ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR DEMINING
IN CENTRAL AMERICA
Unit for the Promotion of Democracy
Organization of American States
The Assistance Program for Demining in Central America was created by the
Organization of American States in 1991, in response to requests by Central
American countries affected by antipersonnel landmines (Costa Rica, Honduras,
Guatemala, and Nicaragua). Since May 1995, the general coordination and
supervision of the Assistance Program for Demining in Central America (PADCA by
its initials in Spanish) has been provided by the Unit for the Promotion of
Democracy (UPD), with the technical support of the Inter American Defense Board
(IADB). The PADCA is a humanitarian program, which strives to restore
public confidence and security to the citizenry and reduce the threat posed by
landmines and other unexploded artifacts of war.
The program is a multinational effort, with participation by donor and
contributor countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark,
El Salvador, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Japan, the Netherlands,
Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the United States, and Venezuela.
The Unit for the Promotion of Democracy provides overall diplomatic/political
coordination of the Program, fundraising within the international community and
the transparent management and accountability for use of international funds.
This coordination, both at headquarters and in the affected states, seeks to
ensure that all essential components of each national demining project are
operating properly (evacuation and medical emergency system, equipment,
transportation, food, stipends, insurance coverage for both supervisors and
sappers, etc.). The UPD also coordinates the campaign on preventive education
for the civilian population.
The IADB is responsible for organizing the international team of technical
advisers, supervisors, and mine-clearing experts that carry out the on-site
training, provision of technical advice, and supervision of the demining
operations; also participates in the design, implementation, and logistic
coordination of the national demining plans; certifies that mine-clearing
operations are carried out with appropriate, reliable means and materials for
detection, destruction, reliable search and verification methods, with
appropriate safety procedures and standards.
This team of specialists from OAS member states: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Venezuela, and the United States, has its headquarters
in Danlí, El Paraíso, Honduras, from where they are relocated to
each of the national projects.
The affected countries (Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua) also
make a considerable contributions by providing their sappers, material and
financial resources according to their capacity.
The OAS has supported the consideration of the issue of antipersonnel
landmines, since 1991 through General Assembly resolutions: “Report on the
Procedure or Establishing Firm and Lasting Peace in Central America”,
“Support for Mine-Clearing in Central America” and “The
Western Hemisphere as an Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free Zone.”
These resolutions acknowledge the commitment to promote and make an effective
contribution to regional security, complementing and reinforcing efforts to
strengthen and maintain international peace and security; to support the Central
American countries in their efforts to clear their territories of antipersonnel
landmines and their programs on preventive education for the civilian
population, the physical and psychological rehabilitation of victims, and the
socioeconomic reclamation of demined areas
On the other hand, in keeping with the efforts to transform the Western
Hemisphere into an antipersonnel landmine-free-zone, the General Assembly
requested a complete and integrated registry of the antipersonnel landmines,
based on information provided annually by Member States on the following:
approximate numbers of antipersonnel landmines in their stockpiles, the number
of antipersonnel landmines that have been removed in the previous year, their
plans for clearing the remaining antipersonnel landmines, and any other
pertinent information.
In 1998, the Permanent Council established a registry of antipersonnel
landmines to comply with this mandate, and to this date, Antigua and Barbuda,
Canada, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, and the United States have provided the
required information.
The OAS continues to urge member states that have not yet signed or ratified
the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and
Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and on Their Destruction to consider doing so as
soon as possible to ensure its earliest possible entry into force.
The Organization also encourages member states, in conformity with the
agreements in the Plan of Action of the Second Summit of the Americas, to take
action and support “international humanitarian demining efforts, with the
goal of ensuring that priority is given to mines that threaten civilians and of
ensuring that land can be restored for productive purposes. The latter will
take place through effective regional and international cooperation and
coordination, as requested by the affected States, to survey mark, map and
remove mines; effective mine awareness for the civilian population and
assistance to victims; and development and deployment for new mine detection and
clearance technologies, as appropriate.”
Coordination and Management Methodology: Operating Modules
Operational modules of six-month each, are employed in the program,
representing a sound tool for planning, coordinating, and managing the resources
required for these operations. These modules serve to associate the demining
operations with geographic objectives, evaluations of success and progress. The
cost of each module varies by country, depending on the unit's size, the area
involved, and the ability of the country to contribute to the operations.
Each module is supported by an agreement between the beneficiary government
and the UPD/OAS, that includes an operating budget outlining resources for
personnel; equipment; food; stipends; insurance; emergencies, rehabilitation and
public prevention campaigns; logistics; management; coordination; and
supervision needed to carry out the module.
Program Update by Country
Nicaragua. In September 1991, the Government made a request to the
OAS to help eliminate the landmines sown during the national conflict. These
mines, mainly commercially produced, had been buried along the borders with
Honduras, and Costa Rica; also in electrical power plants, transmission towers,
highway bridges, and strategic materiel storage areas.
