Head of Ammunition Management Advisory Team

Samuel Paunila joined the GICHD in 2013. Since 2019 as the Head of Ammunition Management Advisory Team (AMAT), he implements AMAT’s global assistance mechanism. Managing the team in partnership with the United Nations SaferGuard Programme, Samuel assists states and organisations with safe and secure ammunition management. Before the AMAT, he was responsible for the Centre's risk reduction activities pertaining to conventional ammunition, residual explosive contamination, and explosive weapons. 

From 2003 to 2012, Samuel directed humanitarian mine action and armed violence reduction programmes with the Danish Refugee Council in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Prior to this he managed explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams, peacekeeping units and ammunition depots within the Finnish Defence Force. The work has taken him to over forty countries with longest missions in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Uganda and the former Yugoslavia.

Samuel holds a weapon systems technical officer degree, BSc in automation engineering and MSc in Resilience from Cranfield University, Defence Academy of the UK. He is a Fellow in the Institute of Explosives Engineers, IMAS level 3+ qualified EOD supervisor and United Nations SaferGuard expert on the IATG.

• Organisation Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)
• Division Head of Ammunition Management Advisory Team
• Unit Head of Division
• E-mail s.paunila(at)gichd.org
• Working Languages English and Finnish