The HALO Trust

A new school building on cleared land. Chob Tarash village in Ghazni province, #Afghanistan has been a strategic location throughout many years of conflict, leaving the village contaminated by mines and impacting the lives of the local community. As Ghazi Mohammad Amiri, Head of Khwaja Khail High School says; “We have had no school building, which has been a big problem. The land was contaminated due to decades of war.” HALO teams have been clearing the area as quickly as possible, and now a new school building has been approved on land that has been cleared and made safe. Around 500 students attend the school daily, with boys attending in the morning and girls in the afternoon. The contaminated land also endangered the livelihoods of local farmers, such as Abdul Ghafoor, who said, “I know three people that have been killed by landmines since the US withdrawal.” Thanks to funding from the Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office) Germany, HALO teams began clearing the village in July of this year, with the clearance completed in August.

HALO #Kosovo was delighted to welcome US ambassador Jeffrey M. Hovenier to a handover ceremony to mark the completion of land clearance in Peja, part of the Zatra National Park. This work was started by HALO teams in 2020 and completed in June of this year. Ambasador Hovenier said; “Today, we celebrate a meaningful achievement in the effort to restore land and rebuild livelihoods. Since 1999, the United States has invested over $45.6 million to support demining activities in Kosovo, demonstrating our dedication to this cause.” “The clearance of Zatra National Park brings us one step closer to a mine-free Kosovo – a future where families can live and work in safety.” As a result of this clearance, residents of Peja now have safe access to the National Park for leisure and outdoor activities, with the anticipated increase in tourism to the area expected to contribute significantly to Peja's economic development. Thank you to the U.S. Department of State for generously supporting this work.

"#Angola was once one of the greatest producers of agriculture in Africa and has massive potential for ecotourism, but communities have been cut off by landmines, leading to economic collapse." "The HALO trust is working with British, US, Angolan governments and others to clear landmines in the Lobito Corridor." "It is clear that trade and aid work together. There is a humanitarian outcome of this - Angolan communities will be lifted out of poverty, and be given a chance to be part of a functional economy." The HALO Trust's CEO James Cowan, speaking on a panel yesterday at a #CPC24 event with Coalition for Global Prosperity about the need for greater integration in foreign policy to achieve lasting prosperity in fragile and conflict-affected states.

The Lobito Corridor is a multi-billion idea putting #Angola, #DRC, #Tanzania and #Zambia at the heart of the global economy. Last week Africell Group launched an exclusive preview of Lobito Bound, a forthcoming documentary about the Lobito Corridor, following BAFTA-nominated explorer Dwayne Fields (FRGS) on an epic 4,000km expedition across Africa. Featuring #TheHALOTrust's work in clearing the way for the Lobito Corridor by removing the explosive debris of Angola’s civil war and paving the way for further development, the film will bring one of the biggest geopolitical stories of our age to life. At the screening in New York, over two hundred guests enjoyed a teaser of Lobito Bound, got to meet its main characters, and heard more about the Lobito Corridor from top officials from the US, UK, Angola, DRC and Zambia. Lobito Bound will be released in full in early 2025. ➡️ Visit www.lobitobound.com to learn more.

'This part of the mountain was closed after the war and in many places we could not go to do hiking or other activities because we were afraid of the explosives.’ Virtyt Morina, Head of Tourism, Peja City For four years, HALO Kosovo has been working to clear cluster munitions from Zatra, an area of national park connecting to regional and international hiking trails. An area the size of 60 football pitches was cleared, most of it heavily wooded and at a dizzying, vertiginous angle. Today residents and businesses are celebrating the completion of this work, opening up the mountains and trails for local families and providing further opportunities for tourism to develop. This progress was made possible thanks to support from U.S. Department of State

This Monday, HALO CEO James Cowan will be speaking on a panel event with Coalition for Global Prosperity at the #CPC24 on the importance of an integrated approach to achieving lasting peace and prosperity in areas affected by conflict.

