Key
developments since May 2001: On 25 July 2002, national implementation
legislation, including penal sanctions, came into effect. On 8 October 2001,
the government established a commission (CINAMA) to coordinate mine action and
oversee implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. The government’s
Antipersonnel Mine Observatory, within the Program for the Prevention of
Antipersonnel Mine Accidents and Victim Assistance, became operational in 2001.
On 15 March 2002, Colombia submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report.
Colombia reported a stockpile of 20,312 landmines. Colombia is developing a
National Plan for stockpile destruction and mine clearance and expects clearance
to take 20 years. Officials have stated that Army minefields around strategic
sites will not be cleared while the war continues. At least 256 of
Colombia’s 1,097 municipalities in 28 of the 31 departments in the country
are believed to be mine-affected. The government reports increased use of
antipersonnel mines by non-State actors, including FARC, ELN, and AUC. Mine
casualties rose as the conflict intensified. In the first ten months of
2001,201 new landmine casualties were recorded; resulting in an average
of approximately two casualties every three days. In September 2001, at the
Third Meeting of States Parties, Colombia was named as the co-rapporteur of the
Standing Committee on Victim Assistance.
MINE BAN POLICY
Colombia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December
1997, ratified on 6 September 2000, and the treaty entered into force for
Colombia on 1 March 2001.
Colombia’s national implementation legislation, Law 759, was approved
by the National Congress on 20 June 2002 and came into effect following
Presidential approval on 25 July
2002.[1] Under the legislation,
any use, production, transfer, or stockpiling of antipersonnel mines is
punishable by imprisonment of 10 to 15 years, a fine that is 500 to 1,000 times
the official minimum monthly salary (in 2001, approximately $53,000, COP
12,194,000), and prohibition from public office for a period of five to ten
years. Anyone who encourages, assists, facilitates, stimulates, or induces
other persons to participate in violations will be punished with imprisonment of
six to ten years and a fine of 200 to 500 times the official minimum monthly
salary.
Colombia is in the midst of an internal armed conflict that began over 40
years ago. Parties to the conflict include the government of Colombia, the FARC
(Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de
Colombia), and the ELN (National Liberation Army, Ejército de
Liberación Nacional). The AUC (United Self-defense Forces of Colombia,
Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia) paramilitary forces are also involved in the
conflict.
Hostilities in Colombia intensified in 2000 and 2001, despite peace
negotiations. According a March 2002 report by the National Planning Department
(DNP, Departamento Nacional de Planeación), the government’s
obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty may be difficult to comply with, not only
because of the costs involved, but also because of the ongoing conflict in the
country: “Guerrillas will continue to lay, stockpile, and produce mines
and will not provide information on the quantities and
locations.”[2]
In 2001, prior to the suspension of peace negotiations with the FARC in
February 2002, the government and FARC agreed to create a “Commission of
Personalities” (Comisión de Personalidades) to produce
recommendations for the peace
negotiations.[3] On 19
September 2001, the Commission of Personalities issued twenty-eight
recommendations, including that both sides agree “to abstain from the use
of unconventional weapons, such as antipersonnel
mines....”[4]
In January 2002, prior to the May 2002 suspension of peace negotiations with
the ELN, the government and ELN representatives issued a “Declaration of
the Peace Summit of Havana,” (Declaración de la Cumbre por la Paz
de la Habana), under which a joint commission with participation of a group of
friendly nations (Cuba, France, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland), and a
representative from the UN Secretary-General, would meet to evaluate nine
points, including “the localization and eradication of all types of
antipersonnel mines.”[5]
Colombia attended the Third Meeting of States Parties in Managua, Nicaragua
in September 2001.[6] In its
statement, Colombia proposed that the meeting call on non-State actors to
renounce the use of antipersonnel mines. The proposal was integrated into the
Final Declaration of the
meeting.[7] At the meeting,
Colombia was named as the co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee on Victim
Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, along with France. Colombia served
in this role at the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in January and
May 2002 in Geneva.
On 8 October 2001, the government established the first agency responsible
for coordination of mine action in Colombia through Decree
2113.[8] The National
Inteministerial Commission on Antipersonnel Mine Action (CINAMA, Comisión
Nacional Intersectorial para la Acción contra las Minas Antipersonal) is
responsible for implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, including the developingt
of a National Plan, making policy decisions and coordinating international
cooperation.[9] The Vice
President’s Office chairs
CINAMA.[10]
A number of NGOs, international organizations, and the Colombian Campaign
Against Landmines (CCCM, Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas) have worked to
assist government agencies to implement the treaty, especially through mine risk
education and victim assistance programs, and to establish CINAMA and the
Program for the Prevention of Antipersonnel Mine Accidents and Victim Assistance
(PAAV) of the Office of the Vice
President.[11]
In November 2001, Colombia cosponsored and voted in favor of UN General
Assembly Resolution 56/24M in support of the Mine Ban Treaty. Colombian
government representatives spoke at a “Mine Action in Latin America”
conference in Miami from 3 to 5 December
2001.[12] On 17 April 2002, the
Office of the Vice President of Colombia hosted a landmines forum in
Bogotá, “Colombia camina sin tropiezos,” (Colombia Walks
Without Stumbling).[13]
On 15 March 2002, Colombia submitted its initial Article 7 transparency
report, covering the period from 1 March to 31 August
2001.[14] The report included
the voluntary Form J on victim assistance. In addition, Landmine Monitor
received an advance copy of Colombia’s second Article 7 Report, dated 30
April 2002, covering the period from 1 September 2001 to 31 April
2002.[15] This report had not
been posted by the United Nations as of 31 July 2002.
Other important documents released in this reporting period by the Office of
the Vice President include the “January Report 2002” from the
Program for the Prevention of Accidents and Victim
Assistance,[16] and the December
2001 “Antipersonnel Mines in Colombia” from the Antipersonnel Mine
Observatory.[17]
Colombia is a State Party to Amended Protocol II of the Convention on
Conventional Weapons (CCW). It did not participate in the third annual
conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II, but did attend the Second
CCW Review Conference in December 2001.
PRODUCTION
In the past, Colombia produced antipersonnel mines.
In its initial Article 7 Report, Colombia said that equipment used to
manufacture antipersonnel mines at the government-owned Industria Militar
(INDUMIL) José María Cordoba factory was destroyed in 1999, along
with 2,542 antipersonnel mines stockpiled at the
factory.[18]
According to a January 2002 government report, INDUMIL produced 22,300
NM-MAP-1 antipersonnel mines between 1989 and
1996.[19] Of these mines,
19,706 were transferred to the Armed Forces (16,410 to the Army, 2,590 to the
Navy, and 706 to the Air Force), 52 were used in technical tests, and the
remaining 2,542 were destroyed. In July 2001, an INDUMIL representative stated
that production of the Carga Direccional Dirigida (CDD) directional
fragmentation munition (a Claymore-type mine)
continued.[20]
According to the December 2001 Vice President’s Office report, the
Colombian Army has identified the following types of homemade antipersonnel
mines used by guerrilla
groups:[21]
Mina quiebrapatas (a “legbreaker” mine usually buried in
the ground);
Mina tipo sombrero chino (a Chinese hat type mine with a radius of 25
meters);
Mina tipo cajón (a wooden box mine with an
“angle-shaped” metal plate);
Mina tipo abanico (a fan-type mine with a radius of 10 meters and a
cone for gases and shrapnel);
Mina cumbo (a mine usually placed on tree branches);
Mina tipo Cleymore (a Claymore-type mine often found at the side of a
road and in forest);
Mina tipo costal (a sack-type mine thrown from higher ground).
