Taking Workshop at RJ Mahal Hotel, Kilinochchi, on Thursday, 20 November. The main objectives of the workshop were as follows:

Objectives
Provide an overview of the current completion survey situation (NMAC and GICHD)
Present a summary of achievements and results since the last stock-taking in April 2025
Identify challenges in implementing the completion survey.

Workshop Facilitation
This workshop was conducted and moderated by Åsa Massleberg, Programme Manager and Senior Advisor for Strategic Planning. The IM Review was conducted by Olivier Demars, IM Consultant, together with Sri Mallikarachchi, IM Specialist of NMAC/GICHD. As per requirements, several improvements to the Completion Survey dashboard were completed by Olivier.
Participants
The workshop was attended by representatives from:
NMAC
GICHD
RMAO
Information Management (IM)
Operations and Survey Managers from DASH, SHARP, HALO, and MAG
Relevant SLA HDU representatives
All operators involved in the completion survey shared their achievements and challenges since the previous stock-taking workshop in April 2025.

Outcomes of the Workshop
(Delivered by Åsa Massleberg)
It was highlighted that RMAO’s contribution and excellent preparation of the completion survey data were highly commendable.
A total of 80% of GNs (860 out of 1,388) that must be visited under the completion survey methodology have already been declared—reflecting a significant achievement.
Åsa emphasized several key challenges, along with recommended actions:
Limited community engagement and reluctance on behalf of affected communities to share information with survey teams
Action: Secure the support and engagement of community leaders and highlight that collecting information from community members is key to ensuring safer communities
Some confusion on the distinction between the first GN visit and subsequent follow-on visits
Action: Any additional visits required to ensure that survey teams meet with the relevant community members and key informants should still be considered part of the first GN visit—regardless of the number of physical visits involved—and should not be recorded in the system as follow-on visits.
Action: Operators are kindly requested to follow the methodology as presented in the completion process SOP and to be mindful of the principle of all reasonable effort
Some GNs have been declared complete despite the existence of open HAs.
Action: In line with the SOP, please keep in mind that GNs can only be declared complete once all HAs have been closed and there is no further evidence/suspicion of further HAs
Further analysis of the completion survey data reveal that previously unrecorded HAs have been identified in a total of nine GNs that had already been declared.
Action: The GICHD will discuss this matter further with NMAC. It will be important to ensure that required actions in such situations are clear, transparent and accurately reflected in the completion process SOP. We will follow up with all of you on this.
The completion process’s QM process as specified in the SOP is critical to ensure that the survey is implemented accurately, in line with the SOP and that operational resources are used in the most efficient and effective manner.
Action: Ensure minimal backlog of GN visit forms and that internal QA (IM and ops) is conducted in a timely manner and as thoroughly as possible.