HALO Afghanistan was delighted to welcome Rolf Dieter Reinhard, the German Chargé d’Affaires for Afghanistan, to visit our programme. Mr Reinhard visited an ammunition and disposal project at a steel factory in Kabul. The factory collects scrap metal from across the country to make iron rods. However, explosives are often found amongst the metal, posing a danger to collectors, factory staff and nearby communities. HALO’s weapons disposal team has been working directly with factories to safely destroy these explosives. Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office) Germany is a major supporter of HALO’s work in Afghanistan, securing a safer future for local families.

Making history in Ukraine! The first ever Ghanaian Parliamentary delegation to #Ukraine visited a minefield in Bucha last week. HALO Ukraine was honoured to host the Hon. John Frimpong, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Hon. Zuwera Ibrahimah Mohammed, Hon. Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, Members of Parliament, and Ms Gifty Nuna Jiagge. HALO was proud to demonstrate innovative methods used to make agricultural land safe to use – a crucial step to restore and stabilise global food security. This was the first, but certainly not the last, visit to HALO Ukraine from Africa. Thank you to Centre for Information Resilience and Project Associates for facilitating this landmark visit.

The HALO Trust was at the Labour Conference in Liverpool this week alongside a record breaking 20,000 other delegates. Although the weather was apocalyptic, meetings and events inside were far more positive. Here are my 5 lessons from Liverpool 😊 (Inspired by Selena Victor) 1)     Lots of people are thinking about conflict and defence policy In July the new Government launched a “Strategic Defence Review” to determine the roles, capabilities and reforms required by UK Defence to meet the challenges, threats and opportunities of the twenty-first century. Several fringe events debated how an active diplomatic and defence strategy, alongside an effective development budget, keeps Britain at the forefront of saving lives, alleviating poverty, and bringing freedom, security, and prosperity both to us, and to others around the world. 2)     The new Government is committed to supporting Ukraine Ukraine's ambassador to the UK Valerii Zaluzhnyi joined the Foreign Secretary David Lammy at an event that focused on how Britain would support the country "for as long as it takes". We estimate there have been over two million landmines laid since February 2022, with around a quarter of Ukraine (156,000km2) being exposed to conflict. The World Bank estimates it will cost around $37 billion to clear landmines and unexploded ordnance from Ukraine. 3)     Labour’s Narrative of “Reconnecting Britain with the World” Discussions on foreign policy often framed a story of Labour having a far more proactive and internationalist stance on the world stage. Speaking at a HALO/MAG fringe event Anneliese Dodds, Minister for International Development, highlighted the UK’s “flagship Global Mine Action Programme… the figures are truly amazing… it has cleared over 20 million square meters of land and delivered risk education messages to half a million people.” With two billion people – a quarter of humanity – living in areas affected by war the need to address conflict-driven poverty is greater than ever. 4)     Money is tight In her conference speech the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, described Labour as the “party of economic responsibility”. Ahead of the conference over 100 NGOs, including HALO, warned that UK aid spending could fall to the lowest levels since 2007. Across the Humanitarian-Development Nexus agencies must embrace innovation through partnerships and technology to deliver their missions through enhanced efficiency and effectiveness. 5)     The New Cohort Out of 650 people elected in July, 335 have never been an MP before. There is huge and exciting diversity of backgrounds amongst many of the new cohort. At the HALO/MAG fringe for example it was notable how many ex-military MPs and those with experience working in development were in attendance. This experience will be critically important as the UK looks to adopt a whole of government approach to national security, foreign, development and defence policy.

Earlier this week we hosted a joint reception with MAG (Mines Advisory Group), Labour Campaign for International Development and Labour Foreign Policy Group at The Labour Party Conference. Thank you to all our speakers including Minister for Development Anneliese Dodds, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Minister Hamish Falconer, and all MPs who joined us to emphasise the need for the UK to take a leading role in tackling conflict globally. Read more: ➡ https://bit.ly/3XCUPJl