All of these mines are made from commonly available
explosives.[22]
TRANSFER
Colombia is not known to have ever exported
antipersonnel mines. Colombia imported antipersonnel mines from the US and
Belgium in the past. In the past government officials have reportedly stated
that the illicit trade of weapons into Colombia has included antipersonnel
mines, but Landmine Monitor found no evidence of this during the reporting
period.[23]
STOCKPILING AND DESTRUCTION
Colombia reported a stockpile of 20,312 landmines
in its initial Article 7 Report submitted 15 March 2002. Landmine Monitor is
unfamiliar with some of the designations and could not identify all the
countries of origin of these mines from the information provided in the report;
some appear to be antivehicle mines. The types and quantities stockpiled by
Colombia (as of 31 August 2001) include: 3,036 APR mines; 1,298 Explosivas
mines; 2,382 AntiExplosivas mines; 2,307 Plastic Mines; 656 A-1 mines; 131 HE
mines (Claymore-type); 111 Indumil mines (Colombian-manufactured); 81 M-3 mines
(US); 18 Explosivo M-21 mines (US); 772 M-18 mines (US-manufactured Claymore
mines); 1,246 Sopro mines (likely Belgian NR-409 mines); 2,759 MAP mines
(Colombia); 1,069 MAP-1 mines (Colombia); 1,953 MAP-1M mines (Colombia); 828
MAT-2 mines (possibly Colombian antivehicle mines); and 1,665 ATM-19 mines
(possibly US antivehicle
mines).[24]
A registry of 4,194 antipersonnel mines provided to Landmine Monitor in July
2001 by the Colombian Navy does not appear to be included in the
report.[25] A number of
landmines not previously reported by Colombia are listed in the Article 7 report
including the M-18, HE, A-1, M-3, M-21, ATM-19, and MAT-2 mines.
According to the Article 7 Report, the Ministry of Defense and the Armed
Forces are developing a National Plan for Article 4 (stockpile destruction) and
Article 5 (destruction of emplaced
mines).[26] According to the
new national implementation legislation, Law 759, the Ministry of Defense should
present a destruction plan to CINAMA within six months after the entry into
force of the law, which would be by 25 January
2003.[27] Previously, in
February 2001, a government official stated that the Army had a plan to destroy
all stockpiled landmines in time to fulfill the “Managua Challenge”
goal of completion of destruction by the time of the Third Meeting of States
Parties in September 2001.[28]
According to its Article 7 Report, Colombia has not retained any
antipersonnel mines for training purposes. However, according to Article 4 of
draft Law 098/01 the Ministry of Defense will be authorized to retain up to
1,000 antipersonnel mines for training and development (as established by
Article 4 of Colombia’s ratification legislation, Law 554 of the year
2000).[29]
No information is available on numbers or types of antipersonnel mines held
by non-state actors in
Colombia.[30] In its most
recent Article 7 Report, Colombia listed mines and IEDs belonging to non-state
actors that it confiscated in 2001, of which the vast majority were homemade
rather than
manufactured.[31]
USE
Government Use
Landmine Monitor did not
find evidence of new use of antipersonnel mines by the Colombian Armed Forces
during the reporting period. According to the United Nations, the
Colombian Armed Forces officially stated that they stopped using antipersonnel
landmines in 1999, which, if true, would indicate continued use after Colombia
signed the Mine Ban Treaty in December
1997.[32]2
A US Department of State report, released on 4 March 2002, states that of the
130,000 antipersonnel mines estimated to be planted in Colombia at the end of
2001, the Colombian military maintained approximately 18,000 mines to defend
static positions, while the remaining mines were emplaced by non-state
actors.[33] Colombia reported
at the Standing Committee meetings in May 2002 that antipersonnel and
antivehicle mines that were in place before Colombia became a State Party
continue to be used to protect power lines, utilities, and other civilian
infrastructure from guerrilla
attack.[34] The Commander of
the Army’s Engineer Battalion stated that there are 54 minefields
containing over 20,000 mines in “strategic” sites important for the
national economy, which are controlled by the Army, so “there have been no
civilian casualties from these
mines.”[35]
Colombia reserves the right to use Claymore-type
mines.[36] In December 2001,
the Chief of Engineers of the Colombian Army stated that the Army maintains 54
minefields to protect 29 military units using the Carga Direccional Dirigida
(CDD) directional fragmentation munition, a Claymore-type
mine.[37]
Non-State Actor Use
Colombia remains the only country in the Western
Hemisphere where antipersonnel mines are laid on a regular basis. Colombian
guerrillas have used mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) for more than
a decade and, according to information collected by CCCM from November 2000 to
February 2001, they have used “quiebrapata” (legbreaker)
homemade mines for more than 15
years.[38]
According to government reports, the FARC and ELN were major users of
antipersonnel mines in the reporting period, in addition to AUC paramilitary
groups.[39] The January 2002
report by the Vice President’s Office stated that the majority of mines
are used randomly, without tactical purpose and, in many cases, with the sole
purpose of demoralizing and terrorizing the civilian
population.[40]
According to the December 2001 report by the Vice President’s Office,
there were 243 reported cases of mine use in the first ten months of 2001. It
could not determine responsibility for mine use in 42 percent of the cases, but
it attributed 57 percent of responsibility to illegal armed
groups.[41] Of these, FARC was
responsible for 30 percent of the cases, ELN for 25.9 percent and
“self-defense groups” (AUC paramilitary forces) for 1.6 percent. In
one case, in Sucre department, the People’s Revolutionary Army (ERP,
Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo) was responsible. “Common
criminals” were to blame in another case. The report attributed direct
responsibility in one case of “mine-related accidents or incidents”
to the Military Forces at Naranjitos Military Base in the department of Arauca,
in which a soldier was killed. In addition, during this period there were two
mine clearance accidents by the Military Forces.
The following instances of new use of antipersonnel mines were among numerous
media reports on mine use in 2001 and 2002:
In August 2001, the Third Brigade of the Army announced the discovery of a
new minefield at La Balastrerain in Santander de Quilichao municipality,
reportedly laid by the Sixth Front of the
FARC.[42]
In October 2001, units of the Counterinsurgency Battalion No.5 “Los
Guanes,” located ten newly-planted antipersonnel mines in a football field
in the village of El Llanón in Hacarí municipality, Norte de
Santander department. The Commander of the Fifth Brigade told the media that
that guerrillas had been attempting to destroy a helicopter that used the field,
“but they did not take into account that children play in the field as
well.”[43]
In November 2001, Antioquia police announced the discovery and clearance of
a minefield at Remolinos, in Hispania municipality, that was allegedly laid by
the ELN.[44]
In late November 2001, the Army reported the discovery and clearance of
three minefields. ELN reportedly laid a minefield in Matanza municipality,
Santander department, while the FARC reportedly laid a 150-meter long minefield
in San Juan de Sumapaz, Cundicamarca department, and another in Antioquia
department during Operation
“Neptune.”[45]
In February 2002, media reported that several municipalities in Norte de
Santander department, including at Teorama in Ocaña municipality, were
heavily mined recently as the conflict intensified between the AUC, and the ELN,
FARC and EPL (Ejército Popular de Liberación) in the
region.[46]
According to media reports, after peace negotiations with the FARC were
suspended and the Army entered the San Vincente del Caguán region in
February 2002, military intelligence reported that the FARC had mined various
areas in the region. Counterinsurgency units of the Army’s XII Brigade
and the Southern Joint Task Force were clearing mines as part of the military
campaign in
Caguán.[47]
In March 2002, the Army announced that it had discovered and destroyed a
minefield close to a section of the Caño Limón Coveñas oil
pipeline in Arauquita, Arauca department. Seven IEDs made with household gas
cylinders were
discovered.[48]
Also in March 2002, explosive experts of the National Police of Norte de
Santander department reportedly discovered and cleared a minefield that had been
laid at Cerro la Cruz, in Arboledas municipality, Norte de Santander department.
