Key
developments since May 2000: Colombia ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on 6
September 2000. Guerrilla groups continued to use antipersonnel landmines.
Landmine Monitor identified a growing number of mine-affected areas, including
at least 168 municipalities in 27 departments in all five regions of Colombia.
A new pilot project on mine awareness and victim assistance is being implemented
in 16 municipalities. A total of 83 mine casualties were recorded in 2000, an
increase from 63 in 1999. From January through July 2001, 138 mine casualties
were recorded. Colombia has reported a stockpile of 18,294 antipersonnel
landmines.
Colombia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December
1997. On 14 January 2000, Colombian President Andrés Pastrana Arango
signed ratification Law 554/2000 approving the
treaty.[1] As established by
Colombia’s Constitution, the Constitutional Court prepared the legal
instrument for ratification of the treaty, completing this task in August 2000
with the approval of Sentence C991/00, which declares the constitutionality of
the Mine Ban Treaty.[2] On 6
September 2000, President Pastrana deposited the instrument ratification with
the United Nations, during the Millennium Assembly. The treaty entered into
force for Colombia on 1 March 2001.
While Colombia has not passed any
implementation legislation, several governmental agencies, including the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Defense, National Ombudsperson
Office, Vice President’s Office and Presidential Program for Human Rights
and International Humanitarian Law and the National Planning Department, are
working together to develop a decree that establishes an inter-agency committee
to work on landmines.[3] The
government of Canada and non-governmental agencies including UNICEF Colombia,
the Colombian Red Cross and the Colombian Campaign Against Landmines
(Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas - CCCM) have been invited to
support, monitor and consult on the
process.[4]
Colombia’s initial Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 transparency report is
due on 28 August 2001. In November 2000, an official from the Presidential
Program for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (PP HR/IHL)said, “The government’s will is to comply with Article 7
comprehensively and on time, and in order to reach this goal, several
governmental offices, such as this one, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs,will work together in coordination” to prepare
the report.[5]
Colombia
participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties in September 2000, with a
delegation led by the Ambassador of its Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva,
Camilo Reyes Rodríguez. Ambassador Reyes Rodríguez stated that
“in those situations in which obligations are derived by the state of
International Humanitarian Law, the obligations of the Convention apply as much
to State Parties as to non-state armed actors and therefore in the case of an
armed conflict without an international character, in the territory of a State
Party, each one of the contenders has the obligation to apply the norms of this
Convention.”[6]
Colombia
did not attend the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in December 2000,
but did participate in the meetings in May
2001.[7] In addition, CCCM
regularly briefs officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the
intersessional work program.
On 6-7 November 2000, Colombia attended the
Regional Stockpile Destruction Seminar in Buenos Aires, with a delegation from
the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, and the Navy Weapons Office.
Also
in November 2000, Colombia voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution
55/33V, calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. Colombian
representatives have made statements in support of the Mine Ban Treaty on
several occasions. For example, in November 2000 during the Iberoamerican
Summit, President Pastrana renewed the government’s will to comply with
the treaty and added, “Other governments should also ask Colombian
guerrillas to respect the will of all Colombians to ban and eradicate
landmines.[8] In February 2001,
the University of El Rosario together with CCCM co-hosted a seminar in
Bogotá on “Antipersonnel Landmines: Colombia and the Ottawa
Convention.”
According to CCCM, on the international stage the
government presents Colombia’s ratification of the treaty as a step toward
recognizing the state’s will to control the means of using armed force,
and as a step toward a broader human rights perspective. While the government
is increasingly acknowledging the mine problem and initiating measures to
address it, CCCM believes that the landmine problem still does not seem to be a
priority for the government and is concerned that issues such as stockpile
destruction, humanitarian demining and domestic implementation legislation have
not yet been discussed with civil society sectors dealing with landmines
issues.[9]
The civil
society movement in support of the mine ban and eradication of the weapon in
Colombia has grown in size and has expanded its efforts to secure support for
the antipersonnel mine ban.[10]
In September 2000, UNICEF Colombia and CCCM released a 61-page report drawn from
its Landmine Monitor and additional research, entitled, “Sembrando Minas,
Cosechando Muerte” (Sowing Mines, Harvesting
Death).[11] The Colombian
Commission of Jurists (CCJ) is examining the state’s legal
responsibilities, not only on treaty implementation, but with respect to
survivor assistance and assistance for mine-affected
communities.[12] The Center for
Research in Popular Education (Centro de Investigaciones en Educación
Popular, CINEP) is gathering information on the mine problem and has developed a
system aimed to assist victims on the legal processes for claims to government
and their rights.[13] The
Permanent Assembly for Peace (Asamblea Permanente por la Paz, APP) is involved
in the development of a humanitarian agreement on landmines to include all armed
actors taking part in the Colombian internal
conflict.[14]
Colombia
ratified Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) on
6 March 2000, and it entered into force on 6 September
2000.[15] Colombia has not yet
submitted its Article 13 annual report for Amended Protocol
II.[16] It did not attend the
Second Annual Conference of State Parties to Amended Protocol II in December
2000.
