It is estimated that between four to six million mines were laid during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that it will take at least 20 years to clear the millions of devices that remain. The United Nations Mine Action Center (UN MAC) estimates that mines and other such devices injure and kill 35 people a month.

The EC is the largest donor for mine clearance projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since 1996 the EC has donated more than 13 MEURO to this sector. The EC policy on implementation of the donated funds is to assist in the creation of National and Entity De-mining and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams and in creating the appropriate national institutions to deal with sustainable mine clearance in the future.

The EC has consequently focused the majority of its mine clearance programme funding toward the creation of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams (EODs), sustainable national Unexploded Ordnance Disposal Teams (UDPs), and the creation of the National De-mining Commission (NDC) and its policy. The Civil Protection Authority (CPA) of the Federation of Bosnia Herzegovina and the Civil Protection Sector (CPS) of the Republika Srpska, with the support of the Bosnia and Herzegovina government, requested assistance from the international community in consolidating their existing Entity teams with the internationally-trained mine clearance teams that currently operate in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aim of consolidating the teams, in addition to the benefits of a high standard of training and the use of modern technical equipment, is to accelerate the clearance of mines, unexploded ordnance (UXO), and abandoned ammunitions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The uncertainty about the location and extent of mine fields poses a serious threat to the community, employees in many sectors, and returning refugees and displaced persons. Mine clearance projects therefore remains a priority: first, to ensure public safety; second, in order to enable the implementation of reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes on infrastructure and housing; and third, to further encourage the returns process.

The EC also funds mine clearance operations as a necessary precursor to some of the EC infrastructure rehabilitation, housing and return projects. In this respect, the EC infrastructure rehabilitation programmes (see "Water and Waste," "Transport," etc.) provide for a de-mining component.