Mine ban policy overview

Policy

The Republic of Colombia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified on 6 September 2000, becoming a State Party on 1 March 2001.

National implementation legislation, Law 759, came into effect on 25 July 2002.[1] In relation to the Mine Ban Treaty, Colombia has also passed laws on victim assistance, land restitution, and civilian humanitarian demining operations. Law 1421 of 2010 permits NGOs to conduct humanitarian demining operations in the country.[2] On 13 July 2011, the Colombian Presidential Program for Comprehensive Mine Action (Programa Presidencial de Acción Integral Contra Minas Antipersonales, PAICMA) published the draft regulatory decree of Law 1421.[3] Law 3750 of 10 October 2011 regulates demining by civil society organizations.[4]

Colombia submitted its 14th Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report in April 2014, which covered calendar year 2013.[5] Under national implementation measures, it stated that activities addressed by the treaty were criminalized by the penal code and said it had “nothing new to report.”[6]

Colombia has continued its activity in support of the Mine Ban Treaty at the highest levels. It hosted the Second Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty in Cartagena in November–December 2009. It attended the Third Review Conference in Maputo, Mozambique in June 2014 as well as the First Review Conference in Nairobi, Kenya in 2004. Colombia has participated in every Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, including the Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in December 2012. It has also attended almost all of the intersessional Standing Committee meetings held in Geneva since 1999, including in April 2014.

Colombia served as co-chair of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration in 2002–2003 and co-chaired the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education, and Mine Action Technologies in 2011.

Colombia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines, but has never submitted a CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 annual report.

The Colombian Campaign against Landmines (Campaña Colombiana contra Minas, CCCM) works to address the country’s extensive landmine problem.[7] It has called on the government to use military demining teams to clear coca crops because civilians employed by the Colombian government to eradicate the crops have become casualties due to explosive devices.[8]

In January 2014, Vice President Angelino Garzon called on Colombia’s principle armed group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo, FARC) as well as the National Liberation Army (Unión Camilista-Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN) to stop using landmines.[9]

On 4 April 2014, thousands of people in the different cities of the country joined the annual Remangate (“Roll-up”) action, first organized by Fundación Arcangeles in 2011, which involves people making the symbolic gesture of rolling up a pant leg in support of efforts against landmines and in solidarity with victims. President Juan Manuel Santos rolled up his pants during a meeting with victims of violence and Vice President Garzón and the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, also joined the campaign.[10]

In 2012, Colombian music star Juanes joined a high-level group supporting universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty.[11]

Production, transfer, use, and stockpiling

Colombia’s State Military Industry (Industria Militar, INDUMIL) ceased production of antipersonnel mines in September 1998 and destroyed its production equipment on 18 November 1999.[12]

The government of Colombia is not known to have ever exported antipersonnel mines.

Colombia reported completion of the destruction of its stockpile of 18,531 antipersonnel mines on 24 October 2004.[13]

Colombia has retained the same number of mines for training purposes since 2007. It declared a total of 586 MAP-1 mines retained for training purposes in its 2009 Article 7 report and has not provided a number in subsequent reports, but has instead declared “no change in the quantity of retained antipersonnel mines.”[14]

Colombia last destroyed or consumed mines in training activities in 2006, when 300 retained mines were destroyed in three separate events.[15]

Colombia has not reported in detail on the intended purposes and actual uses of its retained mines, as agreed by States Parties, but in 2011 Colombia informed the Monitor that the mines were “used for training the humanitarian demining units [of the armed forces], in the use of equipment for mine clearance.”[16]

Antipersonnel mines discovered during mine clearance are destroyed on site and not kept for training purposes.[17]

Transfer and production by non-state armed groups

In the past, there were reports of mines being transferred in illegal weapons shipments to non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in Colombia, but not since 2003.

NSAGs in Colombia are experts in the production of explosive devices. Both FARC and the ELN manufacture antipersonnel mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that are both victim-activated and remotely-controlled.

Colombia’s Article 7 reports contain information on mines produced by NSAGs by type, dimensions, fuzing, explosive type and content, and metallic content; the reports also include photographs and additional information. Twelve different design types are manufactured which include antipersonnel, antivehicle, and Claymore-type directional mines, as well as IEDs. The military states that the mines are sometimes fitted with antihandling devices.[18]

Use by non-state armed groups

FARC has continued to use antipersonnel mines and IEDs on a regular basis.[19] Government forces continued to recover mines from the ELN, which has been documented as an antipersonnel mine user. [20] In the past decade, paramilitary forces have also used antipersonnel mines, most notably the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia until its disbandment in 2006.[21]

FARC is probably the most prolific user of antipersonnel mines among rebel groups anywhere in the world. Peace talks between the government of Colombia and FARC continued in Havana in the first half of 2014. The CCCM has called for a special agreement to be reached to demine areas along Colombia’s border areas and southern provinces where the fighting with FARC has been most intense.[22]

Colombian NSAGs lay mines near their campsites or bases, on other paths that lead to areas of strategic importance (such as paths to main transit routes along mountain ridges) and to protect caches of explosives, weapons, medicine, and clothing.[23] NSAGs, predominantly FARC, also plant antipersonnel mines in or near coca fields to prevent eradication efforts, causing casualties among coca eradicators.[24]

The areas of Colombia where armed conflict has been intense and landmines have been planted often coincide with areas from which internally displaced persons (IDPs) fled and to which they are now seeking to return. In September 2013, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that, according to the Ministry of Agriculture’s Land Restitution Unit, the government has recorded landmine incidents in approximately 70% of the municipalities where IDPs have filed land restitution claims.[25]

In July 2014, a HRW report on serious rights violations committed by FARC guerrillas in attacks on the Pacific port city of Tumaco confirmed more than 120 new victims of landmines since 2011, more than in any other municipality in Colombia.[26]

Media reports and statements by the armed forces show how NSAGs continued to use landmines in 2014 despite ongoing peace talks, while the Colombian Army has continued to recover mines from FARC and the ELN in its operations.