Production
Colombia is a past producer of antipersonnel
landmines. According to the General Command of Colombia’s Armed Forces,
the government-owned Industria Militar (INDUMIL) production facility ceased
production of antipersonnel mines in November
1999.[17] In a November 2000
letter from Indumil’s General Manager, General Nelson Mejía Henao,
to the Vice Minister of Defense, Bernardo Ortiz Bravo, General Mejía
stated that Indumil had informed the Direction of Special Affairs of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the production of 22,300 landmines destined to
the Navy, the Army and the Air
Force.[18]
Production of
the Carga Direccional Dirigida (CDD) directional fragmentation munition
(Claymore-type) continues at
INDUMIL.[19]
Almost all
major guerrilla groups have publicly acknowledged that they manufacture
landmines.[20] According to the
Ministry of the Defense’s Human Rights Office, the production and use by
guerrilla groups of homemade antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, and other
improvised explosive devices increased in the second half of
2000.[21]
Transfer
Colombia maintains it has never exported
antipersonnel mines.[22] In the
past, Landmine Monitor reported that Colombia imported antipersonnel mines from
the US and perhaps other
nations.[23] Colombia has now
reported that it also imported SOPRO NR409 antipersonnel mines from
Belgium.[24]
Government
officials have on occasion stated that the illicit trade of weapons into
Colombia has included antipersonnel mines, though Landmine Monitor is not aware
of documented evidence of this. An officer in the Colombian Army, noting that
the trade is nearly impossible to track, speculated that landmines entering
Colombia for the most part originate in the Middle
East.[25] According to a
military source, when Anglican bishop Walter Crespo was captured by the police
in March 2001, Crespo was attempting to bring at least 120 antipersonnel
landmines from Libya into the
country.[26] According to media
reports, in September 2000, Panamanian police confiscated a number of weapons,
reportedly including Russian-manufactured antipersonnel mines, allegedly
destined for Colombian
rebels.[27]
Stockpiling and Destruction
At the Regional Stockpile Destruction Seminar in
Buenos Aires in November 2000, Colombia stated that the Armed Forces have 18,294
antipersonnel landmines.[28] In
1999, the Armed Forces indicated that there were at least 18,000 antipersonnel
mines in stock.[29]
The
Colombian Navy is the only branch of the Armed Forces that has so far provided
information on its stockpiled antipersonnel mines. According to adocument provided to Landmine Monitor, the Navy has a total of 4,194
antipersonnel mines.[30] This
includes 2,194 MN-MAP-1 mines (Colombian-made), 1,986 AP-SOPRO mines
(Belgian-made NR-409), and 14 M-14 mines (US-made).
Colombian Navy’s Stockpile of Antipersonnel
Landmines[31]
Unit
Type
Status
Quantity
PD Mochuelo
MN – MAP-1 (Colombia)
To be destroyed
294
BPN M21
MN – MAP-1
To be destroyed
150
BAFI M3
MN – MAP-1
To be destroyed
22
Cerro Mako
MN – MAP-1
To be destroyed
28
BAFI M6
MN – MAP-1
To be destroyed
225
BAFI M8
MN – MAP-1
To be destroyed
74
FNS
MN – MAP-1
To be destroyed
450
CESYP
AP-SOPRO (NR409 Belgium)
To be destroyed
1,986
CESYP
AP –M14 (US)
To be destroyed
14
CESYP
MN – MAP-1
To be destroyed
951
TOTAL MINES IN NAVY STOCKPILES
4,194
According to a statement by a member of the Mars Group who is in charge
of the explosives division at the Military School of Engineers, it would seem
that the stockpile of SOPRO mines was substantial at one point. He said,
“The Army, as well as the rest of the military forces, are reducing the
number SOPROs in the ground by the military removal of mines near no longer used
military bases.[32]
An
official in the International Affairs Office of the Ministry of Defense told
Landmine Monitor that, “Colombian stockpiles are well-kept under
comprehensive safety measures.... Stockpiles are in five different points of
the country, since in the past they were distributed to the Army, Navy and Air
Force.”[33]
In
February 2001, an official in the Navy’s Inspection Office told Landmine
Monitor, “The Army has already set a plan to destroy all stockpiled
landmines between 3 March and 20 May 2001, in time to fulfill the “Managua
Challenge” [to destroy all stockpiles by the Third Meeting of States
Parties].[34] He added,
“Mines will be destroyed using the open detonation method. We are only
waiting for the Presidential directive on this issue to start.” The
official said, “Landmines will be destroyed in facilities where they are
actually stockpiled, due to the security risks involved in transporting them to
other sites. We will have invited the Ministry of Environment and environmental
NGOs to join us and certify environmental standards.” In May 2001, an
official in the Ministry of Defense acknowledged that stockpile destruction had
not begun.[35] As of the end of
July 2001, no public announcements of stockpile destruction had been made.
According to INDUMIL, 2,542 antipersonnel landmines that remained at their
weapons factories were destroyed on 2 July 1999. INDUMIL also stated that all
the remaining materials needed to produce landmines were destroyed on 11
November 1999.[36]
Colombia
has not requested international assistance for stockpile destruction, but Canada
has offered in-kind contributions and technical support and
training.[37] In February 2001,
an Army official said that the department was processing information regarding
costs of destruction of stockpiled
mines.[38]
Government Use
The Commander of Colombia’s Armed Forces,
General Fernando Tapias Stahelin, has previously stated that, prior to signing
the Mine Ban Treaty, the Armed Forces laid approximately 20,000 antipersonnel
mines throughout Colombian
territory.[39]
According to
Colonel Guillermo Leal Abadía, Colombia reserves the right to use
Claymore mines.[40] Colonel
Leal told Landmine Monitor, “Claymore mines are not prohibited under the
Ottawa Convention if they are only command detonated, therefore, Colombia must
not be considered to be violating the Treaty for its use of
CDDs.”[41] According to
INDUMIL’s production manager, the CDD mine can “only be detonated by
remote control and are placed in sites where they represent absolutely no risk
to
civilians.”[42]
There
was an allegation that members of the Colombian Army used mines in San
José de Apartadó in the department of Antioquia. Justicia y Paz,
an NGO engaged in community work in San José de Apartadó
circulated a public communique signed by the Peace Community (Comunidades de
Paz) of San José de Apartadó, informing of a mine incident:
“... With deep sorrow our Peace Community of San José de
Apartadó, informs that today, 5 January 2001, at 1:10 p.m., the
16-year-old young peasant EUDIQUIO VASQUEZ became a victim of a mine that
exploded leaving him without both legs and an arm. The mine was installed by
National Army troops in terrain of use and transit of the civilian population
without any signals, markings or warnings that could have avoided the
tragedy.... The place where this tragedy occurred is located in a place where,
for the past days...members of battalions Velez and Bejarano
camped.”[43]
Landmine Monitor formally requested information from the
Apartadó’s municipality Ombudsperson, Cesar Augusto Muñoz
Lopera, who replied, “In this bureau, on 11 January 2001, Mrs. Alicia
Vásquez Restrepo denounced that her 16-year-old son, WILTON EMILIO
VASQUEZ RESTREPO suffered amputation of his right foot, fractures in his right
hand and injuries in both left hand and leg as a consequence of a mina
quiebrapata, on 23 December 2000, that activated when he stepped on it, facts
occurred in San José de Apartadó, jurisdiction of this
municipality.”[44]
Muñoz Lopera added that no mention is made in the statement about who
might be responsible for laying the mine.
