NGO / Non-Profit Associations
"Clearing landmines and UXO globally for safe communities."
Founded at the organization’s outset, the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) was conceived with the mission of elevating global awareness of the humanitarian crises posed by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO).
In 1990 and 1991, MAG’s founders, the McGrath brothers, conducted two critical assessment missions in Afghanistan and Cambodia. Their objective was to gather evidence that would spur governments and international bodies into coordinated, meaningful intervention.
During this period, Afghanistan was reeling from the devastation of war, facing severe disruption and widespread human suffering. Returning Afghan refugees were often rerouted to villages still riddled with landmines, leading to fatal or life-altering injuries.
A poignant encounter left a lasting impression on Rae McGrath, MAG’s co-founder. He recalled witnessing a young Afghan boy whose body had been devastated by a Soviet-laid POM-Z fragmentation mine. The boy’s family, in desperation, pleaded with the team to photograph his injuries to expose the horrors of these weapons to the world—a request they immediately fulfilled.
Tragically, the boy succumbed to his wounds shortly afterward. The photograph, later shared by MAG, became a powerful tool in illustrating the devastating and often fatal impact of landmines on civilians.