In July 2014, three Colombian soldiers were killed by landmines reportedly placed by FARC forces in Norte de Santander department.[27] In April 2014, a Colombian soldier was killed and 13 wounded when their convoy hit a mine on a road between the towns of Tibu and El Tarra in the Catatumbo area of Norte de Santander.[28]

In February 2014, a civilian was killed by a suspected FARC landmine in the Yarumal region of Antioquia department.[29]

In March 2014, FARC militants allegedly placed landmines near voting stations in the Solano area of Caquetá department.[30] Also in March, landmines reportedly used by FARC wounded two farmers in Acandi in Choco department.[31]

In June 2014, Colombian forces reported the discovery and destruction of a FARC arms cache of 660 pounds of explosives, as well as an IED “minefield” and 1,000 non-electric detonators.[32]

In July, 1,500 landmines were reportedly seized from a FARC weapons cache.[33] Colombian forces reported the capture of 76 landmines from FARC forces in September 2014.[34]

In October 2014, several tons of IED-making equipment was seized in the municipality of Ricaurte in Nariño department, including explosives and detonators.[35] An October 2014 raid by Colombian forces on an ELN training camp reportedly recovered 86 “booby trap” mines and various other mine components.[36] Four victim-activated explosive devices reportedly laid by FARC guerrillas were found in trees in Huila department in the south of the country in September 2014, a practice first reported in 2012.[37]

Incidents of FARC and ELN landmines were also reported in 2013, including the army’s discovery of two weapons caches containing a total of 7,345 antipersonnel mines in the municipality of Albania in the Caquetá department in April.[38]

Policy

The Republic of Colombia signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008.

In April 2014, a government representative said that “inter-ministerial consultations” were taking place on the convention.[1] This is believed to be the “final phase” of the domestic ratification process after which the instrument of ratification can be deposited with the UN in New York. Law 1604 approving ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions was enacted on 12 December 2012, concluding a lengthy process of legislative approval.[2] In 2013, the ratification legislation underwent a Constitutional Court review to ensure its compliance with the Constitution of Colombia. Colombia has provided regular updates on its ratification process.[3]

Law 1604 incorporates the Convention on Cluster Munitions into domestic law, but separate implementation legislation is also planned.

Colombia participated in several meetings of the Oslo Process that produced the convention and said that its decision to join stemmed from its concern about the “humanitarian impact” of cluster munitions.[4]

Colombia has continued to actively engage in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It has participated in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention, including the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in Lusaka, Zambia in September 2013, where it gave an update on ratification.[5] Colombia has attended every intersessional meeting of the convention in Geneva, including in April 2014, where it made statements on universalization and victim assistance. Colombia participated in a regional workshop on cluster munitions in Santiago, Chile in December 2013.

Colombia has voted in favor of UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions condemning the Syrian government’s use of cluster munitions, including Resolution 68/182 on 18 December 2013, which expressed “outrage” at Syria’s “continued widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights…including those involving the use of…cluster munitions.”[6]

The Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines (Campaña Colombiana contra Minas, CCCM) promotes the Convention on Cluster Munitions, including Colombia’s ratification.

Colombia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Interpretive issues

Colombia provided its views on certain important issues related to interpretation and implementation of the convention in a March 2010 response to a Monitor questionnaire.[7] The government “absolutely rejects and prohibits any manner of transfer or storage of foreign cluster bombs in Colombian territory” as well as “military operations with states not party to the convention in which they carry out exercises or actions prohibited by the Convention.” It also prohibits investment in production of cluster munitions. In addition, “Colombia considers that the countries that are still not a part of this convention can take steps toward honoring the spirit of the convention.” Colombia reaffirmed its position on all these interpretive issues in a May 2011 response to the Monitor.[8]

Production and transfer

In a May 2011 letter to the Monitor, Colombia affirmed that it has never produced cluster munitions.[9] In the past, it imported cluster munitions from Chile, Israel, and the United States (US). In 2010, Colombia stated that it has not transferred cluster munition “to a third state.”[10]

In 2012, Chile’s Ministry of National Defense provided the Monitor with a document detailing the export of a total of 191 cluster bombs to Colombia in 1994 (55 250kg cluster bombs, four air-dropped 250kg cluster bombs, and one fin stabilizer for a CB-250kg cluster bomb) and in 1997 (132 250kg cluster bombs).[11]

Past use

In May 2009, Colombia’s Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos acknowledged that the Colombian Armed Forces have used cluster munitions in the past “to destroy clandestine airstrips and camps held by illegal armed groups” but noted the submunitions sometimes did not explode and “became a danger to the civilian population.”[12]

In an April 2012 letter to the Monitor, a Ministry of External Relations official stated that the Colombian Air Force decided to stop using cluster munitions after an evaluation found that they did not meet the operational requirements or needs of Colombia.[13]

In 2011, the Monitor reported on the case of alleged cluster munition use by the Colombian Air Force at Santo Domingo in the municipality of Tame (Arauca) on 13 December 1998.[14] At the time, the incident was attributed to a car bomb detonated by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo, FARC), but a subsequent investigation showed that a World War II-era “cluster adapter” of US origin was used to disperse several 20lb (9kg) fragmentation bombs during the attack.[15]

In its April 2012 letter to the Monitor, the Ministry of External Relations noted that separate judicial processes concerning the events of 13 December 1998 were before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Supreme Court of Justice and said “we do not find it appropriate to make pronouncements in the Monitor reports while the judicial process is still taking place and while there is not a clear definition of all the aspects related to the case.”[16]

On 18 December 2012, the Inter-American Human Rights Court published its 30 November 2012 verdict on the Santo Domingo case, which found: (1) the ANM1A2 bomb meets the definition of a cluster munition; and (2) the bomb was used by the Colombian Air Force.[17] Under Section 210 of the verdict, the Inter-American Human Rights Court concluded, “taking into consideration the conclusions of the sentence of the Penal Court 12 and confirmed by the Superior Tribunal in its sentence of 15 June 2011, that the ANM1A2 device landed at 10:02:09 in the morning of 13 December 1998 fell on the main street of Santo Domingo, causing the death of 17 alleged victims and injuring 27 others.”[18]

According to the Inter-American Human Rights Court decision, Colombia has victims of cluster bombs and should be viewed as a state that should implement the Convention on Cluster Munitions provisions requiring victim assistance.