The Seventeenth Brigade of the
Colombian National Army sent a denial to José David Ibarra Contreras,
State Attorney for the Urabá zone in Apartadó, Antioquia, which
stated that a mine planted by FARC caused the
accident.[45]
On 23 March
2001, Landmine Monitor discussed the incident in a meeting with the Chair of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Alfonso Ordóñez Quintana, General
Inspector of the Armed Forces, Major General Jaime Humberto Cortés
Parada, Counter-Admiral Guillermo Barrera Hurtado, and other high-ranking
military officials. All of the officers at the meeting strongly affirmed,
“The Armed Forces are required to follow, respect and protect the Ottawa
Convention, understanding it as a humanitarian policy and a commitment by the
national
government.”[46]
Guerrilla Use
Colombia’s main guerrilla groups are: Fuerzas
Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army, FARC-EP), the Unión
Camilista-Ejército Nacional de Liberación Nacional (Camilista
Union-National Liberation Army, UC-ELN), and the Ejército Popular de
Liberación (Popular Liberation Army, EPL). There are also numerous
paramilitary groups, collectively termed the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia
(United Self-defense Groups of Colombia, AUC).
Colombia’s guerrilla
groups have been using landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) for
more than a decade and according to information collected by CCCM, they have
used “quiebrapatas” (legbreaker) homemade mines for more than the
past 15 years.[47] FARC-EP and
UC-ELN, and the AUC paramilitaries continue to use antipersonnel mines on a
regular basis, affecting both combatants and
civilians.[48] According to a
press release from the Colombian Army in March 2001, the use of gas cylinder
IEDs and “quiebrapatas” mines has intensified since September 2000.
It said, “The indiscriminate use of gas cylinders and antipersonnel
landmines is now regularly and commonly used by those groups in every attack
targeting both the military and civilian
populations.”[49] The
Human Rights Office of the Armed Forces reported that in 2000 there were 85
“infractions committed by subversive groups” involving antipersonnel
landmines.[50]
According to
a February 2001 US Department of State report on human rights in Colombia,
guerrilla forces used landmines “both to defend static positions (such as
base camps, cocaine laboratories, and sites at which kidnap victims were held)
and as indiscriminate weapons of
terror.”[51] The report
notes that according to the Vice President’s office, FARC-EP and UC-ELN
have laid an estimated some 50,000 mines in rural areas.
Specific instances
of new use of antipersonnel mines include:
Use of mines and improvised explosive devices (IED) was reported on 29
September 2000, when the community football field was mined in Filo Gringo,
municipality of Tibú, in Northern Santander
department.[52]
On 1 October 2000, the Third Brigade of the National Army reported the
deactivation of approximately 15 antipersonnel landmines, and several
antivehicle mines of Chinese or Vietnamese origin, and fan type mines, in El
Cedro, a rural zone in Jamundí municipality in the department of Valle
del Cauca.[53]
On 4 October 2000, a school bus carrying children to “Los
Vecinos” school hit an antivehicle mine in Usme, a rural area of
Bogotá, on a road used by school buses and by children walking to
school.[54] According to a
Ministry of Defense official, the area was examined and “several antitank
and antipersonnel landmines were detected, all with anti-handling devices... the
mines were deactivated on site and do not pose a risk to the civilian population
now.”[55]
In January 2001 new mine use was reported in Vereda Micoahumado, in the
rural areas of San Pablo municipality, in the south of Bolívar
department. There were four incidents resulting in three injuries and the death
of a child.[56]
In March 2001, new mine use was reported in Vereda Miraflores in Pisba
municipality, department of
Boyacá[57] and in Vereda
El Guayabo in Versalles municipality in Antioquia
department[58] resulting in mine
victims.
In March 2001, AUC paramilitaries were also reported to have used mines in
Vereda El Diamante, rural municipality of Cali, where combats between the AUC
and UC-ELN resulted in further incidents including two mine
victims.[59]
FARC-EP
does not deny its use of antipersonnel mines nor has it made any declaration
that it will no longer use the weapon. In February 2001 the commander-in-chief
of FARC-EP stated that FARC-EP forces continue to use landmines, but with
“high respect and care for the civilian
population.”[60] In July
2001, Jordan’s Queen Noor visited Colombia, along with Jim Kimsey, the
President of America On Line (AOL). They held a meeting with the
Commander-in-Chief of FARC-EP, Manuel Marulanda, and the High Commissioner for
Peace, Camilo Gómez, at Los Pozos, San Vicente del Caguán, in the
zone ceded to FARC-EP’s control (zona de despeje). The participants
signed a statement which, among other things, said, “Commandant Manuel
Marulanda...explained that FARC-EP does not plant antipersonnel mines that
affect civilian population and FARC-EP does not have mine
fields.”[61]
In June
2001, the Colombian Navy of the Pacific reportedly seized an arsenal of weapons
held by the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (United Self-Defense Groups - AUC,
also referred to as paramilitaries), on the Mira river at Tumaco in Vereda El
Congal, on the border with
Ecuador.[62] According to the
Navy, the arsenal reportedly included “quiebrapatas” mines,
antipersonnel mines (of unspecified origin), and components (casings or
“tapas”)for antipersonnel mines. On 26 June 2001, Admiral
Alberto Rojas, Commander of Pacific Navy Fleet told media that “42
antipersonnel landmines were seized, destined for Auto-defence Groups operating
in Cabo Manglares,
Nariño.”[63]
Admiral Rojas confirmed the information to Landmine
Monitor.[64]
Landmine Problem
Information collected by the Colombian Campaign
Against Landmines indicates that at least 168 of Colombia’s 1,092
municipalities in twenty-seven of the country’s thirty-two departments are
mine-affected. There are mined areas in all five regions of Colombia: Amazonian
(five mine-affected departments), Andean (nine mine-affected departments),
Caribbean (six mine-affected departments), Orinoquia (four mine-affected
departments), and Pacific (three mine-affected departments).
Previous
Landmine Monitor research showed that in 1999, at least 125 municipalities in
twenty-one departments were mine-affected, and in 2000, at least 135
municipalities in twenty-six departments were
mine-affected.[65] In the
period between May 2000 and May 2001 municipalities that were previously not
believed to be mine-affected have reported new mine victims, bringing the total
in 2001 to 168 municipalities in twenty-seven departments that are
mine-affected.[66]
In the
Andean region at least nine departments are mine-affected, including:
Antioquia department: Veredal in Versalles municipality reported that a
minefield was laid in the perimeter of the only school in the zone, affecting at
least 60 children who were unable to attend
classes.[67] The community of
some 350 people also used the school for community meetings.
