About IMAS

The International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) listed in the Directory below are now the standards in force for all UN mine action operations. They were initially endorsed by the UN Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Mine Action on 26 September 2001.

The IMAS have been designed through a progressive series of consultative activities involving a broad spectrum of mine action stakeholders. The IMAS will continue to evolve and develop, as new standards are completed and approved, and as changes are made to those already issued. Information on the continuous review process is available at the IMAS Review Board. The mine action community is encouraged to contribute to the review process. Comments can be sent directly to members of the Review Board.

IMAS Amendments

The review process can lead to changes in an IMAS. If the changes are simple, they will be incorporated into an existing IMAS as an amendment and the latest amendment number will be shown on the IMAS title page. The changes made in the amended IMAS are recorded in an amendment table that will have been added to the specific IMAS. If the review process leads to a need for major changes to an IMAS, a new edition will be produced.

Non-English Versions of IMAS

A number of standards have been translated into different languages. Most of these are regarded as "unofficial" because they have not been endorsed by a UN-approved translation service, but they are believed to be accurate translations. Readers should check which date, edition and amendment number the translation refers to, as a later version in English may have been produced.

IMAS have been translated into Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.

These files are saved in Adobe PDF format, and you need Adobe Reader to view them. If Adobe Reader is not installed on your computer, you can download the reader and installation instructions by clicking on the icon to the right.

Microsoft Word versions of IMAS can be found on the IMAS CDs distributed by GICHD (www.gichd.org) or on request from imas@gichd.org.