According to the media report, seven cone-shaped mines of 10 kilograms each were
found.[49]
In April 2002, the Army reportedly discovered and destroyed an AUC camp in
Valle del Guamez municipality, in Putumayo Department. The camp was reportedly
used to produce explosive artifacts, and was surrounded by a minefield from
which 26 antipersonnel mines were later
cleared.[50]
In
August 2001, a humanitarian group, “International Caravan for Life in
south Bolívar” (Caravana Internacional por la Vida en el Sur de
Bolívar) delivering supplies in southern Bolívar department
reported that, according to local community representatives, “during
counterinsurgency operations the paramilitary groups have forced peasants to
enter minefields with mules in order to clear them, and have also used local
people as human shields when entering dangerous
terrain.”[51]
According to a December 2001 Venezuelan media report, guerrillas belonging to
a little- known Colombian rebel group called the Latin American Popular Army
(EPLA, Ejército Popular Latinoamericano) were using “explosive
mines” to surround and protect their camps in Venezuelan
territory.[52]
LANDMINE PROBLEM
Landmine Monitor estimates that at least 256 of
Colombia’s 1,097 municipalities in 28 of the 31 departments in the country
are mine-affected. Previously, Landmine Monitor Report 2001 reported
that at least 168 municipalities in 27 departments were mine-affected;
Landmine Monitor Report 2000 foundat least 135 municipalities in
26 departments, and Landmine Monitor Report 1999 found at least 125
municipalities in 21
departments.[53] All five
regions of Colombia are mine-affected (Amazonian, Andean, Caribbean, Orinoquia,
and Pacific). According to the Vice President’s Office, there are no
obvious patterns of where antipersonnel mines are laid in the country. Maps of
mined areas are practically non-existent or imprecise, and the knowledge of
antipersonnel mine-affected areas at the municipal level is
minimal.[54]
Mine-affected municipalities and departments in Colombia, identified by
Landmine Monitor and the government, include the following. Municipalities that
recorded mine casualties in 2001 are noted in
italics.[55]
1) In the Amazonian region, at least twenty-one municipalities in five
departments are mine-affected:
Amazonas department (1 municipality): Santa Sofia municipality.
Caquetá department (9): Cartagena del Chairá, Florencia,
Montañita, Puerto Rico, Remolinos del Caguan, and San Vicente del
Caguán municipalities. In addition, the government lists Milán,
Solita, and Morelia municipalities as mine-affected.
Guaviare department (3): Calamar, Miraflores, and San José del
Guaviare municipalities.
Putumayo department (7): Puerto Asís and Orito municipalities. In
addition, the government lists Puerto Leguizamo, Valle del Gaumez, San
Miguel, Santiago, and Mocoa municipalities as mine-affected.
Vaupes department (1): Mitú municipality.
2) In the
Andean region, at least 157 municipalities in ten departments are
mine-affected:
Antioquia department (50 municipalities): Amalfi, Apartadó, El Bagre,
Bello, Cáceres, Caicedo, Campamento, Carmen de Viboral,
Cocorná, Copacabana, Currulao, Dabeiba, Granada, Maceo,
Mutatá, Puerto Triunfo, San Carlos, San Francisco, San
Luis, San Roque, Segovia, Tello, Turbo, Vegachi, Versalles, Yali,
Yondó, and Zaragoza municipalities. In addition, the
government lists Abejorral, Anorí, Barbosa, Briceño,
Carepa, Carolina, Concepción, Guatapé, Hispania,
Medellín, Montebello, Peñol, Remedios,
Rionegro, San Pedro, San Rafael, San Vicente, Santa Bárbara,
Tarazá, La Unión, Yarumal, and Yolombó
municipalities as mine-affected.
Boyacá department (10): Chiscas, Pajarito, Pauna, and Pisba
municipalities. In addition, the government lists Chita, Cubará,
Duitama, Labranzagrande, San Mateo, and Tasco municipalities as
mine-affected.
Cauca department (15): Argelia, El Bordo, Caloto, Caldono, Corinto,
Patía and La Vega municipalities. In addition, the government lists
Almaguer, Balboa, Cajibió, San Sebastián, Santa Rosa,
Silvia, El Tambo, and Timbio municipalities as mine-affected.
Cundinamarca department (21): Cabrera, Claraval, Guayabeltal,
Junín, Medina, Quipile, San Bernardo, Sumapaz, and Viotá
municipalities. In addition, the government lists Fusagasugá,
Fómeque, Gachetá, Gama, Guataquí, Jerusalén, La
Palma, Pandi, San Juán de Río Seco, Socotá, Venecia,
and Villeta municipalities as mine-affected.
Huila department (7): Acevedo, Algeciras, Anzoátegui, and Suaza
municipalities. In addition, the government lists Gigante, Neiva, and San Juan
del Cesar municipalities as mine-affected.
Nariño department (4): Puerres and Tuquerres municipalities. In
addition, the government lists Ipiales and San Pablo municipalities as
mine-affected.
Norte de Santander department (24): Cachipa, Chitaga, Convención,
Cucutilla, Los Patios, Ocaña, San Calixto, Teorama,
Tibú, and Turra municipalities. In addition the government lists
Ábrego, Arboledas, El Carmen, Chartas, Cúcata,
Hacarí, Herrán, La Playa, Pamplona, Sardinata,
Silos, El Tarra, Villa Caro, and El Zulia municipalities as mine-affected.
Santander department (24): Barrancabermeja, Betulia,
Bucaramanga, California, Carmen de Chucurí, Florida Blanca,
Galán, Piedecuesta, Playón, Lebrija, Macaravita, Matanza,
San Vicente de Chucurí, Suaita, Suratá, and Zapatoca
municipalities. In addition, the government lists Albania, Capitanejo, Curiti,
Puerto Wilches, Rionegro, Sabanagrande, Sucre, and Tona as
mine-affected.
Risaralda department (1): The government lists Belén de Umbria
municipality as mine-affected.
Tolima department (1): The government lists Prado municipality as
mine-affected.
3) In the Caribbean region, at least forty-seven
municipalities in seven departments are mine-affected:
Bolívar department (17): Achí, Altos del Rosario, Cantagallo,
Carmen de Bolivar, Córdoba, Montecristo, Morales,
Río Viejo, San Martín de Loba, San Pablo, Santa Rosa del
Sur, Simití, Tiquisio, and Zambrano municipalities. In addition the
government lists Arenal, Cartagena, and Santa Rosa municipalities
as mine-affected.
Cesar department (13): Chiriguaná, Codazzi, Copey, Curumaní,
La Jagua de Ibirico, La Jagua del Pilar, Pailitas, Pelaya, San Alberto, and
Valledupar municipalities. In addition, the government lists Aguachica,
Becerril, and La Paz municipalities as mine-affected.)
Cordoba department (2): Tierralta and Puertolibertador municipalities.
Magdalena department (5): El Banco, Ciénaga, and Parrandaseca
municipalities. In addition the government lists Santa Marta and
Fundación municipalities as mine-affected.
Sucre department (5): Guaranda, Ovejas, and Toluviejo municipalities. In
addition, the government lists Colosó and Sincelejo municipalities
as mine-affected.
Atlántico department (1): The government lists Distrito Especial,
Industrial y Portuario de Barranquilla municipality as mine-affected.
Guajira department (4): The government lists San Juan del Cesar, Majaguara,
El Molino, and Riohacha municipalities as mine-affected.
4) In
Orinoquia region at least twenty-four municipalities in four departments are
mine-affected:
Arauca department (7): Arauca, Arauquita, La Esmeralda,
Fortul, Saravena, and Tame municipalities. In addition, the
government lists Puerto Rondón municipality as mine-affected.