Antioquia department: San José de Apartadó in the municipality
of Apartadó reported mine victims due to new
mine-laying.[68]
Boyacá department: Pisba municipality reported new mine-laying and
new victims.[69]
Cauca department: La Vega municipality reported new mine and UXO
victims.[70]
Cundinamarca department: Corregimiento La Virgen in Quipile municipality was
reported by the police to be
mine-affected.[71]
Cundinamarca department: There were reports of new mine-laying by different
guerrilla groups in Sumapaz
municipality.[72] Landmines are
reportedly being laid along paths and community buildings, and in fields
commonly used for cattle grazing.
Norte de Santander department (along the border with Venezuela): San Calixto
municipality reported new landmine
victims.[73]
In
the Caribbean region, at least six departments are mine-affected, including:
Bolívardepartment: El Salado in the municipality of Carmen de
Bolivar was reported mine-affected after a minefield was discovered and
deactivated by the military, and several IEDs were stockpiled by
FARC-EP.[74]
Magdalena department: Parrandaseca, a sector of the Sierra Nevada de
Santamarta, an isolated mountain range, reported new mine-affected land and
landmine victims following fighting in early
2001.[75]
In
Orinoquia region at least four departments are mine-affected, including:
Meta department: El Castillo municipality was reported by local residents to
be mine-affected after the death of two
children.[76]
Guaviare department: San José del Guaviare municipality reported mine
victims and the possible presence of more landmines, both antipersonnel and
antivehicle, after the weapons where found and seized by military forces in the
zone.[77]
In the Amazonian region at least five departments are mine-affected but no
new municipalities were reported mined in 2000/2001. In the Pacific region at
least three departments are mine-affected but no new municipalities reported
mined in 2000/2001.
The significant impact of continued use of landmines by
guerrilla groups in Colombia is increasingly evident, as new victims are
reported on a regular basis, as well as forced displacement of communities and
denial of use of agricultural lands. In November 2000, inhabitants of
Vallecito, in the municipality of Morales in Bolívar department, were
forced to abandon their homes during fighting between guerrilla and paramilitary
forces. They could not return for more than a month, because their houses had
been booby-trapped.[78] In
February 2001, a community in Mutatá municipality in the department of
Antioquia was forced to abandon their homes and crops following an anonymous
announcement that there were unmarked minefields around several community
facilities, including the school and the police inspection
office.[79]
Fear of the
presence of landmines planted by armed groups is also generating enormous social
and economic losses in small agricultural communities. A peasant in the rural
community of Buenavista, in the municipality of Santa Rosa del Sur in the
department of Bolívar told Landmine Monitor, “I haven’t been
able to return to my crops, in fact, I think I have permanently lost them,
because I fear stepping on a landmine. I prefer me and my family become beggars
before returning to this place where the guerrilla has told us that there are
landmines.”[80]
In
the period between May 2000 and April 2001, 15 schools in municipalities
including Bogotá, Saravena, Tame, Zaragoza, Segovia, Morales and Santa
Rosa del Sur, among others, were forced to stop classes due to the presence or
suspected presence of landmines. According to the UN High Commissioner’s
report on human rights in Colombia, children continue to be among the principal
victims of the armed conflict, “especially of homemade antipersonnel
landmines laid by the
guerrillas.”[81]
Mines also have an impact on the economy. Electrical companies have been
unable to make repairs to electrical towers due to the presence of
mines.[82] Guerrilla groups
have reportedly laid mines to deter military troops from patrolling
Colombia’s largest oil pipeline, the Cano Limon-Coveñas oil
pipeline.[83]
Mines even
disrupt the peace process. In one incident, a US Senator, Paul Wellstone, and
the US Ambassador to Colombia, Anne Patterson, escaped injury or death when
police found two homemade landmines laid alongside a road leading from the
airport to the town of Barrancabermeja, which they were
visiting.[84]
According to
the Colombian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense, guerrilla-laid
minefields “are not usually marked, records are not kept and maps are
obviously not made to ensure civilians will face no
risks.”[85]
With the
exception of the records on mine affected areas and mine casualties kept by CCCM
and UNICEF Colombia, no in-depth assessment or survey of the mine and UXO
problem in Colombia has been carried out. In May 2001, the Landmines Program
Officer of the Vice-President’s Office stated, “These kind of
surveys are strongly needed in a country such as Colombia, but there is no
government capacity or knowledge yet for it to be conducted.... The Government
has kindly asked UNMAS for an exploratory mission, and we are expecting an
answer.”[86]
Mine Action Coordination and Funding
There is no agency or mechanism responsible for the
coordination of mine action in Colombia, but government agencies, in
consultation with CCCM and the International Committee of the Red Cross, are
working to establish a high level “national authority, presided by the
Vice President and with an Executive Secretariat performed by the Presidential
Program of Human Rights and International Humanitarian
Law.”[87]
According
to a preliminary study conducted by the Presidential Office for Plan Colombia
and the National Planning Department, the approximate cost of a complete
integral mine action program including mine clearance, victim assistance and
mine awareness is estimated at a minimum of $14 million over the next ten
years.[88] However, according
to an official of the President’s Program for Human Rights and
International Humanitarian Law, this figure is based on preliminary studies and
unofficial research, and “by no means represents the real costs of mine
action
programs.”[89]
The
Colombian government allocated US$158,728 for mine action in the country,
including $141,728 for a pilot project on mine awareness and victim
assistance,[90] and $17,000
allocated by the Ministry of Communications as part of the agreement with UNICEF
Colombia and the Canadian embassy for UNICEF Colombia’s Mine Awareness
Programs.[91] Given an
estimated national population of 39 million people, these allocations represent
just a US$0.004 per capita allocation for mine action.
In April 2001, the US
Department of State contributed $95,000 to UNICEF Colombia for the production of
mine awareness materials and mine awareness programs in the period from April
2001 to April 2003.[92] In
March 2001, the Canadian government announced a contribution of US$64,805for mine action programs in Colombia, to be spent in the period from August
2001 to August 2003.[93] The
contribution is an extension of the agreement signed in 1999 between Canada, the
Ministry of Communications and UNICEF Colombia. The funds are for the
development of emergency programs on mine awareness, continuing mine awareness
programs for affected communities, and educational programs for children in
mine-affected communities.
