A team of Mines Advisory Group deminers in Cambodia. (Courtesy of Mines Advisory Group)
The Mines Advisory Group — a UK-based humanitarian group whose focus is on removing landmines and working with communities affected by armed violence — is the winner of this year's Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize.
In an Aug. 13 announcement of the 2025 prize, Peter Laugharn, president and CEO of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, said the selection "serves as a reminder that compassion and peace should still be at the top of our global agenda."
"Through its extraordinary efforts to help communities return to safety and prosperity after conflict, the Mines Advisory Group exemplifies the kind of humanitarian excellence our Prize has sought to celebrate and inspire over the last three decades," Laugharn said.
In the announcement, the foundation said the humanitarian, development and peacebuilding group has assisted more than 23 million people in more than 70 countries rebuild their lives after war. The announcement also noted most of the organization's 5,500-member staff are from communities that have been directly affected by conflict.
The Mines Advisory Group "has played a leading role in the international effort to prevent the use of landmines — saving countless lives, protecting human rights and contributing to sustainable peace for communities across the world," the foundation said.
A Mines Advisory Group deminer near Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine. (Courtesy of Mines Advisory Group)
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The Mines Advisory Group was also a co-laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for its founding role in a global campaign to ban landmines. That effort led to the landmark Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or APMBC, also known as the Ottawa Treaty.
In the announcement, Hilton said that "amidst rising levels of geopolitical conflict — and humanitarian needs — the need to uplift nonprofit organizations on the frontlines has never been greater."
As a result, it is appropriate to honor the Mines Advisory Group "for its work to address the lasting and devastating impacts that landmines, unexploded ordnance and armed violence have on human lives and post-conflict development."
In 2023, the foundation said, more than 8 out of 10 landmine casualties were civilians; of those, more than a third of civilian casualties were children. Among the locales where landmines are now being used are Gaza, Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen.
For his part, Darren Cormack, the chief executive of the Mines Advisory Group, said in the announcement that for 35 years, his organization "has stood resolute in its mission to respond to the urgent needs of people in communities ravaged by conflict and in places still grappling with conflict's legacy, long after the wars have ended."
A team of Mines Advisory Group deminers in Angola. (Courtesy of Mines Advisory Group)
"We're honored to receive the Hilton Humanitarian Prize in recognition of the tireless and courageous work of our global staff," Cormack said. "Our hope is that this spotlight can help underscore the fundamental human right to live free from the fear of landmines and armed violence. Every landmine cleared is a life saved, a community restored and a future reclaimed."
The prize is awarded after a deliberative review and nomination process, with an independent, international panel of distinguished jurors selecting the winner.
This year's jurors included Helen Clark, the former prime minister of New Zealand; Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist; Conrad N. Hilton III; Sr. Joyce Meyer, a sister of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is international sister liaison for Global Sisters Report and a Hilton Foundation board member; Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan; Kennedy Odede, a Kenyan author and social entrepreneur; Zainab Salbi, an Iraqi-American women's rights activist and writer; and Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, an economist and former president of Mexico.
The 2025 prize ceremony and 30th anniversary event will take place this October in New York City.
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is a major funder of GSR.
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