Together with Santo Tomas University, the CCCM conducted a detailed study on the characteristics of the bombs used in Santo Domingo that concluded they fall within the definition of a cluster munition in the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[19]

Stockpiling and destruction

Colombia announced the completion of the destruction of its stockpile of cluster munitions on 24 November 2009.[20] In total, Colombia destroyed 72 cluster munitions (31 ARC-32 and 41 CB-250K cluster bombs) containing 10,832 submunitions in 2009.[21]

Colombia confirmed in 2012 that it has not retained any cluster munitions or submunitions for training or development purposes.[22]

Contamination and Impact

Overall Mine Action Performance: AVERAGE[1]

The Republic of Colombia’s mine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) problem is the result of decades of conflict with non-state armed groups (NSAGs). The precise extent of contamination remains unclear, though the national database contains information that at least 30 of the 32 departments may have a mine threat. The most affected departments are believed to be Antioquia, Arauca, Caquetá, Cauca, Meta, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, and Tolima.[2]

In 2013, the Presidential Program for Comprehensive Mine Action (Programa Presidencial para la Acción Integral contra Minas Antipersonal, PAICMA) received reports of 2,672 “events.”[3] These events occurred in 28 departments.[4] Antioquia and Meta made up almost one-third of the 2013 total. Each event is recorded in the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database at PAICMA, which continues to undergo clean-up. By the end of 2013, half of the database entries had been cleaned up.[5]

Colombia has stated that all existing mines and minefields laid by the Colombian Armed Forces prior to entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty were cleared before its initial Article 5 deadline of 1 March 2011.[6] Remaining contamination is due to mine laying by NSAGs whose continued and irregular use of improvised devices makes it very difficult to obtain an accurate picture of contamination.[7] Grant Salisbury, HALO Trust’s Program Manager for Colombia, has commented that “Colombia is the first country that we’ve worked in, indeed the first country that I know of, where all the mines used are improvised (explosive devices) – every other country where we work, the vast majority of mines come from state factories.”[8]

The possibility of conducting survey is limited by security conditions.[9] As things stand, the full extent of the contamination is therefore unknown.[10] The Organization of American States (OAS) has also reported that no mined areas have been found in Colombia that could be considered as high- or medium-density minefields. Nuisance mines have been found in schools, water sources, pathways, and stream crossings in order to allegedly intimidate or displace the local population.[11]

In peace negotiations with the FARC in La Habana, Cuba, government negotiators announced that a pre-agreement had been reached whereby the FARC committed to support humanitarian demining and that, once a final peace agreement has been signed, demining of areas affected by mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) will be conducted.[12] Progress will depend on the continuation of the peace process by the newly elected government starting in August 2014.

Contamination also arises from abandoned or illegal ammunition storage areas, clashes between NSAGs and the Colombian Armed Forces, and aerial bombings.[13] Explosive devices and other ERW are found in former battle areas, bombing sites, drug routes, and areas where the government is seeking to destroy coca plantations.[14] In 2013, only 6% of the 368 casualties recorded in IMSMA were from UXO.[15]

Mine Action Program

Established on 30 July 2002 under Law No. 759/2002, the National Interministerial Commission on Antipersonnel Mine Action (Comisión Intersectorial Nacional para la Acción contra Minas Antipersonal, CINAMAP) is the National Mine Action Authority responsible for implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, including development of a national plan, policy decisions, and coordination of international assistance. Two new key actors for mine action in Colombia are the Victims Unit and the Land Restitution Unit, neither of which existed when CINAMAP was created. Changes to the law are needed in order for them to become full members of CINAMAP.[16]

PAICMA, the technical secretary of CINAMAP, is responsible for coordinating implementation of the 2009–2019 Integrated Mine Action Plan, with the aims of minimizing the socio-economic impact of mines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and UXO, and of implementing sustainable development programs in affected communities.[17] The Interagency Humanitarian Demining Group (Instancia Interinstitucional de Desminado Humanitario), commonly referred to as the Instancia Interinstitucional, is the government’s decision-making body for humanitarian demining, comprising the director of PAICMA, the Minister of Defense, and the Inspector General of the army.[18] It approves accreditation, national standards, tasks, and clearance priorities. The OAS and the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) are advisors to the Instancia Interinstitucional on accreditation and national standards.[19]

The Armed Forces Humanitarian Demining Battalion (Fuerzas Armadas del Batallón de Desminado Humanitario, BIDES) has been conducting humanitarian demining since 2005, when it began clearance of 35 military bases. It completed the clearance in 2010.[20]

In September 2013, HALO Trust became the first NGO to conduct demining in Colombia when it began clearance operations at the El Morro minefield, Nariño municipality, in Antioquia department.[21] The other municipality assigned to HALO is San Rafael, also in Antioquia.[22]

The OAS serves as the monitoring body for humanitarian demining in Colombia.[23] The OAS is responsible for managing and implementing a national monitoring system on behalf of the Instancia Interinstitucional.[24] The OAS also serves as an advisor to the Instancia Interinstitucional on accreditation of NGOs in Colombia.[25]

Since 2010, UNMAS has been advising PAICMA on a legal and technical mine action framework to allow NGOs to conduct mine clearance. UNMAS also assists PAICMA in accreditation and monitoring procedures as well as management processes.[26]

During 2013, OAS, UNMAS, and PAICMA provided technical assistance to the Humanitarian Demining Battalion on development of standing operating procedures (SOPs) for non-technical survey (NTS), quality management, manual and mechanical clearance, and mine detection dogs, as well as on training and skills.[27]

Land Release

The Instancia Interinstitucional has approved interventions by demining organizations in 19 municipalities in the departments of Antioquia, Bolivar, Caldas, and Santander for clearance “events.” The BIDES is conducting clearance operations in some of these areas.