Casanare department (5): Sacama and Támara municipalities. In
addition, the government lists Aguazul, Hato Corazal, and Paz de Ariporo
municipalities as mine-affected.
Meta department (11): Calvario, El Castillo, Lejanías,
Mapiripán, San Juanito, and La Uribe municipalities. In addition, the
government lists Acacías, El Dorado, Puerto Gaitán,
San Juán de Arama, and Villavicencio municipalities as
mine-affected.
Vichada department (1): The government also lists Cumaribo municipality as
mine-affected.
5) In the Pacific region at least seven
municipalities in two departments are mine-affected:
Chocó department (4): Riosucio municipality. In addition, the
government lists El Cantón de San Pablo, San Fransisco de
Quibdó, and Tadó municipalities as mine-affected.
Valle del Cauca department (3): Palmira and Jamundi municipalities. In
addition, the government lists Cali municipality as
mine-affected.
The huge increase in the number of municipalities
reported as mine-affected and the corresponding increase in reported casualties
in 2001 and 2002, could in part be due to increased use of mines by guerrilla
groups and increased population movement, but also reflects major improvements,
refinements, and expansions of reporting mechanisms. According to
Colombia’s national implementation legislation (Law 098/01), the Ministry
of Defense must send monthly reports of all events related to antipersonnel
mines that the Armed Forces are aware of and local authorities must inform of
any incidents involving mines to the Antipersonnel Mine Observatory, in the
Office of the Vice President of
Colombia.[56]
The December 2001 report by the Office of the Vice President used data
collated by the Antipersonnel Mine Observatory to list 140 municipalities in 22
departments that reported mine incidents or accidents during the period from
January-31 October 2001.[57]
These include 89municipalities not previously listed by Landmine Monitor
as mine-affected. In addition, the National Directorate of Complaints of the
General Command of the Armed Forces provided new information on mine-affected
land in 27 municipalities, including 23 not previously listed by Landmine
Monitor as mine-affected. InMarch 2002, the Ombudsman’s Office
(Defensoría del Pueblo) published this information in Humanitarian
Resolution No. 10.[58] In June
2002, a PAAV project summary revealed that 14 mine-affected municipalities not
included in earlier reports by the Ombudsman’s Office were also
mine-affected, including five not previously reported by Landmine
Monitor.[59]
According to the Article 7 Report, Army, Navy, and Air Force bases have
marked minefields containing a total of 9,409 antipersonnel
mines.[60] The Air Force and
Navy bases are reportedly protected with 995 MN-MAP-1 mines, while the Army
bases are reportedly protected with 8,414 antipersonnel
mines.[61]
MINE ACTION COORDINATION
The National Inteministerial Commission on
Antipersonnel Mine Action (CINAMA) is responsible for overall implementation of
the Mine Ban Treaty. Three bodies were created for CINAMA: a Technical
Secretariat; an interministerial Technical Committee on Victim Assistance
(Comité Intersectorial Técnico de Prevención y
Atención a Víctimas); and an interministerial Technical Committee
on Prevention, Marking, Mapping, and Mine Clearance (Comité
Intersectorial Técnico de Señalización, Mapeo y Desminado).
These committees are responsible for developing the National Mine Action Plan,
as well as developing, implementing, and evaluating actions according the their
respective themes.[62]
Earlier, on 1 January 2001, the government established the Program for the
Prevention of Antipersonnel Mine Accidents and Victim Assistance
(PAAV).[63] PAAV is part of the
Presidential Program for the Promotion, Respect, and Guarantee of Human Rights
and the Implementation of International Humanitarian Law, under direct
supervision of the Vice President of Colombia and hisoffice. UNICEF
Colombia, REDEPAZ (Red de Iniciativas por la Paz), Asamblea de la Sociedad Civil
por la Paz, INDEPAZ, Coorporación Paz y Democracia, Scouts de Colombia,
and the Roosevelt Hospital are implementing agencies of
PAAV.[64]
PAAV has two components. The “Antipersonnel Mine Observatory”
(Observatorio de Minas Antipersonal) is conceived of as a “technical
instrument for collecting, categorizing and updating information, and to
facilitate decision-making regarding prevention, signaling, mapping and victim
assistance.”[65] The
second component is Victim Assistance, which includes educational integration,
economic integration, health and rehabilitation centers, accessibility to
transport and public spaces and buildings, and accessibility to humanitarian
support.[66]
An Interministerial Committee of the General Command of the Armed Forces has
been created through a request by the Minister of Defense, and through a
resolution by the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, in order to define and
coordinate mine action within the Armed Forces and with other government
agencies.[67]
MINE ACTION PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT
The Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces are in
the process of designing a National Plan for stockpile destruction and mine
clearance.[68] The development
of mine clearance plans is the responsibility of the Technical Committee on
Prevention, Marking, Mapping, and Mine
Clearance.[69]
The March 2002 DNP report concluded that the best option for mine clearance
in the short and medium term was to create 29 mine clearance teams of 30 members
each for operations over the next 20
years.[70] In this scenario,
the cost of mine clearance over this period (20 years) was estimated at $21.9
million.[71] In December 2001,
the Vice President’s Office reported that, if the internal conflict is
resolved and adequate financing obtained in the next ten years, “Colombia
will be clear of mines in about 20
years.”[72]
In July 2001, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested that the Organization
of American States (OAS) conduct a mission to Colombia to assess the mine
problem and evaluate OAS technical and financial
assistance.[73] Representatives
of the OAS Mine Action Program met with Colombian officials in April 2002 to
begin coordination.[74] Also in
2001, the government requested that the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) conduct a
mission to assess the mine situation in the country, but this has not yet
occurred.[75] The
non-governmental Survey Action Center has been monitoring the situation in
Colombia and may conduct an advanced survey mission as conditions
permit.[76]
Another project designed to facilitate the identification of mine-affected
areas is the Mine Action “Peace Multiplier” Workshops, operated by
the Directorate General on Reintegration of the Ministry of the Interior and the
Presidential Program on Human Rights and International Humanitarian
Law.[77] The project,
implemented by the NGO Paz y Democracia, uses demobilized combatants to help
identify areas that are known or suspected to be mine-affected and also includes
mine risk education and information on treaty obligations. Funding from the
Ministry of the Interior for the project totaled $56,596(COP 130
million).[78]
The Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) was installed in
Colombia in the first quarter of 2002; training and technical advice was also
provided by the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining. IMSMA
and the Antipersonnel Mine Observatory are intended to improve knowledge of the
landmine problem in the
country.[79]
MINE ACTION FUNDING
The total cost of the Program for the Prevention of
Antipersonnel Mine Accidents and Victim Assistance is $15.8 million over a
period of three years.[80] The
government has proposed that donors finance $12.7 million of that
amount.[81] National funding
for Program comes from the Peace Investment Fund (FIP, Fondo de Inversión
para la Paz) of “Plan
Colombia.”[82]
According to the FIP, funding totaled $161,247 (COP357 million) in 2000, and
approximately $225,835 (COP500 million) in 2001. A total of $415,537 (COP920
million) was allocated for
2002.[83]
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) provided approximately
$58,610 (COP130 million) to the Antipersonnel Mine Observatory to develop
prevention and awareness activities, build local capacity for identifying
incidents, and strengthen information mechanisms for signaling and mapping of
danger zones.[84]
According to the UN Mine Action Investments Database, from 1999-2001, Canada
was the only donor to mine action in Colombia. It gave $48,437 in 2001 and a
total of $149,402 since
1999.[85] The US State
Department reportedly pledged $152,000 for mine action in Colombia for a period
of 12 months after the start of the
grant.[86]
From 1993 to 2001 Colombia contributed thirty-three military mine action
supervisors to the MARMINCA mine clearance efforts by the OAS in Central
America, including three in 2001 and three in
2002.[87]
MINE CLEARANCE
As reported in previous Landmine Monitor Reports,
there is no systematic humanitarian mine clearance underway in Colombia, and
little information is available on mine clearance in general. According to the
March 2002 DNP study, mine clearance in Colombia has been exclusively carried
out by the military for tactical reasons during combat.[88] According to the Article 7
Report, the Army cleared 51 minefields, and “deactivated” another
370 minefields in 1999.[89] At
the Standing Committee meetings on 30 May 2002, Commander of the Army’s
Engineer Battalion, Colonel Julian Cardona Montoya, stated that in 2001 the
Armed Forces cleared 1,503 mines from 103 minefields. He said the Army had
cleared 2,542 antipersonnel mines that it had earlier laid. Col. Montoya also
stated that there are 54 minefields around “strategic” sites, but
said “we won’t be able to demine these for now, because of the
‘bandidos.’” He said that while those mines cannot be removed
while the war is underway, the Army will clear them as progress is made toward
victory.[90]
According to the January 2002 report by the Vice President’s Office, in
the first 10 months of 2001 there were 296 combat situations in the country
involving antipersonnel mines and abandoned explosive
devices.[91] Of the 296 events
registered, 40% were accounted by seizures of abandoned mines and other
explosive artifacts; 27% involved identification of minefields (based on where
an incident was registered); 23% involved clearance of minefields; and 8%
involved seizure and deactivation of explosive artifacts.