Mine Clearance
According to the Annual Report 2000 on Human Rights
and International Humanitarian Law by the Ministry of Defense, the government is
obliged to destroy all mines laid in national territory within 20 years, and in
negotiations with insurgent groups, seek a compromise for them to clear and
destroy mines they have laid in the national
territory.[94] The Mine Ban
Treaty requires clearance within a ten-year period, with a possibility of
extension of the deadline.
There are no systematic humanitarian mine
clearance operations or demining training programs in
Colombia.[95] General Alfonso
Ordóñez Quintana, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told
Landmine Monitor, “Our explosives divisions are well trained in helping
communities to clear strategic places such as schools, paths, and ponds, as well
as our obvious landmine removal during military
operations.”[96] General
Ordóñez acknowledged the need for more continuous work with
communities to establish priorities, but noted, “This would require
special training and financial resources, which unfortunately we do not
have.”[97]
A research
and development project on mine clearance technologies was undertaken at the
School of Engineering of the University of Los Andes, but according to the
researchers, the initiative failed due to a lack of interest, both inside and
outside the country.[98]
Mine Awareness
Canada, the United States (through UNICEF) and the
government are currently funding mine awareness programs in
Colombia.[99] The government
has granted approximately US$141,728 for a pilot project on mine awareness and
victim assistance to be implemented in 16 municipalities of three of the most
mine-affected departments in the country (Antioquia and Santander in the Andean
region and Bolívar in the Caribbean
region).[100] UNICEF Colombia
is implementing the project in cooperation withthe Scouts Association,
Indepaz, the Peace and Democracy Corporation, the Roosevelt Institute, Permanent
Assembly for Peace (a civil society group), and
REDEPAZ.[101] The pilot
project’s timeline is from July 2001 to January 2002. It aims to
establish a database on mine casualties and mine-affected communities and to
start building local mine action capacity and mine awareness
programs.[102]
Landmine Casualties
The main source of information on landmine
casualties in Colombia is still the media. Information is also received from
the military. Reports are collected and verified by CCCM, in cooperation with
UNICEF Colombia, with local mayors and hospitals, as well as with the Ombudsman
office in each municipality. According to CCCM, the figures reported
significantly underestimate the actual number of antipersonnel mine victims in
the country, due to lack of systematic reporting and the fact that many landmine
casualties are still believed to go unregistered.
According to CCCM, the
number of casualties has increased from 63 in 1999 to 83 in 2000. The year 2000
casualties include 23 killed and 60 injured; 51 men, 21 women, and 11 unknown
gender; 64 adults, eight children, and 11 unknown age. The largest number of
casualties was recorded in the departments of Bolívar and Magdalena in
the Caribbean region and in Norte de Santander department in the Andean region.
From January through July 2001, a total of 138 mine casualties were
reported, including 27 killed and 111 injured. Sixty-one were civilians and 77
combatants; 112 men, 14 women, 12 unknown gender; 81 adults, 43 children, and 14
unknown age. This enormous increase in the number of reported victims in 2001
is likely due in part to increased use of mines by guerrilla groups, but also
reflects the improvement, refinement and expansion of reporting mechanisms; the
media is reporting mine incidents on a more regular basis and the military is
keeping and updating more information on mine incidents.
A statistical survey
by CCCM has identified 736 mine victims in 23 departments in the period from
1993 to 1999.[103] The highest
number of casualties was 151 recorded in 1997.
Survivor Assistance
Medical, surgical and rehabilitation services for
victims are usually located in the main urban centers, whereas most victims live
in rural areas. In rural areas, it is sometimes nearly impossible to get
immediate medical help and can sometimes take hours or even days to reach the
nearest hospital. The injured person is often presumed to be the enemy, making
their transit extremely dangerous. Some major hospitals can provide quality
medical assistance to mine victims, but the costs are high. There are
relatively few doctors expert in dealing with the complex surgical demands of
landmine injuries. Most victims never receive mobility devices, apart from
crutches or improvised prostheses.
Four institutions manufacture prostheses
and provide services for landmine and other victims of
violence.[104] One of these,
Bogotá-based CIREC (the Foundation for Reconstructive Surgery) produces
approximately 500 lower limb prostheses and about 3,000 orthoses each year with
an annual budget of $1.5 million.[105] Another orthopedic workshop,
Rehabilitación Integral (REI), supported by Handicap International
(Belgium), produced 82 prostheses and 80 orthopedic devices in 2000 with an
annual budget of 250,000
Euros.[106]
Colombian
landmine survivors have been increasingly active in both the domestic campaign
against the weapon and in support of the efforts of the International Campaign
to Ban Landmines.[107] Two
Colombian survivors are participating in the Landmine Survivors Advocate
Training Program implemented by the US-based NGO, Landmine Survivors Network
(LSN).[108]
The government
acknowledges that the proper care of casualties is made difficult by the
distances between the site of the incident and health centers, lack of first aid
knowledge, and limitations on the provision of socio-economic
rehabilitation.[109]
In
response to the lack of adequate survivor assistance, the government has
launched a Program for Mine Accident Prevention and Victim Assistance. The
victim assistance component of the program will include:
health and rehabilitation: including a guarantee that all mine survivors
will receive specialized and timely first aid, care, and physical and
psychological rehabilitation;
educational integration: to promote the integration of mine victims of all
ages into the education system if they have not completed the basic cycle of
nine years;
employment reintegration: to facilitate access to sources of income for mine
victims and their families through economic support and technical training that
permits developing self-reliance; and
accessibility: to promote access to public spaces for the disabled including
hospitals, parks, transport, and public buildings.
The Program began
in May 2001, in four departments and 20 municipalities where around 48 percent
of all antipersonnel mine incidents occur. Santader departments: municipalities
of Barrancabermeja, San Vincente de Chucurí, El Carmen, El Playón,
and Floridablanca. Bolívar departments: municipalities of Achi, Morales,
Zambrano, Santa Rosa del Sur, Carmen de Bolivar, and San Pablo. Antioquia
departments: municipalities of Segovia, Turbo, Mutata, Caicedo, and San
Francisco. Arauca Department: municipalities of Arauquita, Saravena, Tame, and
Fortul.