Municipalities prioritized in 2013 were Carmen de Viboral, Cocorná, La Unión, Nariño, San Luis, San Rafael, Sonsón, Granada, and San Francisco in Antioquia; Córdoba, San Juan Nepomuceno, Carmen de Bolívar, San Jacinto, and Zambrano in Bolívar; Samaná in Caldas; and Barrancabermeja, Sabana de Torres, Carmen de Chucurí, and San Vicente de Chucurí in Santander department.[28]

In 2013, NTS was conducted in eight of the 19 municipalities prioritized for clearance; in addition, the municipality of San Carlos, which had been previously declared as “Free of Suspicion of contamination from landmines in 2012,” had NTS as part of Colombia’s Residual Risk Policy.[29]

During 2013, the clearance capacity of the BIDES was increased by adding two platoons to the existing eight. According to Colombia’s latest Article 7 report, the BIDES has 10 platoons with 30 independent demining teams and three mechanical teams with two Hitachi minesweepers, two Bozena mine sweepers, and one Mini Wolf donated by Japan.[30] It is planned that two platoons will be added each year until 2020.[31]

The BIDES continues to clear a significant number of suspected hazardous areas that do not contain any explosive ordnance. In 2013, it almost doubled productivity compared to 2012, clearing almost 0.47km² but only destroying in the process 170 explosive items.[32] The number of mines destroyed has not been reported.

Mine clearance by the BIDES 2013[33]

In 2013, HALO operated in two municipalities clearing 5,200m², destroying in the process 11 IEDs and four items of UXO.[34]

Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the 10-year extension granted by States Parties in 2010), Colombia is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2021.

Colombia’s extension request projected that all mined areas will be released by 2020, even though “it is not possible to establish an operational plan which determines the exact number of squads, squadrons and municipalities where the organizations must operate.”[35] Colombia’s 2011–2013 operational plan was to address 6,000 dangerous and mined areas in 14 of 660 mine-suspected municipalities covering an estimated 15km².[36] Colombia did not reach its targets.

Colombia was due to submit an operational plan for 2014–2020 at the Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties in December 2013. On that occasion, PAICMA informed States Parties that it would present the operational plan at the Third Review Conference in Maputo in July 2014.[37] The plan is to contemplate the increase in areas susceptible to demining, the annual projection for demining, as well as the techniques to be applied; and other relevant aspects for planning and resource mobilization.[38]

 Support for Mine Action

Mine action in Colombia during 2013 received support from Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, the European Union (EU), Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, the United States (US), the OAS, and UNMAS. In 2013, Colombia received US$11.3 million of international funding from nine donors (the US, the EU, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, and Belgium). The EU and the US accounted for about 60% of all international funding.[39] Canada, Japan, and the US supported national capacity through the OAS Mine Action Program.

The BIDES visited the Croatian Mine Action Centre, exchanged experience on information management with Ecuador, and sought technical assistance on use of mine detection dogs (MDDs) in demining from Bosnia and Herzegovina.[40]

In Colombia’s 2013 national budget, PAICMA was allocated the sum of Col$3.29 billion, of which Col$3.14 billion had been “committed” by 30 November 2013, corresponding to 95% expenditure of the national mine action budget.[41] PAICMA transferred more than half of its budget (Col$1.7 billion) to the Ministry of Defense for strengthening of the BIDES.[42] Additionally, as part of its International Cooperation Strategy Colombia received US$6.7 million through PAICMA and US$180,000 from the private sector.[43]

Recommendations

·         Colombia should significantly accelerate the pace of identifying and clearing mined areas.

·         IMSMA database clean-up should also be considered an operational priority.

Action points based on findings

·         Simplify processes for mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors to access their rights under the Victim’s Law, including ensuring that out of pocket costs for a range of services are covered within insurance systems.

·         Dedicate resources to the full implementation of a range of new policies and programs, including those promoting the rights of persons with disabilities and ensuring the availability of age- and gender-appropriate services.

·         Make sure that large government economic inclusion programs that target armed conflict victims are adjusted to include mine/ERW survivors.

Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of Colombia is responsible for a significant number of landmine and ERW survivors who are in need. Cluster munition victims have also been reported. Colombia has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty and as a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Casualties[1]

Casualties Overview

In 2013, the Presidential Program for Comprehensive Action Against Antipersonnel Mines (Programa Presidencial para la Acción Integral contra Minas Antipersonal, PAICMA) recorded 368 casualties from antipersonnel mines and ERW.[2]

There were 203 military casualties in 2013.[3] Civilian casualties (165) made up 45% of the total, the same percentage as in 2012; this was an increase compared to 37% in 2011 and other recent years.[4] More than a third (57, or 35%) of civilian casualties were children (43 boys; 14 girls). This continued the steady trend of increasing child casualties as a percentage of annual civilian casualties first observed for 2010 when children were 14% of civilian casualties, increasing to 22% in 2011 and 30% in 2012. The percentage of child casualties in 2013 was more than double the percentage in 2010. Child casualties have also increased in absolute terms since 2010 when there were 28 child casualties. There were five casualties among women, a dramatic decrease from the 32 women casualties in 2012.[5] The remainder of the casualties and the majority of recorded civilian casualties (64%) were men.

