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The Centre European Normalization (CEN) is the European standards body that operates in parallel to International Standards Organizations (ISO). In January 2001, the CEN has created a specific BT Working Group 126 (BT/WG 126), reporting to the CEN Technical Board (BT). CEN WG 126 has established a number of CEN Workshop Agreements for humanitarian mine action. A CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) is an agreement developed by the CEN in an open Workshop, which reflects the consensus of identified individuals and organizations responsible for its contents. The CEN involvement in humanitarian mine action through CWA aims at bridging the gap between the manufacturers and the operators of demining equipment. CWAs are not duplicated efforts to produce standards for mine action as perceived by some, but they are agreements produced in support of IMAS as normative references. The CEN management in collaboration with UNMAS and GICHD, through open workshops, has attempted to provide guidance to the manufacturers of the demining equipment as test and evaluation protocols which have not been addressed in the IMAS. For example, test and evaluation of metal detectors or test and evaluation of personal protective equipment (PPE). In some IMAS normative reference has been given to the related CWA which simply approves the role of CWA in mine action. For instance; IMAS 09.50 on mechanical demining has a normative reference to CWA 15044. The GICHD has chaired three of these CEN Workshops; CWA 26 Personal Protective Equipment- Test and Evaluation, CEN Workshop 28 Post Mechanical Clearance requirements and CEN Workshop 29 Evaluation methods for Quality Control (sampling) after Mechanical Demining. So far, six CWAs have been published in relation to humanitarian mine action
Currently one CEN Workshop is in progress |