In response to this request the OAS/IADB designed a joint, internationally
financed program in 1992. The program was launched in 1993, with training,
provision of equipment, and supervision for the demining operations, the efforts
to support this pilot supervisory program were forced to cease when
international funding ran out in late 1993. Nicaraguan authorities pursued the
efforts by themselves, the OAS/IADB Program resumed in 1996 with new
international funding.
Currently, the national program has 15 platoons, with approximately 400
people working on four fronts across the country. Two of these fronts get their
financing directly from the international community, whereas the other two
receive financial and technical support from PADCA. Efforts include a pilot
project for physical rehabilitation, assistance for mine victims and an
intensive public information and prevention campaign.
Nicaraguan government authorities have reported that more than 43,000
landmines have been destroyed since 1993 and it is estimated that there are some
576-target areas in the country with about 73,000 mines still to be destroyed.
The bulk of these landmines (about 50,000) are located in remote areas along the
border with Honduras.
Joint Honduran-Nicaraguan Module. At the request of both governments,
the OAS/IADB international supervisor team will coordinate a series of operating
demining modules to be executed along the border area by the military forces of
both countries, in simultaneous and coordinated efforts to enhance efficiency in
the use of resources and reduce costs and time. To this end, a technical team
composed of OAS/IADB experts and national representatives is examining the
border area and reviewing each country's national plans to ascertain what is
needed to reach the goal of making Central America a landmine-free zone, as soon
as possible.
Honduras. With no know registries of minefields that generally lie
along the border with Nicaragua, the mined areas include trails, storage areas,
and security posts used during the past armed conflict in the region. The
Demining program began in 1994 with training and equipment supply phases.
Demining operations began in September 1995 and continue uninterruptedly, with a
team of 120 sappers (soldiers) and 13 international supervisors.
During six operating modules in the last three years, more than 3,000
landmines have been destroyed in the region and 526 hectares of agricultural
land have been rehabilitated for productive use, benefiting more than 350
landowners and 2,500 families. Likewise, a significant number of dangerous
unexploded artifacts have been removed from the area involved. If demining
continues at the same pace in Honduras, it is expected that the national program
will conclude in 2000.
Costa Rica. Estimates indicate that there are about 2,000 mines in
the region. A total of 37 sappers conduct the demining operations under the
supervision of the OAS/IADB international team. Even though it is known that
antipersonnel landmines in Costa Rica are concentrated in four general areas
along the Nicaraguan border, there are no specific registries of their location.
As a result, landmines are difficult to find and destroy; the process is slow,
painstaking and dangerous.
The project's activities have concentrated lately on the expert assessment,
localization, and marking of the suspicious zones, as well as on public
awareness and prevention campaigns. The demining operations were temporarily
suspended for lack of air evacuation capabilities. This drawback is in the
process of being solved thanks to international cooperation and the government's
efforts.
A total of 57 landmines have been destroyed. While this number may seem
small, is important that the inhabitants of these regions have regained
confidence to go back to work the land. The planned date for concluding
demining in the country is 2000.
Guatemala. The PADCA, joining the efforts made by the international
community to help the Government meet the commitments arising from the Agreement
on Firm and Lasting Peace, which ended more than 36 years of armed conflict in
the country. The program initiated in December 1997.
This program is the responsibility of the Demining Coordinating Commission of
the Congress. Participating actively in the Commission, are the Volunteer
Firemen's Corps and the Corps of Engineers of the Army, both of which are
responsible for implementing activities under the National Plan for Demining and
Destruction of Unexploed Ordnance.
The overall objective of this project is to provide for execution and
administration of the National Plan to assist in the establishment, training,
equipping, and maintenance of a national technical organization and capacity,
charged with destroying the antipersonnel landmines and unexploded ordnance.
Unexploded ordnance (grenades, mortars, bombs, etc.) represents a significant
problem in Guatemala. The national project currently estimates that the number
of devices in the process of being destroyed ranges from 5,000 to 8,000. With
no known registries for these affected areas, Guatemalan authorities have
provided a list of 125 sites that are most likely considered to have
concentrations of explosive devices and which serve as a reference for search
and destroy operations. Operations began in November 1998 near the village of
Ixcán, in the Department of Quiché.
Expansion of the Program as a result of Hurricane Mitch
All Central American countries were severely affected by Hurricane Mitch. In
addition to the general devastation produced in the region, it caused a
significant disruption of humanitarian landmine removal operations.
The effects have been most dramatic in Nicaragua and Honduras, where there is
a sense of urgency in expanding demining in order to reduce the public safety
hazard of landmines shifted from their original positions, which could result in
further casualties and stand in the way of restoring damaged and destroyed
infrastructure and hamper the restoration of public services.
The PADCA is working with the governments of Honduras and Nicaragua to
develop the outline for a revised program to expand operations. While the
details have not been finalized, the general thrust of the expansion is to
double the capacity coordinated by the OAS in both countries.
These expanded operations would require increased contributions of
approximately US $9 million over the next two years. This would be in addition
to donations already provided by donors to support the PADCA infrastructure.