In 2013, there were 27 civilian casualties among manual coca eradicators employed by the Program for the Eradication of Illicit Cultivation (Programas contra Cultivos Ilícitos, PCI).[6] This was a significant decrease compared with the 55 casualties among coca eradicators in 2012 but similar to the number (21) reported for 2011. In 2013, PAICMA continued to work with the PCI, as required by the Attorney General’s Office, to ensure that safety standards, a security protocol, and preventive education were developed and implemented during manual coca eradication. Fluctuations in the annual number of coca eradicator casualties were due to the changing nature of armed conflict and varying tactics employed to counter drug eradication measures.[7] The number of casualties among security forces (police or military) occurring during coca eradication remained unknown through May 2014.[8]

From 2006 through the end of 2013, there were at least 369 civilian casualties recorded among coca eradicators; 42 died, 324 were injured, and it was unknown whether the remaining three casualties survived.[9]

The overall mine/ERW casualty total in 2013 (368) represents a significant decrease (25%) in annual casualties as compared with the 496 casualties recorded in 2012. Between 2006 and 2010, the Monitor identified a trend of declining annual casualty rates that had been ongoing since the peak of almost 1,200 casualties recorded annually in 2005 and 2006.[10] In 2011 and 2012, the decline slowed with annual casualty totals remaining fairly consistent, at 496 and 549 casualties per year, with a drop once again in 2013.

Between 1982 and the end of 2013, PAICMA recorded 10,626 casualties (2,157 killed; 8,469 injured).[11] Civilians accounted for 38% (4,122) of the total and children accounted for 25% (1,070) of civilian casualties. Casualties have been recorded in 31 of Colombia’s 32 departments. The departments of Antioquia, Meta, Caquetá, Norte de Santander, and Nariño registered the highest number of casualties and accounted for more than half of the total (54%). As of 31 December 2013, 3,261 mine/ERW victims were registered with Colombia’s Registry of Victims.[12]

Cluster munition casualties

As identified in Case No. 12.416 (Santo Domingo Massacre versus the Republic of Colombia) heard before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 17 civilians were killed and 27 were injured during a cluster munition strike in Santo Domingo, Colombia on 13 December 1998.[13]

Victim Assistance

There were at least 8,469 mine/ERW survivors in Colombia as of the end of 2013.[14]

Victim assistance since 1999[15]

Since monitoring began in 1999, mine/ERW survivors in Colombia have faced serious obstacles in accessing emergency medical attention, ongoing medical care, and physical rehabilitation because these services have been available only in major cities while most mine incidents occur in rural and remote areas, as well as in conflict zones. In 1999, social and economic inclusion and psychological support for survivors was virtually nonexistent, even in most major cities, with the exception of two facilities in Bogota which have consistently provided comprehensive rehabilitation services that include psychological support.

During the period, several actors worked to improve and increase the available of rehabilitation services. Among these efforts, a comprehensive rehabilitation center opened in the department of Caqueta while rehabilitation centers in Antioquia and Valle del Cauca improved to include psychological support and vocational rehabilitation. In 2006, the ICRC began a mine action program in Colombia that included collecting data on mine/ERW casualties, helping survivors to access victim assistance, and strengthening the physical rehabilitation sector to improve the quality and accessibility of these services.

Through the work of national and international NGOs and Colombian authorities, more than 60 local disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) and survivor associations have been formed since 1999, gradually increasing opportunities for peer-to-peer support as well as socio-economic inclusion. However, most associations and DPOs have had limited impact due to a lack of capacity and financial support.

Decreasing international funding for NGOs since 2012 limited their efforts to fill gaps in existing care and to facilitate access by paying for transportation and accommodations.[16]

Throughout the period, a series of laws have outlined the rights of survivors of mines and ERW as victims of terrorism or conflict through a process termed the “Route of Attention” (“Ruta de Atencion”) for mine/ERW victims, which is the legal framework through which victims can access their rights to compensation, rehabilitation, and other components of assistance by registering as victims and having the cost of assistance paid for or reimbursed through special government funds.[17] However, complicated procedures to register as a mine victim and delayed reimbursements have meant that many survivors could not access the care they needed or had to depend on support from the ICRC and NGOs to facilitate access or pay for services. The National Victims’ Law of 2011 guarantees comprehensive assistance to all mine survivors as reparations for violations of their rights resulting from ongoing armed conflict. Coordination of its implementation is the responsibility of the Unit for the Assistance and Comprehensive Reparation of Victims (Unidad para la Atención y Reparación Integral a Víctimas, or Victim’s Unit). However, as of 2013 most survivors had not felt the impact of this law.

Government coordination of victim assistance began in Colombia in 2002 through the Antipersonnel Mines Observatory, which was replaced in June 2007 with PAICMA. Throughout the period, victim assistance coordination mechanisms have varied and at times, have lacked continuity, a result of changes and restructuring within PAICMA and changes with the legal frameworks that outline the rights and assistance available to mine/ERW survivors.

Victim assistance in 2013

Few changes were reported in the overall availability or access to services and programs for mine/ERW survivors. The launch of a government program to increase access to psychological assistance for armed conflict victims created expectations for improvements in this care that were not met during the year. While an increasing number of mine/ERW survivors were registered with the Victim’s Unit and registered for healthcare assistance, the full impact of the Victim’s Law was still to be felt by most victims as existing structures were adapted to allow for its implementation. National and international NGOs continued to fill gaps, particularly in transportation to access services, in economic and social inclusion programs, and in psychological support, which should have been covered through the benefits provided by the government. In 2013, there was an increased focus on gender- and age-appropriate assistance though this was mostly at the level of policy with a limited impact in practice.