There was no information available on any mine clearance efforts by NSAs
during the reporting period.
MINE RISK EDUCATION
There are few mine risk education (MRE) programs in
Colombia at this time but a number of plans exist.
From July 2001 to January 2002, a pilot project on mine risk education and
victim assistance was carried out in 16 municipalities in Antioquia,
Bolívar, and Santander departments by UNICEF Colombia, the Scouts of
Colombia, INDEPAZ, Paz y Democracia, REDEPAZ, Roosevelt Hospital, and the
Asamblea Permamente de la Sociedad Civil por la
Paz.[92] The Vice
President’s Office, UNICEF Colombia and REDEPAZ made a special agreement
to share administration of the nationally funded
project.[93]
Three of 20 planned mine risk education and training workshops were carried
out in Bogotá, Cesar and Guajira in January and February 2002, with the
participation of UNDP and the support of CCCM and the Scouts of
Colombia.[94] Ex-combatants,
government representatives, the Armed Forces, and retired military personnel
(through ACORE, the Colombian Association of Retired Officers) participated in
the workshops.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) conducted an MRE needs
assessment mission in cooperation with the Colombian Red Cross, but no program
is underway as of July
2002.[95]
Between January 2002 and December 2003, UNICEF Colombia, CCCM, Scouts de
Colombia, and the Development Program for the Middle Magdalena, plan to
implement the Colombian Humanitarian Mine Awareness and Advocacy Project in at
least 15 mine-affected
municipalities.[96] The budget
for the first year (2002) was $450,450, of which $92,000 had been obtained as of
May 2002.
LANDMINE CASUALTIES
In the first ten months of 2001,the
Antipersonnel Mine Observatoryrecorded 201 new landmine casualties,
equating to an average of approximately two casualty every three
days.[97] Of the total
casualties reported, 43 people were killed and 158 injured; 52 casualties were
civilians, 129 were members of the Armed Forces, and the status of 20 casualties
was not known. Thirty-eight casualties (19 percent) were children; five died
and 33 were injured.
In the context of the armed conflict, statistics differ according to the
source, and for the most part information is based on media reports, not on
systematic reporting systems. It is assumed that under reporting is a
significant factor.
The reported casualties represents a significant increase from the 83 new
landmine casualties reported in 2000, of which 23 were killed and 60 injured,
and the 63 casualties reported in
1999.[98] However, according to
Ministry of Defense Technical Health Secretariat (Secretaría
Técnica en Salud del Ministerio de Defensa) registries, in 2000,
landmines killed 36 Armed Forces personnel and injured 181 others, and in 1999,
27 were killed and 180
injured.[99] A statistical
survey by CCCM in 2000 identified 736 mine casualties in 23 departments between
1993 and 1999. The highest number recorded was 151 casualties in
1997.[100]
In 2001, the most common activities at the time of the mine incident were
military or police actions (65 percent), followed by “play or walking to
school” (three percent), and traveling in a vehicle (two
percent).[101] For the
remaining casualties, the activity at the time of the incident was unknown.
There is little information available on casualties among non-state actors.
According to the Vice President’s Office, approximately seven percent of
ex-combatants who were reintegrated into civilian life in the 1990s had some
form of disability due to the armed
conflict.[102]
For the first ten months of 2001, the Antipersonnel Mine Observatoryreported a total of 243 mine incidents involving antipersonnel mines and
UXO; 87 percent due to antipersonnel mines, 4.1 percent involving abandoned
grenades, 7.8 percent involving abandoned gas cylinders, and one percent
involving other explosives.[103]
In 2001 the majority of incidents (190) occurred in 52 municipalities in
sixteen departments:[104]
55 in Antioquia department: in the municipalities of Cocorná (10),
San Carlos (7), Granada (6), Remedios (5), Medellín (4),
Concepción, San Luis and El Carmen de Viboral (3 each), Anorí,
Briceño, Peñol, Segovia, Yolombó, San Vicente y
Yondó and Zaragoza (2 each);
34 in Arauca department: Arauquita (15), Tame (10), Arauca (6), Saravena
(3);
27 in Santander department: Barrancabermeja (11), Suratá
(5), Matanza (3), Bucaramanga, Puerto Wilches, Rionegro and Tona (2 each);
18 in Bolívar department: San Pablo (7), Morales (5), Santa Rosa, El
Carmen de Bolívar and Arenal (2 each);
17 in Norte de Santander department: San Calixto (5), Sardinata (4),
Ábrego (3), Hacari (3), El Tarra (2);
7 in Putumayo department: Valle del Guamez (5), Puerto Caicedo (2);
6 in Cundinamarca department: Cabrera, Junín and La Palma (2
each);
4 in Meta department: El Dorado and Puerto Gaitán (2 each);
4 in Cauca department: Cajibio (4);
4 in Valle del Cauca department: Cali (4);
3 in Boyacá department: Cubara (3);
3 in Choco department: Quibdo (3);
2 in Magdalena department: Ciénaga (2);
2 in Cesar department: Aguachica (2);
2 in Caquetá department: Puerto Rico (2);
2 in Sucre department: Colosó (2).
Approximately 88
percent of the reported mine incidents occurred in rural areas. However, in the
department of Santander, 42 percent of the incidents occurred in urban areas,
while in Arauca department, 20 percent of incidents occurred in urban
areas.[105]
At a July 2002 meeting with the OAS and GICHD, Vice President Gustavo Bell
Lamus released a report by the Antipersonnel Mine Observatoryon
antipersonnel mine incidents and casualties in the first half of
2002.[106] According to media
reports, 129 casualties were reported in the first half of 2002, of which 47
died at the site of the incident. Approximately 95 percent of the 129
casualties were male, 81 casualties were members of the Armed Forces, and 48
casualties were civilians, including 17 children.
