Research, Innovation, Standards and Operations (RISO)

Stefan De Coninck joined the GICHD on 1 June 2026 as an Advisor within the Standards & Operations Programme. In this role he designs and delivers capacity development activities for national mine action centres and leads a flagship project to strengthen operational efficiency through mechanical innovation. He brings to the Centre more than three decades of operational and project management leadership in mine action, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and humanitarian response across complex, post-conflict and high-risk environments.

He combines deep technical expertise with practical, field-tested knowledge to strengthen mine action programmes worldwide.

Before joining the GICHD, Stefan held a succession of senior operational roles with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS/UNOPS), most recently as Head of Operations for the Gaza response, and previously in Mali, Nigeria, Syria and Cyprus. He also served as Country Director leading the Norwegian People’s Aid UXO Clearance programme in Palau.

He is a PRINCE2® Practitioner, holds the MoR® (Management of Risk) Foundation certification, and is qualified to IMAS EOD/IEDD Level 3+.

• Organisation Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)
• Division Research, Innovation, Standards and Operations (RISO)
• Unit Standards and Operations
• Working Languages Dutch, English and French