Summary
Colombia’s landmine problem could be considered one of the most complex in the world. While Colombia is a State Party to the mine-ban treaty, illegal armed groups continue to use mines in violation of international norms and national legislation. A 15 percent reduction in the total number of victims (civilian and military) was registered between 2007 and 2008, with the annual total falling from 907 to 772, but the proportion of civilian casualties actually increased from 217 to 268, or from 24 percent to 35 percent of the total. The continued and random use of mines by non-state actors prevents the effective demarcation of dangerous areas, and renders it difficult to determine a point in time where the use of mines and improvised explosive devices will cease. This complicates Colombia’s efforts to honour its commitments under Article 5 of the anti-personnel mine-ban treaty.
In February 2009, the Government approved a long-term public policy framework for mine action called CONPES 3567. It allocates some US $560 million of state resources over the next 10 years. The policy stipulates, as the central objective of Colombia's mine action programme, that “human, socioeconomic and sustainable community development should not be inhibited by the contamination of land due to antipersonnel mines, improvised explosive devices and/or unexploded ordnance.” It establishes a transversal strategy for the effective enjoyment of rights by communities and mine victims, giving recognition to the specific needs of each.
In order to fully meet the objectives outlined in the CONPES, Colombia needs additional technical and financial support to complement the resources already committed by the state. The projects presented in the portfolio have been designed with this policy framework in mind. As such, the portfolio is a fundamental tool for mobilizing resources to fulfil national goals. A Spanish version of the CONPES policy document is available for reference at: http://bit.ly/20Md3I.
Each year, UN entities, nongovernmental organizations, national and local authorities and donors collaborate to assemble a national portfolio of mine action project proposals that together reflect the strategic response developed in the field to all aspects of the problem of landmines and explosive remnants of war. A Country Portfolio Coordinator, usually a representative of a UN agency or a national authority, coordinates meetings where all mine action actors agree on a set of projects and priorities and determine funding needs. The proposals in each country's portfolio are assembled with those of other participating countries and published jointly by the UN Mine Action Service, the UN Development Programme and UNICEF in an annual "Portfolio of Mine Action Projects." This publication serves as a tool for collaborative resource mobilization, coordination and planning of mine action activities. The Colombia Country Portfolio Team's funding appeal for mine action projects in 2007 totals US $5,489,493.
Scope of the Problem
During 2008, 447 accidents and 904 incidents with mines, unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices were reported, resulting in 155 fatalities and leaving 617 victims with some form of disability. Of the 268 civilian victims registered in 2008, 222 were adults, and 46 were children. Most mine action activities are concentrated in the departments of Antioquia, Meta and Nariño, which in 2008 accounted for 48 percent of mine-related events and 47 percent of civilian victims.
Recent advances have been made in developing information management tools, including preparations for a Landmine Impact Survey (LIS). At present, only the military officially conducts demining, while some indigenous communities attempt to undertake their own clearance, without training or monitoring support. In 2009, the number of military humanitarian demining teams increased from four to six. They have cleared 22 of 32 military bases, and are conducting clearance of 199,271 square metres mined by illegal armed groups in the municipalities of San Francisco and San Carlos (Antioquia), Bajo Grande (Bolívar), El Dorado (Meta) and Samaniego (Nariño). In 2008, geographical coverage of mine risk education activities expanded, alongside efforts to ensure institutionalization and standardization, and improved technical capacities in accordance with national and international standards.
Of the 284 civilian victims registered between April 2008 and June 2009, 44 percent have entered the state compensation system, 20 percent are beginning the documentation process, and 7 percent remain “unidentified.” Efforts continue to locate the remaining 29 percent. According to the Presidential Programme for Integrated Mine Action (PPAICMA), 53 percent of all mine victims have received some form of state assistance. A programme has been set up to award compensation to victims of violence who did not receive any state aid before April 2008, and around US $834,000 has already been distributed to 111 mine victims and their families. The PPAICMA is continuing its efforts to locate the 1,165 victims that have not yet claimed compensation.
Coordination and Consultation
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the PPAICMA, as the technical coordinating body for mine action in Colombia, convened different actors from the mine action community in order to build a strategic framework for the 2010 Mine Action Portfolio.
Mine action in Colombia involves state entities, non-governmental organizations, and UN and other international organizations. The portfolio process involved the participation of stakeholders working directly in mine action, as well as donor representatives and Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A diagnostic of the current state of implementation and international cooperation for mine action interventions was presented by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in order to facilitate informed decision-making for the construction of projects. This exercise had also been previously undertaken for the G-24 donor grouping, which remains a key forum for information exchange on mine action concerns between national stakeholders and representatives of the donor countries that make up this working group.
A total of 25 projects have been submitted to UNICEF as an outcome of this consultation process, based on the long-term strategic aims outlined in CONPES 3567, which was recently adopted by the National Economic and Social Policy Council, Colombia´s highest executive body for strategic planning.
Strategy
The Mine Action Portfolio Country Team based its proposed activities on the strategic framework established in CONPES 3567, which outlines Colombia´s long-term mine action policy for 2009 to 2019, and sets medium-term goals for the next three years.
The team’s strategy takes the four long-term objectives of the national policy as a reference for the projects presented in the portfolio. Some projects aim at more than one line of work.
The objectives are as follows.
First: “The effective coordination of mine action at the national and territorial level permits timely and sustainable interventions.” This requires steps to:
- Develop information tools for management and operations;
- Promote territorial and/or sectoral technical planning scenarios; and
- Develop schemes for the regulation, quality and monitoring of mine action.
- Develop national technical capacities to accredit and monitor the work of civilian humanitarian deminers; and
- Design complementary responses for populations benefiting from humanitarian demining, according to communities’ expectations.
- Promoting the institutionalization of mine risk education in public scenarios and entities with a permanent presence in affected communities; and
- Developing field capacities to guarantee or contribute to the effective enjoyment of the rights of communities at risk.
- Developing field capacities to guarantee or contribute to the effective enjoyment of the rights of direct victims and their families, as established by law, such as by providing support for victims through comprehensive rehabilitation and an immediate response team for victim assistance; and
- Adjusting institutional and organizational options to take a rights and differential approach, such as by institutional strengthening to guarantee psychosocial attention.
Date Anti-Personnel Mine-Ban Treaty signed: Dec 03, 1997
Date of Anti-Personnel Mine-Ban Treaty ratification or accession: Sep 06, 2000
Consents to be bound by Protocol II of Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons: Mar 06, 2000
Consents to be bound by Amended Protocol II of Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons: Mar 06, 2000
Date signed Protocol V of Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons: N/A