On 30 May 2002, Col. Montoya stated that the Colombian Armed Forces had
suffered 85 casualties in 2002 from mines and added, “Yesterday in our
battalion, three soldiers died and another two were injured while trying to
clear a minefield.”[107]
SURVIVOR ASSISTANCE
Emergency care at the scene of a mine incident is
reportedly deficient, medical treatment and surgery in regional hospitals is
slow, and transport to medical facilities is
inadequate.[108] In rural areas,
it is difficult to get immediate medical help, and it can sometimes take hours
or even days to reach the nearest hospital. Medical and rehabilitation services
for mine survivors in Colombia are for the most part located in the main urban
centers, whereas most survivors live in rural
areas.[109] Some survivors
claim that they had not received any rehabilitation treatment six months after
the incident and some a year afterwards. They reportedly did not want to admit
to being mine survivors out of fear of being considered one of the participants
in the Colombian conflict.[110]
Authorities acknowledge that medical care is made difficult by the distance
between the place of the incident and the health care centers, by a lack of
knowledge of first aid, and by limitations in social and economic
rehabilitation. Currently, most resources for survivor assistance are going to
emergency medical care and physical rehabilitation while activities focused on
psychosocial support, economic and vocational reintegration are
limited.[111]
Military personnel have access to physical rehabilitation and psychosocial
support.[112]
In a presentation to the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and
Socio-Economic in May 2002, it was reported that in Colombia resources destined
for survivors do not always reach the intended beneficiaries, and that programs
suffer from a lack of continuity as policies and structures change according to
the government in place. There is a lack of norms that reflect reality, and
generally the quality of service has declined and has serious deficiencies, such
as not having sufficient prostheses to meet the
demand.[113]
Five centers manufacture prostheses and provide other services to landmine
survivors and other persons with disabilities in Colombia: the Hospital Militar
de Colombia (Colombia’s Military Hospital) in Bogotá, the San Juan
Bautista Orthopedic Center in Bucaramanga in Santander department, the Antioquia
Rehabilitation Committee in Medellin in Antioquia department, the REI Foundation
in Cartagena and CIREC.[114]
The Bogotá-based CIREC (Centro Integral de Rehabilitación de
Colombia) provides integrated rehabilitation services to amputees and other
persons with disabilities. CIREC produces about 500 lower limb prostheses and
3,000 orthoses a year in its facility. The center also provides medical
services, physical and occupational therapy, psychological support, and direct
financial assistance if necessary. Ninety percent of the landmine survivors and
other patients disabled by the armed conflict that receive care at CIREC are
peasants or rural inhabitants with limited economic resources. Sixty percent are
men between 20 and 40 years old and are heads of family. Forty-five percent of
the employees at CIREC are people with a disability. The annual budget is about
$270,000.[115]
In 2001 the Rehabilitación Integral (REI) foundation orthopedic
workshop in Cartagena, supported by Handicap International Belgium (HIB),
provided services to 163
patients.[116] No specific
records are kept, but some of the patients are reportedly mine
survivors.[117] The REI
foundation’s community-based rehabilitation program was extended to 12
communities and benefited 730 persons. The program includes psychosocial support
for persons with disabilities and their families, health brigades and home-care.
HIB also provided a four-week training session for three orthopedic technicians
from the workshop.[118]
On 1 April 2002, the Italian NGO Movimondo began a two-year rehabilitation
project in two neighborhoods of Cartagena, and in Carmen de Bolívar and
Magangué municipalities, Bolívar for people injured in the
conflict.[119] The project aims
to directly benefit around 2,220 persons with disabilities, especially those on
low incomes, through a program that includes community-based rehabilitation. The
program will encourage the participation of women (both women with disabilities
and women heads of families in which there is a person with a disability.
DISABILITY POLICY AND PRACTICE
In January 2001, the government launched the
Program for Mine Accident Prevention and Victim Assistance. The victim
assistance component of the program includes medical care and rehabilitation,
educational reintegration, vocational reintegration, and accessibility to the
physical environment.[120] The
pilot program is being implemented in two phases in 32 municipalities in five
departments.[121] In the first
phase the Antipersonnel Mine Observatory was launched in 16 municipalities in
the three departments where 48 percent of mine casualties are found: Antioquia,
Bolívar and
Santander.[122] The first phase
was implemented by UNICEF Colombia, REDEPAZ [Red de Iniciativas por la Paz],
Asamblea de la Sociedad Civil por la Paz, Corporación Paz y Democracia,
Scouts de Colombia, and Hospital Roosevelt. It was funded by the
Peace Investment Fund, $155,420 (COP 357 million), and by UNICEF $40,488 (COP 93
million).[123]
The first phase of the pilot program in Antioquia, Bolívar, and
Santander has been completed; however, as of June 2002, a report on the results
of the program was not yet
finalized.[124]
In the second phase, the AMO is being extended to a further 16 municipalities
in the Departments of Antioquia, Cauca, and Valle del
Cauca.[125] The victim
assistance component of the Program for Mine Accident Prevention and Victim
Assistance is also being implemented in the 16 municipalities in Antioquia,
Bolívar and Santander where the first phase was
implemented.[126] The second
phase began in January
2002.[127]
Expected results from the second phase of the program include training 25
people in each municipality on health and education resources, identification of
psychological problems that impede learning, and development of theoretical and
practical instruments to deal with these problems. Another expected result is to
have medical care and rehabilitation services available for landmine survivors
in these mine-affected
municipalities.[128]
In the second half of 2002 activities will include strengthening landmine
survivor organizations in the 32 municipalities, workshops on psychosocial
support in the first 16 municipalities, and organization of municipal and
departmental committees in Antioquia, Cauca and Valle del
Cauca.[129]
Landmine casualties are entitled to assistance and benefits under the
following Laws and Program.
The victims of bombs and other explosive devices are entitled to medical and
surgical care, and physical rehabilitation including prostheses, under the 1996
decree 1283, the 1995 Law 418 and the 1999 Law 548 with funding coming from the
Solidarity and Guarantee Fund of the Ministry of Health
(FOSIGA).[130]
Under the Program for Assistance to the Victims of Violence subsidies are
available for housing and services, and assistance is provided for education.
The Social Solidarity Network (Red de Solidaridad Social) provides compensation
in the event of death to the first direct beneficiary of the victim to the
equivalent of 42.29 times the minimum monthly salary; in the event of the victim
being disabled or suffering light injuries or material losses, compensation is
up to 42.29 times the minimum monthly wage, according to the severity of the
disability or loss.
[1] Landmine Monitor received a copy of the
law in draft form (“Project of Law [Bill] 098/01, Ponencia para segundo
debate del proyecto de ley 098/01 senado - 214/02 Cámara”) from Dr.
Beatriz Elena Gutiérrez Rueda, General Coordinator, Program for the
Prevention of Antipersonnel Mine Accidents and Victim Assistance, of the
Presidential Program for the Promotion, Respect and Guarantee of Human Rights
and Application of International Humanitarian Law, Office of the Vice President,
in an email to ICBL (Susan B. Walker), 25 June
2002. [2] Yilberto Lahuerta Percipiano
and Ivette María Altamar, Office of Economic Studies, “The
eradication of antipersonnel mines in Colombia: Implications and Costs,”
Economic Archives Document 178, Office of Justice and Security, National
Department of Planning, 1 March 2002,
p.10. [3] “Comunicado No.
29,” Mesa de Diálogo y Negociación, 11 May 2001.