UNICEF and twenty other NGOs are involved in the Program. The
government through the Fondos de Inversiones para la Paz FIP (Peace Investment
Fund) and the Colombian Petroleum Company (Ecopetrol) has allocated US$213,181
for the pilot stage in 20 municipalities and $227,272 for its extension into 16
additional municipalities. For developing and implementing the victim
assistance program in 164 municipalities of the 23 mine-affected departments,
the total cost is estimated at almost $8
million.[110]
[1] “Convención
sobre la Prohibición del empleo, almacenamiento, producción y
transferencia de minas antipersonal y sobre su destrucción,”
Diario Oficial (Official Gazette of the Colombian Republic), 18 January
2000, p. 1-7.
[2] For
Sentencia C991/00 see
http://www.mindefensa.gov.co/NuevoWeb/normatividad/C-991-00.htm.
[3]
Interview with officials in Disarmament Unit, Direction of Special Affairs,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bogotá, 22 February
2001.
[4] Invitation letter
from the Presidential Program for Human Rights and International Humanitarian
Law to CCCM, 18 February 2001; interview with Alberto Bejarano, President,
Colombian Red Cross, Bogotá, 28 February
2001.
[5] Interview with
Beatriz Helena Gutiérrez, Landmines Program Officer, Presidential Program
for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Vice-President’s
Office, Bogotá, 2 November
2000.
[6] Statement by
Ambassador Camilo Reyes Rodríguez at the Second Meeting of States Parties
to the Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, Switzerland, 13 September
2000.
[7] The Colombian
delegation included Beatriz Helena Gutiérrez, Landmines Program Officer,
Presidential Program for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law,
Vice-President’s Office, Pedro Agustín Roa, Disarmament Unit of the
Special Affairs Direction at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and María
Alejandra Gutiérrez, Director of the Human Rights and International
Affairs office at the Ministry of the Defense.
[8] Statement by President
Pastrana during the Iberoamerican Summit, Madrid, 4-7 November
2000.
[9] No response was
received to several written requests by CCCM to the Minister of the Defense, the
General Command of the Military Forces and the office of the High Commissioner
for Peace.
[10] CCCM has
developed a decentralized pattern, helping in the establishment of regional
campaigns, comprised of regional organizations that work on the landmine issue.
For example, the Antioquia Campaign Against Landmines engages 15 local
organizations, while the Santander Campaign is formed by 9 organizations. After
ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty, organizations initiated a joint call for
enactment of national implementation legislation.
[11] UNICEF Colombia, the
Ministry of Communications and the Canadian Embassy commissioned the
publication; 1,000 copies were printed in Spanish as well as 500 in
English.
[12] Interview with
Andrés Sánchez Thorin, DebatesCoordinator, Colombian
Commission of Jurists, Bogotá, 29 January
2001.
[13] Interview with
Ignacio Arango, Researcher, CINEP, Bogotá, 29 January
2001.
[14] Interview with
Luis Alfredo Fajardo, Researcher, Asamblea Permanente por la Paz, Bogotá,
29 January 2001.
[15]
Information provided by the Judicial Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
to Landmine Monitor, 14 November
2001.
[16] Information
provided by the Disarmament Unit, Direction of Special Affairs, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Bogotá, 13 November
2000.
[17]Landmine
Monitor Report 2000, p.
314.
[18] It is not specified
if the mines are antipersonnel or antivehicle mines. Letter from Indumil’s
General Manager, General Nelson Mejía Henao to Vice Minister of Defense,
Bernardo Ortiz Bravo, No. 16971 G-OJ-016, dated 7 November 2000.
[19] Interview with Engineer
Sergio Rodriguez, Technical Second Manager, INDUMIL, 24 July
2001.
[20] See Landmine
Monitor Report 1999, pp.
294-5.
[21] Interview with
Colonel Carlos Julio Castillo, Human Rights Office Director, Ministry of the
Defense, Bogotá, 16 January
2001.
[22] Interview with
Alvaro Arias, Director, International Issues, Ministry of National Defense,
Bogotá, 20 January
2000.
[23]Landmine
Monitor Report 1999,
p.295-296.
[24] Colombian
Navy Registry Form for Stockpiled AP Mines, presented by Navy representatives at
the seminar “Antipersonnel Landmines: Colombia and the Ottawa
Convention,” 27 February
2001.
[25] Interview with
Colonel Guillermo Leal Abadía, Colombian Army, Bogotá, 28 February
2001.
[26] Interview with
Colonel Jose Obdulio Espejo, Director, Army News Agency, Colombian Army,
Bogotá, 15 March 2001. See also, “Falso Obispo traficante de armas
habla al Canal Caracol sobre nexos con FARC,” Caracol Noticias,
Bogotá, 16 March
2001.
[27] “El comercio
de las armas en Panamá,” CNN Digital in El Panamá
América (Panamá), 23 October 2000; “Panamanian
Authorities Seize New Arms Shipment Bound for Colombia,” EFE
(Panama City) via Comtex, 17 September 2000; Jean Michel Chérry,
“Armamento incautado sería para insurgentes Colombianos,”
El Panamá América (Panamá), 9 January 2001;
“Incautado en Panama arsenal que tenia como destino Colombia,”
Caracol Noticias (Bogotá), 8 September 2000; interview with
Colonel Jose Obdulio Espejo, Director, Army News Agency, Colombian Army,
Bogotá, 15 March
2001.
[28] Oral remarks by
representative of Colombia to the Regional Seminar on Stockpile Destruction,
Buenos Aires, 6-7 November 2000, notes taken by Landmine Monitor
researcher.
[29] Letter from
the General Command of the Military Forces to the Human Rights Unit of the
Ministry of National Defense, numbered 2850-MDASE-DH-725, signed by Hugo
Mauricio Ortiz Concha, in absence of Major General Mario Hugo Galán
Rodriguez, General Inspector of the Military Forces of
Colombia.
[30] Colombian Navy
Registry Form for Stockpiled AP Mines, presented by Navy representatives at the
seminar “Antipersonnel Landmines: Colombia and the Ottawa
Convention,” 27 February 2001. Subsequent corrections to this document
were provided to the Landmine Monitor researcher in July 2001.
[31] Ibid.
[32] Interview with
Lieutenant Luis Angel, Mars Group, Bogotá, 23 August
2000.
