Request for Proposals: Technical and Military Expert for Research on The Risks and Consequences of Reintroducing Anti-Personnel Mines

Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) is a politically independent membership-based organisation working in Norway and in more than 30 countries around the world. Founded in 1939 as the labour movement's humanitarian solidarity organisation, NPA aims to improve people's living conditions and to create a democratic, just and safe society. NPA's international work covers three core areas: Mine Action and Disarmament, Development and Humanitarian Relief Aid. See www.npaid.org for more information. 

NPA seeks to commission a technical and military expert to contribute to a research study examining the risks and consequences of reintroducing anti-personnel mines (APMs), including their use in international and non-international armed conflicts and border defense scenarios.  

Recent policy developments in some European countries bordering or located near Russia have brought renewed attention to the military role of APMs. These developments raise questions about their military utility and potential wider and longer-term consequences. 

The study is intended to provide an objective, evidence-based assessment that will contribute to informed policy discussions, public debate, and protection of civilian efforts. 

The research will comprise two complementary components: a comparative analysis of anti-personnel mine use in selected recent conflicts and the feasibility of responsible use, and a technical and military assessment. This request for proposals concerns the latter component. 

The successful bidder will examine the military and technical aspects of APMs, including: 

• A mapping of the circumstances, objectives and patterns of current APM use, including the types of APMs employed (including new and so-called "smart mines"), their means and methods of delivery, their integration into broader defensive systems, and approaches and techniques to their clearance; 
• Emerging technological and methodological developments in the production, delivery, use and clearance of APMs;  
• Relevant changes in the conduct of warfare;  
• The availability of alternative capabilities;  
• The military utility, limitations and risks of APM use;  
• Potential implications for future armed conflicts and the scale, nature, and management of explosive ordnance contamination.