On 27 February 2013, Law 1618, the national law to guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities, aligned with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), was approved and a national disability policy was approved in December to ensure the implementation of the law.

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2013, PAICMA carried out four different activities to collect information about the needs of mine/ERW survivors while informing them on how to register for services and benefits. As part of the process to develop the National Plan for the Comprehensive Assistance for Mine/ERW Victims (National Mine/ERW Victims Plan), PAICMA convened two sets of meetings: 1) one national meeting and two regional meetings with mine/ERW victims and; 2) one national meeting and two regional meetings with other stakeholders—local authorities, service providers, and NGOs. The purpose of all six meetings was to identify the needs of survivors, determine the barriers preventing them from accessing services, and finding ways to overcome these barriers through the National Mine/ERW Victims Plan.

PAICMA also participated in three ad hoc meetings with survivor networks, two convened by the NGO Pastoral Social and the other by the survivor network in the department of Santander. In the meetings, survivors presented the challenges in accessing assistance and PAICMA briefed participants on how to access their rights and services. PAICMA also participated in all five meetings of the Antioquia departmental victim assistance coordinating mechanism in 2013. In addition, PAICMA met directly with some new survivors and/or family members of persons killed by landmines to determine their needs and orientate them on how to register for benefits. PAICMA also worked with local authorities and NGOs to strengthen their capacity to work directly with survivors to orientate them in how to access benefits.[18]

Several NGOs, including the Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines (Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas, CCCM), Handicap International (HI), Fundación REI, and Center for Comprehensive Rehabilitation Colombia (Centro Integral de Rehabilitación Colombia, CIREC) continued to collect information on an ongoing basis about the needs of mine/ERW victims and other persons with disabilities. In all cases, NGOs reported that this information was shared with PAICMA for inclusion in the mine/ERW victim database.[19] In 2013, CIREC instituted a new system with its “Seeds of Peace” network of local associations of persons with disabilities and mine/ERW survivors to measure the needs of persons with disabilities on an ongoing basis.[20]

NGOs and service providers reported that, by 2012, the mine/ERW victim database managed by PAICMA was more complete than in some previous years, most especially for victims of recent mine/ERW incidents as a result of the improvement of data collection efforts in recent years. This was a necessary step for mine/ERW survivors to access government-supported services and programs.[21] However, in 2013 it was still believed that some victims were not included in the database. The reasons for this were thought to be either because they were unaware of their rights and how to register; they feared repercussions from non-state armed groups if they reported the incident; or they feared being accused of handling IEDs by the armed forces.[22]

During 2013, PAICMA worked to share its data on mine/ERW victims with the registry managed by the Victim’s Unit.[23] As of the end of the year, the process of migrating data was underway and was expected to be completed by June of 2014. As of December 2013, 3,261 mine/ERW victims were registered in the Registry of Victims;[24] this figure was less than one-third of the total number of mine/ERW victims recorded by PAICMA by the same date. HI reported a need to improve the sharing and incorporation of data between PAICMA’s database, the Registry of Victims, and other government databases on persons with disabilities.[25] The CCCM, while recognizing the great efforts made in 2013 to record mine/ERW victims by PAICMA and the Victim’s Unit, identified the need for greater transparency in this consolidation of data and an expedited effort to ensure that all victims had equal access to their rights.[26]

In 2012, PAICMA began working with the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) to adapt and expand the latest version of the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database so it could be used as a tool to monitor the needs of mine/ERW victims and their ability to access their rights.[27] Throughout 2013, GICHD worked with PAICMA to add the new module to the IMSMA database with the expectation that its use would begin in 2014.[28]

In 2013, the Epidemiological Monitoring System (Sistema de Vigilancia Epidemiológica, SIVIGILA) in the department of Antioquia continued to record both mine incidents and the victim assistance services provided to survivors. During the year, efforts were made to expand this component of SIVIGILA to the departments of Meta, Cauca, Caquetá, Nariño, and Córdoba, however these activities were suspended because it was determined that there was a lack of human resources in those departments for a successful expansion.[29]

Victim assistance coordination[30]

In 2013, PAICMA continued to lead coordination and planning efforts specifically related to improving assistance to mine/ERW victims. The Victim’s Unit held numerous meetings of its executive committee and 10 different sub-committees, most of which had the purpose of fulfilling commitments to compensate and assist victims of armed conflict, including mine/ERW victims. In addition, Colombia has an active National Disability Council as well as department and municipal councils in which victim assistance actors participate, working to advance the rights of persons with disabilities.

Following a series of national and regional consultations in the second half of 2013, PAICMA developed the areas of work for the “National Plan for Comprehensive Assistance to Victims of Landmines, ERW and IEDs” with financial support from the European Union.[31] As of April 2014, the final draft of the plan had not yet been shared with the NGOs that participated in the consultations. Also, there was no system in place to monitor the plan’s implementation.[32] No resources had been dedicated to the plan’s implementation during the first half of 2014.[33]

In an effort to decentralize victim assistance, PAICMA also worked with local authorities to develop departmental Routes of Attention for mine/ERW victims in Putumayo, Nariño, Cauca, and Tolima. It also developed Routes of Attention for mine/ERW victims of vulnerable groups such as indigenous populations as well as children and adolescents.[34] Building on this experience and through the information shared during an experts meeting held in Geneva in May 2013, co-hosted with Austria, Colombia published the “Guide for the Comprehensive Assistance for Boys, Girls and Adolescent Mine Victims” that was presented in Maputo in June 2014.[35]

There were also several bilateral and multi-stakeholder coordination meetings among NGOs, service providers, and survivor networks in 2013.[36] These meetings were effective in improving the day-to-day situation for mine/ERW survivors by optimizing the use of scarce resources, increasing knowledge of the overall situation of mine/ERW victims, and expediting assistance for urgent cases.[37]