See http://www.hechosdepaz.gov.co/es/load.html/uid=0/leng=es/4/comunicado29.htm. [4]
“Recomendaciones de la Comisión de Personalidades a la Mes de
Diálogo y Negociación,” Point D of First Recommendation, 19
September 2001. See
www.farc-erp.org/dialogos/recomendaciones.html. [5]
Declaración de la Cumbre por la Paz de la Habana, Point 7, 31 January
2002. See
http://www.presidencia.gov.co/webpresi/noticias/2002/enero/31/2002013130.htm. [6]
The delegation was led by Dr. Julio Enrique Ortiz Cuenca, Colombia’s
Ambassador to Nicaragua, and included: Dr. Reinaldo Botero, Director,
Presidential Program on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law of the
Vice President’s Office; Colonel José Octavio Duque López,
Ministry of Defense; and Dr. Pedro Agustín Roa Arboleda, General
Directorate of Special Affairs-Disarmament Unit, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. [7] Statement by Ambassador
Julio Enrique Ortiz Cuenca, Colombia, to the Third Meeting of States Parties,
Managua, 19 September 2001. [8] Program
for the Prevention of Antipersonnel Mine Accidents and Victim Assistance (PAAV),
Presidential Program on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Office
of the Vice President, “January Report 2002,”
p.8. [9] Defensoría del Puebo,
Resolución Defensorial Humanitaria No.10, “Minas
Antipersonal,” 1 March 2002, p.14; and PAAV, Presidential Program on Human
Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Office of the Vice President,
“January Report 2002,”
p.8. [10] CINAMA members include: the
Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Health, Interior, and Defense and the National
Department of Planning. Other bodies invited to participate are the Office of
the High Commissioner for Peace (Alto Comisionado para la Paz), the
Ombudsman’s Office (Defensoría del Pueblo), and an NGO representing
mine survivors. Program for the Prevention of Antipersonnel Mine Accidents and
Victim Assistance, Presidential Program on Human Rights and International
Humanitarian Law, Office of the Vice President, “January Report
2002,” p.8. [11] Landmine Monitor
will use the acronym PAAV in this report for convenience sake, though it is not
an official acronym. [12] Dr. Beatriz
Elena Gutiérrez Rueda, Coordinator, PAAV, and Colonel Octavio Duque
López, Chief of Engineers of the Colombian Army, made a presentation on
Colombia’s experience in mine action in Panel VIII: Future Challenges,
“Colombian perspectives,” Mine Action in Latin America Conference,
3-5 December 2002. [13]
“Vicepresidencia convoca a medios a foro de minas antipersonales,”
ANCOL (Bogotá), 15 April 2002; “Palabras de Director Programa
Presidencial en Clausura de Foro,” ANCOL (Bogotá), 17 April
2002. [14] The due date for the report
was 28 August 2001. The Article 7 Report contains three annexes. Form C, Annex
1, “Report on Press releases from 1 January to 30 July 2001” is a
listing of 86 mine casualty incidents. This is from Office of the Vice
President, “Use of Antipersonnel Mines from January to August 2001,”
3-page document in Spanish. Form C, Annex 2, “Report on mines laid by
groups beyond the law” is from “Mines: Deadly Weapons Used by
Terrorists in Colombia,” no author listed and undated 6-panel brochure.
Form D, Annex 3, “Report on Mine Detection and Destruction” is from
Antipersonnel Mine Observatory, Presidential Program on Human Rights and
International Humanitarian Law, Office of the Vice President of Colombia,
“Anti-Personnel Mines in Colombia,” Bogotá: Peace Investment
Fund, December 2001, 12-page document in Spanish and
English. [15] The Article 7 report is
dated 30 April 2002. Email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Dr. Beatriz Elena
Gutiérrez Rueda, Coordinator, PAAV, Office of the Vice President, 16 July
2002. [16] PAAV, “January Report
2002.” This report, and an accompanying letter dated 19 February 2002,
was sent to Landmine Monitor (HRW and MAC) by Reinaldo Botero Bedoya, Director,
Presidential Program on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Vice
President’s Office. [17]
Antipersonnel Mine Observatory, Presidential Program on Human Rights and
International Humanitarian Law, Office of the Vice President of Colombia,
“Anti-Personnel Mines in Colombia,” Bogotá: Peace Investment
Fund, December 2001. [18] Article 7
Report, Form E, 15 March 2002. See also PAAV, “January Report 2002,”
p.10. [19] Yilberto Lahuerta Percipiano
and Ivette María Altamar, Office of Economic Studies, “The
eradication of antipersonnel mines in Colombia: Implications and Costs,”
Economic Archives Document 178, Office of Justice and Security, National
Department of Planning, 1 March 2002, p.
3. [20] Interview with Engineer Sergio
Rodríguez, Technical Second Manager, INDUMIL, 24 July
2001. [21] Antipersonnel Mine
Observatory, “Anti-Personnel Mines in Colombia,” December 2001,
p.5. [22] Antipersonnel Mine
Observatory, “Anti-Personnel Mines in Colombia,” December 2001,
p.5. [23] See previous editions of
Landmine Monitor for more details. [24]
Article 7 Report, Form B, 15 March
2002. [25] 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. This included 2,194 MN-MAP-1 mines;
1,986 AP-SOPRO mines; and 14 M-14 mines. See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp.
309-310. [26] Article 7 Report, Form
F, 15 March 2002. [27] Based on the
draft “Project of Law 098/01, Ponencia para segundo debate del proyecto
de ley 098/01 senado - 214/02 Cámara,” p.
14. [28] Statement by Captain Mario
Escobar, Direction of Navy Weapons, at the seminar “Antipersonnel
Landmines: Colombia and the Ottawa Convention,” Bogotá, 28 February
2001. [29] Article 7 Report, Form D, 15
March 2002, states “No se ha retenido;” “Project of Law
098/01, Ponencia para segundo debate del proyecto de ley 098/01 senado-214/02
Cámara,” undated, p.
14. [30] Yilberto Lahuerta Percipiano
and Ivette María Altamar, Office of Economic Studies, “The
eradication of antipersonnel mines in Colombia: Implications and Costs,”
Economic Archives Document 178, Office of Justice and Security, National
Department of Planning, 1 March 2002,
p.3. [31] Draft Article 7 Report, Form
D, 30 April 2002. [32] Country report on
Colombia, United Nations Mine Action “Emine” website, last updated 2
May 2002, visited 18 July 2002. www.mineaction.org. Previous editions of
Landmine Monitor have cited allegations of use by government forces since 1997,
but no confirmed instances. [33] US
Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices -
2001,” Colombia Report, released 4 March 2002.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/wha/8326.htm. Military officials have
previously told Landmine Monitor that approximately 20,000 mines were laid by
government forces. See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p.
297. [34] Standing Committee on
Stockpile Destruction, Meeting Report, 30 May 2002, p.2. See
www.gichd.ch/pdf/mbc/SC_may02/SCSD_Meeting_Report_30_May_02.pdf. [35]
Notes taken by Landmine Monitor (MAC) and statement provided to MAC in writing
by Colonel Julian Cardona Montoya, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction,
30 May 2002. [36] Statement by Colonel
Guillermo Leal Abadía, Colombian National Army, at the seminar
“Antipersonnel Landmines: Colombia and the Ottawa Convention,”
Bogotá, 28 February 2001. [37]
Dr. Beatriz Elena Gutiérrez Rueda, General Coordinator, PAAV, and Colonel
Octavio Duque López, Chief of Engineers of the Colombian Army,
presentation “Colombian perspectives,” at Mine Action in Latin
America Conference, Miami, 3-5 December 2002.
[38] CCCM field visits to mine-affected
areas in Santa Rosa del Sur, San Pablo, Bolívar, San Vicente de
Chucurí, Santander department, and Apartadó, Antioquia department,
November 2000 to February 2001. [39]
PAAV, “January Report 2002,” p.5; US Department of State,
“Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2001,” Colombia Report,
released 4 March 2002. [40] PAAV,
“January Report 2002,”
p.2. [41] Antipersonnel Mine
Observatory, “Anti-Personnel Mines in Colombia,” December 2001, p.