[33] Interview with
Captain Mario Escobar, Direction of Navy Weapons, at the Regional Seminar on
Stockpile Destruction, Buenos Aires, 6-7 November
2000.
[34] Statement by
Captain Mario Escobar, Direction of Navy Weapons, at the seminar
“Antipersonnel Landmines: Colombian and the Ottawa Convention,”
Bogotá, 28 February
2001.
[35] Interview with
Germán Espejo, Assistant, Office of International Affairs, Ministry of
Defense, Bogotá, 2 May
2001.
[36] Letter from
General Nelson Mejía Henao, General Manager of INDUMIL, to Bernardo Ortiz
Bravo, Vice Minister of Defense, No. 16971 G-OJ-016, dated 7 November 2000.
The letter mentions Acta 188, 2 July
1999.
[37] Interview with
Mélanie Regimbal, Program Coordinator, Mine Action Team, Canadian
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Bogotá, 27
February 2001.
[38] Statement
by Colonel Guillermo Leal Abadía, Colombian National Army, at the Seminar
“Antipersonnel Landmines: Colombia and the Ottawa Convention,”
Bogotá, 28 February
2001.
[39] Interview with
Captain Miguel Torralvo, Bogotá, 19 January 1999; and interview with
Major Juan Carlos Barrios, Director of the Human Rights Office, V Division,
Colombian Armed Forces, Bogotá, 24 February
1999.
[40] Statement by
Colonel Guillermo Leal Abadía, Colombian National Army, during the
“Antipersonnel Landmines: Colombia and the Ottawa Convention”
Seminar, Bogotá, 28 February
2001.
[41] Interview with
Colonel Guillermo Leal Abadía, Colombian Army, Bogotá, 28 February
2001.
[42] Interview with
Engineer Sergio Rodriguez, Production Manager, INDUMIL, 5 July
2000.
[43] Statement signed
by Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó, Apartadó,
Antioquia, Colombia, 5 January 2001.
[44] Letter from Cesar
Augusto Muñoz Lopera, Apartadó’s Ombudsperson, to CCCM, No.
PMA-140, signed on 14 March
2001.
[45] Penal denounce No.
01, No. 00021/DIV-BR17-DH-725, directed to José David Ibarra Contreras,
State Attorney for the Urabá zone, dated in Carepa, Antioquia, 13 January
2001.
[46] Statement by
General Alfonso Ordóñez Quintana, Chief of the Estado Mayor
Conjunto, National Military Forces, Bogotá, Colombia, 23 March
2001.
[47] CCCM field visits
to mine-affected areas in Santa Rosa del Sur, San Pablo, Bolivar, San Vicente de
Chucurí, Santander and Apartadó, Antioquia, Colombia, November
2000 to February 2001.
[48]
US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,
“Country Reports on Human Rights and Practices-2000: Colombia,”
February 2001, pp. 41-42. See also, “En Berrecil, Cesar, desactivan campo
minado,” El Heraldo, Barranquilla, 22 March
2001.
[49] Press release,
“Guerrilla usa más cilíndros y minas,” Agencia de
Noticias del Ejército (Bogotá), 22 March
2001.
[50] Sistema de
Información de la Defensa Nacional, “Fuerza Pública-
derechos humanos, ” at
www.mindefensa.gov.co/siden22/fuerza/ffmm_ddhh_1.html.
[51]
US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,
“Country Reports on Human Rights and Practices-2000: Colombia,”
February 2001, p. 42.
[52]
“Minan campo de futbol,” El Tiempo (Bogotá), 29
September 2000.
[53]
“Golpe al ELN en El Cedro,” El País (Cali), 2 October
2000.
[54]
“Niños ilesos tras explosión de mina,” El
Colombiano (Medellín), 4 October
2000.
[55] Interview with
Captain Javier Ayala, Director of Human Rights Office, Ministry of the Defense,
Bogotá, Colombia, 6 October
2000.
[56] “Los
verdugos de los niños,” Vanguardia Liberal (Bucaramanga), 7
January 2001; “Dos niños víctimas de las minas
quiebrapatas,” La Opinión (Cúcuta), 30 January
2001.
[57] “Niño
perdió brazos por mina,” Vanguardia Liberal (Bucaramanga),
27 March 2001.
[58]
“Carretera al colegio de los niños la descubren minada,”
El Informador (Santamarta), 17 March
2001.
[59] “Mutilado
por mina quiebrapata,” Diario de Occidente (Popayán), 22
March 2001.
[60] Public
statement by Manuel Marulanda, FARC Commandant, National Radio Channel RCN, 9
February 2001.
[61] Press
release by FARC–EP on the occasion of Queen Noor’s visit to
Colombia. Signed by Queen Noor, Jim Kimsey, Camilo Gómez and Manuel
Marulanda in Los Pozos, San Vicente de Caguán, 7 July 2001, at
www.farc-ep.org.
[62]
“Golpe a AUC cerca de Ecuador. La Fuerza Naval del Pacífico
decomisó municiones y armas,” El País (Cali), 25 June
2001.
[63] “Desmantelan
campo de las Autofensas en Nariño,” Information service, Caracol
noticias, 26 June
2001.
[64] Telephone
interview with Admiral Alberto Rojas, Commander, Pacific Navy Fleet, 27 July
2001.
[65]Landmine
Monitor Report 2000, pp. 317-320 and Landmine Monitor Report 1999,
pp. 299-301.
[66] Increases
in the number of mine-affected areas reflects not only new use of mines, but
also expanded and improved research, identifying previously unknown areas that
were mine-affected.
[67]
“Descubren carretera minada empleada por ninos para ir a la
escuela,” Caracol noticias (Bogotá), 16 March
2001.
[68] “Dos
niños víctimas de las minas quiebrapatas,” La
Opinión (Cúcuta), 30 January
2001.
[69] “Nino de
cuatro anos pierde manos por mina,” El Tiempo (Bogotá), 25
January 2001.
[70] “La
Vega bajo el terror,” El Tiempo (Bogotá), 3 March
2001.
[71] “Policia
denuncia ante Naciones Unidas que las Farc violan el DIH,” Caracol
noticias (Bogotá), 6 May
2001.
[72] “Guerrilla
mina alrededores de zona de despeje,” Caracol Noticias
(Bogotá), 4 March
2001.