In 2013, PAICMA continued to participate as a member of the technical subcommittees of the Executive Committee of the Victim’s Unit for Reparations, for the implementation of the Victim’s Law: 1) Assistance and Care; 2) Information Systems; 3) Administrative Compensation; 4) Prevention, Protection and Guarantees of No Repetition; 5) Differentiated Approaches (focused on specific needs of persons with disabilities and indigenous populations as sub-sets of victims); 6) Rehabilitation (including physical and psychosocial); and 7) Restitution of Land. PAICMA reported that their participation increased the visibility of the specific needs of mine/ERW victims, especially in the sub-committees on Administrative Compensation and Rehabilitation.[38]

The CCCM participated regularly in meetings of the sub-committee on Prevention, Protection and Guarantees of No Repetition.[39] In September 2013, the CCCM was elected to participate in the National Committee of Victim Participation as one of six designated national organizations in defense of the rights of victims.[40] HI participated in departmental sub-committees on Information Systems and Rehabilitation.[41]

The National Plan for the Comprehensive Reparation and Assistance for Victims of Violence, under the Victim’s Law, was adopted in August 2012.[42] The plan was supported by an implementation strategy, guidelines, a budget, and a monitoring mechanism.[43] Ongoing monitoring of the plan is the responsibility of each thematic sub-committee under the Executive Committee.[44] In order to implement the plan as relevant to mine/ERW victims, during 2013 PAICMA updated the national mine/ERW victim Route of Attention to include the assistance and reparations guaranteed through the Victim’s Law. This included at least 24 adjustments covering issues such as how to register and how to access healthcare benefits, education benefits, vocational training, and compensation. Adjustments covered matters relating to survivors of mine/ERW incidents as well as family members of survivors and family members of people killed by these weapons.[45]

Representatives of both PAICMA and the Victim’s Unit also participated in meetings of the National Disability Council.[46] In 2013, the National Disability Council worked to develop the new national policy on disability and social inclusion (“Conpes 166”), approved 6 December 2013, to implement Colombia’s disability law in line with the CRPD.[47] PAICMA contributed a set of specific recommendations and actions from the perspective of the needs of mine/ERW survivors with disabilities.[48]

In April 2014, Colombia hosted “Bridges between Worlds,” a global conference that aimed to advance the understanding of the international community regarding the place of assistance to victims of mines and other explosive remnants of war in broader contexts.[49]

Colombia provided detailed updates on the progress and challenges for victim assistance at the Thirteenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in December 2013, at the Convention on Cluster Munitions intersessional meetings in Geneva in April 2014, and at the Third Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty in Maputo in June 2014, as well as through its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report submitted for calendar year 2013.[50]

Survivor inclusion and participation

In 2013, mine/ERW survivors and their representative organizations participated in the consultations to develop the National Mine/ERW Victims’ Plan.[51] During part of the year, four mine/ERW survivors participated on the Victim’s Law National Committee for the Participation of Victims and on the departmental and local committees in Santander.[52] Survivors were also represented on the sub-committees on Prevention, Protection and Guarantees of No Repetition and on Community Organizations for the implementation of the Victim’s Law.[53]

Survivor participation in the coordination and planning of victim assistance was seen to be more effective in 2013 than in previous years; survivor representatives were more knowledgeable and better able to contribute substantively. PAICMA continued a pilot project (started in 2012) to strengthen the capacity of organizations of survivors, providing technical support to three associations in 2013.[54]

In 2014, representatives of National Network of Landmine Victims and Survivors’ Organizations, formed in December 2013, participated in the national committee for the ongoing Colombian peace process and participated at the peace negotiations in Havana to represent the perspectives of mine/ERW survivors.[55]

In 2013, mine/ERW survivors were represented on disability coordination mechanisms at the departmental level in Bolivar, Antioquia, and Santander.[56] Survivors were also represented in national disability coordination via the CIREC “Seeds of Peace” network.[57] In 2014, mine/ERW survivors who were elected to join municipal disability coordination in eight locations contributed to the development of implementing guidelines for the 2013 Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[58] In 2013, PAICMA had informed survivors about their right to participate in such disability coordination as persons with disabilities.[59] In 2014, the national network of survivors’ organizations assisted member associations in applying for membership in their municipalities.[60]

Numerous survivor associations and NGOs included mine/ERW survivors in the provision of assistance to other mine/ERW survivors. Local associations of survivors established by CIREC provided peer support, community-based rehabilitation, and other social inclusion activities.[61] The Self-Sustaining Farm for the Rehabilitation of Victims (Granja Autosostenible para la Rehabilitación de Víctimas, ASUTAL) reported the inclusion of survivors in providing assistance such as transportation, food, and lodging to other survivors.[62] Fundación REI reported the involvement of mine/ERW survivors in providing peer support, humanitarian aid, and transportation to access services.[63]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities[64]

Emergency and ongoing medical care

Following several interventions in recent years by the government and international NGOs and continued assistance by the ICRC, emergency medical response was seen to be more effective in 2013 as compared with previous years.[65] The CCCM estimated that emergency care was effective some 90% of the time. Shortcomings remained in providing thorough examinations while providing emergency care to prevent future complications and in informing patients to register as mine/ERW survivors, a necessary step to ensure their rights and the availability of government support for the costs of rehabilitation.[66]

The ICRC found that the number of survivors who lacked insurance or other means to cover the costs of their emergency medical care and physical rehabilitation was decreasing. This was found to be the result of efforts by the ICRC, NGOs, survivor associations, and PAICMA to assist mine/ERW survivors in registering for government benefits, including to the national health insurance system.[67]

PAICMA coordinated with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection to identify and resolve gaps in coverage for mine/ERW victims under current health insurance schemes, such as transportation and other out-of-pocket costs like co-payments for medicine and other treatment, to fulfill the requirements of the Victim’s Law.[68]

Physical rehabilitation, including prosthetics

Some organizations providing physical rehabilitation, such as CIREC, or working to facilitate access to such services for mine survivors reported an increase in the number of beneficiaries or geographic coverage (see table above). However, other organizations working with mine survivors and persons with disabilities saw little change overall in the availability, quality, or access to physical rehabilitation in 2013. Several organizations noted that bureaucratic delays or long wait lists meant that many survivors could be waiting up to a year for services while there could be delays of up to six months in getting a prosthetic fitted after an initial consultation.[69]

The CCCM found there to be significant gaps in getting assistance for hearing and sight impairments[70] and ASUTAL reported a decline in the quality of care in the Santander department.[71] International organizations trained rehabilitation professionals to improve gender- and age-appropriate care and to prepare survivors for return to everyday activities. However, users of these services had not observed an impact from this training.[72]

In 2013, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the ICRC continued to work with various physical rehabilitation providers to improve the quality of care so as to meet national standards established in 2010; the deadline for service providers to meet these standards and continue their operations was originally set for December 2013, but revisions to the law extended this deadline into 2014.[73]

In order to address the lack of trained rehabilitation specialists, the ICRC supported the training of several Colombians at the University of Don Bosco in El Salvador as well as the professional prosthetics and orthotics course started in cooperation with the National Apprentice Service in 2010.[74]

Economic inclusion

In 2013, several economic benefits for mine/ERW victims, including one-time reparation payments, death benefits in some cases, and monthly pensions were added in adjustments made to align Colombia’s Route of Attention” to the Victim’s Law.[75] No information was reported on the number of victims who had received these benefits by the end of the year.

Organizations of survivors or those working with survivors reported a lack of assistance from the government in gaining employment or starting income-generating projects.[76] For example, in the department of Santander, while the department government had a significant budget to generate employment for armed conflict victims, no mine/ERW victims gained employment through this project in 2013.[77] Some opportunities to participate in income-generating opportunities were available for mine/ERW victims through NGOs but the availability of these projects was insufficient to meet the need.[78]

In 2014, six departmental governments included financial resources for income-generating projects for survivors in their budgets for implementing mine action at the departmental level following advocacy efforts by local members of the national survivor network.[79]

Psychological support, including peer support

Two new mental health programs were launched by the government in 2013 under the Victim’s Law. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection launched the “Program for Psycho-social and Comprehensive Health of Victims” (“Programa de Atención Psicosocial y Salud Integral a Víctimas,” PAPSIVI), implemented through national and local actors (such as health centers) to diagnose the psychosocial needs of armed conflict on individuals, families, and communities, including mine/ERW victims.[80] The program was designed in consultation with armed conflict victims, including mine/ERW victims.[81] As part of the program, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection also began providing a virtual course in psychosocial support for armed conflict victims for health professionals throughout Colombia.[82]

The second program, launched by the Victim’s Unit, provided group therapy to registered armed conflict victims in communities throughout Colombia and provided referrals to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection for victims in need of individualized care.[83]

While NGOs working with survivors observed an increase in government capacity for addressing the psychological needs of mine/ERW survivors,[84] the expected impact of psychological support programs had not yet been felt by the end of 2013. NGOs and survivor associations were still seen as the greatest source of psychological support for mine/ERW survivors, mostly through peer support.[85] Objectives of the PAPSIVI program were also seen not to have been met in its first year. In early 2014, victims were able to provide input through the national coordination mechanism for the Victim’s Law on how to adjust the program and improve its impact.[86]

Laws and policies

On 27 February 2013, Colombia approved Law 1618 to guarantee and ensure the rights of persons with disabilities, in line with the CRPD.[87] To promote the participation of armed conflict victims in the implementation of the Victim’s Law, Resolution 0388 adopted the Protocol for the Effective Participation of Armed Conflict Victims on 10 May 2013. Both pieces of legislation held great potential to protect the rights of mine/ERW victims as armed conflict victims and as persons with disabilities.[88]

No improvements in physical accessibility were identified in Colombia in 2013.[89] In November, the Council of the State ordered all public offices to make facilities accessible and called on municipal governments to enforce rules to make all public facilities accessible.[90]

Colombia ratified the CRPD on 5 May 2011.

In 2012, the Republic of Colombia received US$15.6 million of international assistance from nine donors. The European Union (EU) and the United States (US) accounted for 72% of all international assistance.[1]

In November 2011, the EU announced it would be providing €6 million ($8.4 million)[2] for mine action across a period of three years, from 2011–2014.[3] This three-year EU contribution supports El Programa Presidencial para la Acción Integral contra Minas Antipersonal (PAICMA) in monitoring humanitarian demining, coordinating victim assistance and risk education; the contribution also supports providing logistical support to the Organization of American States (OAS). The contract between the EU and the government of Colombia includes 24 tasks under four main activities: information management, land release, victim assistance, and risk education.[4] However, the contract was not finalized until November 2011 and, as a result, the 2011–2014 EU funding for mine action in Colombia was not reported until 2012.[5]

International government contributions: 2012[6]

Of the $15.8 million provided in 2012, only 33% was allocated to mine clearance operations. As of September 2013, HALO Trust still had not begun clearance operations, despite receiving accreditation in April and seeking mandatory insurance coverage for their 80 deminers. The accreditation process and timeline are described in the mine action section of the Colombia profile. Most of the funding for clearance was provided by the US through the OAS for the Colombian Army. The EU funding is for various capacity building and survey activities through PAICMA.

Five donors (Canada, Germany, Norway, Spain, and the US) provided $2.7 million to the ICRC and national and international NGOs for victim assistance in 2012.

Thematic totals

Summary of contributions in 2008–2012[7]