[73] Press release,
“Niño víctima de mina en San Calixto,” Agencia de
noticias del Ejército (Colombian Army News Agency), 5 December
2000.
[74] “Autoridades
descubren campamento guerrillero para albergar a 200 hombres,”
CaracolNoticias (Bogotá), 5 May
2000.
[75] “Más
mutilados en la Sierra,” El Heraldo (Barranquilla), 7 January
2001.
[76] Telephone
interview with Colonel Carlos Vigoya, Commander of Serviez Battalion, Colombian
Army, Villavicencio, 15 March
2001.
[77] “Mueren
cinco paramilitares en enfretamientos con el ejército,” Caracol
Noticias (Bogotá), 5 May
2001.
[78] Interview with
Rodrigo Vega, Army Major’s Bureau Secretariat, Morales, Bolívar, 28
November 2000.
[79]
Allegations by the affected community were made to UNICEF Colombia via
telephone, 15 February
2001.
[80] Testimony of a
landmine victim who asked not to be identified, in the community of Santa Rosa
del Sur, Department of Bolívar, given to CCCM during field trip to
affected zones in Santa Rosa del Sur, San Pablo, Bolívar, San Vicente de
Chucurí, Santander and Apartadó, Antioquia, November 2000 to
February 2001.
[81] Naciones
Unidas, Consejo Económico y Social, Comisión de Derechos Humanos,
“Informe de la Alta Comisionada de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos
Humanos sobre la situación de los derechos humanos en Colombia,”
Document E/CN.4/2001/15, 20 March 2001, paragraph
108.
[82] “Landmines
Hinder Repairs to Electricity Towers,” El Tiempo (Bogotá), 5
January 2001.
[83] “Six
Colombians injured in land mine explosion,” Agence France Presse
(Bogotá), 14 June
2001.
[84] “Police
Thwart Colombia Attack Plan,” Associated Press (Bogotá), 1
December 2000.
[85] Interview
with General Bernardo Ordóñez, Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
Colombian Armed Forces, Ministry of Defense, Bogotá, 23 March
2001.
[86] Intervention of
Beatriz Helena Gutiérrez, Landmines Program Officer, Presidential Program
for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Vice-President’s
Office, during the intersessional meetings held in Geneva, Switzerland, 9 May
2001.
[87] Draft decree to
establish a national authority to work on landmines. Received by CCCM on 22
April 2001.
[88]
Andrés Celis, Joint presentation by the Vice-President’s Office and
National Planning Department to government officials and NGOs, Informal
Document, Bogotá, Colombia, August
2000.
[89]
Ibid.
[90] Statement by
Beatriz Helena Gutiérrez, Landmines Program Officer, Presidential Program
for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Vice-President’s
Office, to the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance, Socio-Economic
Reintegration and Mine Awareness, 8 May
2001.
[91] Interview with
Alida Becerra, Social Affairs Officer, Ministry of Communications,
Bogotá, 9 February 2001, and interview with Beatriz Helena
Gutiérrez, Landmines Program Officer, Bogotá, 4 April
2001.
[92] Interview with
Clara Marcela Barona, Communications Officer, UNICEF Colombia, Bogotá, 4
April 2001.
[93] Interview
with Simon Cridland, Second Political Secretary, Canadian Embassy,
Bogotá, 22 March
2001.
[94] Ministerio de
Defensa Nacional, “Informe Annual Derechos Humanos y Derecho Internacional
Humanitario 2000,” p.30. See
www.mindefensa.gov.co/publicaciones/ministerio.html.
[95]
Interview with General Bernardo Ordóñez, Chair of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, Ministry of Defense, Bogotá, 23 March
2001.
[96]
Ibid.
[97]
Ibid.
[98] Interview with
Carlos Francisco Rodríguez and Carlos Marcelo Hernández, Chair of
the Mechanical Engineering Department and Demining technologies researcher,
School of Engineering, University of Los Andes, Bogotá, 27 February
2001.
[99] Interview with
Clara Marcela Barona, Communications Officer, UNICEF Colombia, Bogotá, 4
April 2001.
[100] Interview
with Beatriz Helena Gutiérrez, Landmines Program Officer, Presidential
Program for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Bogotá, 28
March 2001.
[101] Interview
with Clara Marcela Barona, UNICEF Colombia, Bogotá, 4 April
2001.
[102] The program will
be implemented in the municipalities of San Vicente de Chucurí, El Carmen
de Chucurí, El Playón and Floridablanca in the department of
Santander; Santa Rosa del Sur, San Pablo, Zambrano, Morales and Achí in
the department of Bolívar; and Segovia, San Francisco, Turbo,
Mutatá and Caicedo in the department of Antioquia. “Convenio de
cooperación técnica y cofinanciación No. 0891-2001,”
between Unicef Colombia, la Corporación para la Paz y los Derechos
Humanos – REDEPAZ, y la Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos
para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura – OEI, April 2001, p.
1-2 .
[103] Statistical study
by CCCM, on the basis of data provided by Fundación Sueños,
National Army of Colombia, Office of the National Ombudsman of Colombia,
Personería Municipal de San Vicente de Chucuri, and Personería
Municipal de Santa Rosa del Sur. CCCM, “List of Victims of AP Mines in
Colombia,” 1993-1999, Bogotá, April
2000.
[104] See Landmine
Monitor Report 2000, p.
322.
[105] CIREC,
“Polypropylene prostheses for Lower Limb Amputees, Victims of
Landmines.” See
www.landminevap.org/display.html?id=91.
[106]
Handicap International (Belgium), “Colombia mission report: 26 March
2001-11 April 2001,” by Handicap International (Belgium) Desk Officer
Martine Vanacker, p. 8.
[107]
See for example Letter from Edgar Moreno, Colombian Campaign Against Landmines,
in “Commentary: Voice of the People (letter) Mine Survivor,”
Chicago Tribune, 19 September 2000, p.
12.
[108] Landmine Survivors
Network, “Report: Raising the Voices Landmine Survivor Advocate Training
Program,” 5-12 May
2001.
[109] Statement by
Beatriz Elena Gutierrez Rueda, Coordinator of the Presidential Program on Mine
Accident Prevention and Victim Assistance, to the Mine Ban Treaty Standing
Committee on Victim Assistance, Geneva, 8 May
2001.
[110] Ibid.
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