6. [42] Silvio Sierra, “Atentado
contra patrulla military,” El País (Cali), 7 August
2001. [43] Hever A. Paez, “Hallan
campo minado en Hacarí,” Vanguarida Liberal (Bucaramanga), 22
October 2001. [44] “Policía
desactivó campo minado,” El Colombiano (Medellín), 7
November 2001. [45]
“Ejército destruyó tres campos minados,” El Espectador
(Bogotá), 26 November 2001. [46]
“La guerra está ‘minando’ a la provincia
ocañera,” Vanguardia Liberal (Bucaramanga), 18 February
2002. [47] Alirio Bustos, “El
avance militar por tierra,” El Tiempo (Bogotá), 22 February
2002. [48] “Destruyen campos
minados,” El País (Cali), 27 March
2002. [49] “Desactivaron campo
minado en Arboledas,” La Opinión (Cúcuta), 6 March
2002. [50] “Ejército ocupo
campamento de las autodefensas en sur del país,” ANCOL
(Bogotá), 2 April 2002. [51]
Rodrigo Hurtado, “Caravana por el sur de Bolívar,” El
Espectador (Bogotá), 3 August 2001; Maribel Marin, “Un grupo
humanitario con 37 españoles, atrapado en una zona de combates en
Colombia. La Caravana por la Vida atravesaba una zona en disputa entre guerrilla
y paramilitares,” El País (Madrid), 8 August 2001; “Nos
quedamos aquí... vayan y cuéntenlo,” Caravana Internacional
por la Vida en el Sur de Bolivar, Bogotá, 20 August 2001. In Wereldwijd
Mail (E-zine), No. 81, 24 August 2001. See
www.wereldwijd.be/mail/karavaan.htm. [52]
The EPLA is a splinter group of the former Popular Liberation Army (EPL,
Ejército Popular de Liberación) of Colombia. Eleanora Delgado,
“Muertos seis subversives y desmantelado campamento de insurgents.”
El Nacional (Caracas), 2 December 2001.
[53] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001,
p. 315; Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp. 317-320; and Landmine Monitor Report
1999, pp. 299-301. Landmine Monitor Report 2001 listed 168 municipalities as
mine-affected, but a review of the data shows the actual number was
144. [54] PAAV, “January Report
2002,” p.2-3. [55] This list is
compiled from existing Landmine Monitor data from the 1999, 2000, and 2001
reports and is supplemented with the Colombian government’s data (see
comments following the list of affected areas for various government sources
used). [56] Document “Project of
Law 098/01, Ponencia para segundo debate del proyecto de ley 098/01 senado -
214/02 Cámara,” undated, p.
23. [57] Antipersonnel Mine Observatory,
“Anti-Personnel Mines in Colombia,” December 2001, p. 7 and map, p.
2. [58] Defensoría del Pueblo,
Resolución Defensorial Humanitaria No.10, “Minas
Antipersonal,” 1 March 2002. See
http://www.defensoria.org.co/base_level2.html?Pageinfo=base_res_hum§ion=resoluciones&res=10. [59]
Balboa, Carepa, San Rafael, San Sebastián, and Timbio. Plan Colombia,
Fondo de Inversión para la Paz, “Ficha Técnica de Proyecto,
Programa de Prevención de accidentes por Minas Antipersonales y
Atención a Víctimas,” updated 5 June 2002, checked on 14
July 2002.
http://www.plancolombia.gov.co/programas/derechos/contenido/proyectos_en%20ejecución/fichas_tecnicas/ficha_tec5.html. [60]
Article 7 Report, Form C, Table 1, 15 March
2002. [61] The Army-laid mines are 2,023
M-14 mines; 1,587 Antiexplosiva M-1 mines; 1,538 Plastic mines; 865 Explosivas
mines; 690 MAP mines; 514 M-18 mines; 437 M-3A1 mines; 311 SOPRO mines; 207
MAP-2 mines; 87 M-16 mines; 74 INDUMIL ATP mines; 53 M-3 mines; and 28
Explosivas M-21 mines. [62] The CINIMA
and the three bodies were established by decree 2113 of 8 October 2001.
Defensoría del Puebo, Resolución Defensorial Humanitaria No.10,
“Minas Antipersonal,” 1 March 2002, pp. 14-15; PAAV, “January
Report 2002,” p.8. [63] PAAV,
“January Report 2002,”
p.5. [64] Article 7 Report, Form J,
Section 4, 15 March 2002. [65] PAAV,
“January Report 2002,” p.5. The Technical Committee on Victim
Assistance is also responsible for the Antipersonnel Mine Observatory. Article
7 Report, Form A, 15 March 2002. [66]
Article 7 Report, Form A, 15 March 2002; PAAV, “January Report
2002,” p.7. [67] PAAV,
“January Report 2002,”, p.8; Antipersonnel Mine Observatory,
“Anti-Personnel Mines in Colombia,” December 2001,
p.10. [68] Article 7 Report, Form F,
Nota, 15 March 2002. [69] Office of
Economic Studies, “The eradication of antipersonnel mines in Colombia:
Implications and Costs,” National Department of Planning, 1 March 2002,
p.10; Article 7 Report, Form A, 15 March
2002. [70] Office of Economic Studies,
“The eradication of antipersonnel mines in Colombia: Implications and
Costs,” National Department of Planning, 1 March
2002. [71] Ibid.,
p.ii. [72] Antipersonnel Mine
Observatory, “Anti-Personnel Mines in Colombia,” December 2001,
p.10. [73] Article 7 Report, Form A, 15
March 2002. See also Colonel (Ret.) William McDonough, “Report of the
Organization of American States Mine Action Program to the Committee on
Hemispheric Security,” OAS, Washington, DC, 14 March
2002. [74] Organization of American
States, “El Desminado,” Electronic Newsletter of General Activities
of OAS/Mine Action, Volume 2, Number 2, April
2002. [75] Article 7 Report, Form A, 15
March 2002. [76] See Survey Action
Center report in Appendices of Landmine Monitor Report
2002. [77] Article 7 Report, Form J (4),
15 March 2002. [78] Exchange rate of $1
= COP 2,297 (31 August 2001). [79]
Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, “Updates on
Activities between January and April 2002,” 30 April 2002, p.4; PAAV,
“January Report 2002,”
p.3. [80] Defensoría del Puebo,
Resolución Defensorial Humanitaria No.10, “Minas
Antipersonal,” 1 March 2002,
p.12. [81] Plan Colombia, Fondo de
Inversión para la Paz, Subcomponente Derechos Humanos y Atención
Humanitaria, Proyectos Presentados a la Mesa de Donantes en Europa, A.2.3.
Prevención y Atención Integral a Personas Víctimas de Minas
Antipersonales (MAP).” See
http://www.presidencia.gov.co/plancolo/volumen2/doc1c.htm#10, undated,
checked on 14 July 2002. [82] Plan
Colombia, Fondo de Inversión para la Paz, “Minas antipersonales un
programa del Plan Colombia.” 14 May 2002. See
http://www.plancolombia.gov.co/contenido/fip/que_es_el_fip.html, visited on 14
July 2002. [83] Plan Colombia, Fondo de
Inversión para la Paz, “Ficha Técnica de Proyecto,”
updated 5 June 2002, visited 14 July
2002. [84] PAAV, “January Report
2002,” p.8. [85] Mine Action
Investments Database accessed 23 July
2002. [86] UNICEF e-Bulletin,
“Things that go bang!,” Issue 4, 13 May
2002. [87] Contributing Countries
(International Supervisors) to the OAS Program of Demining in Central America,
Table provided in email to Landmine Monitor (HRW) from Carl Case, OAS, 18 June
2002. [88] Office of Economic Studies,
“The eradication of antipersonnel mines in Colombia: Implications and
Costs,” National Department of Planning, 1 March 2002,
p.9. [89] Article 7 Report, Form E, 15
March 2002. [90] Notes taken by Landmine
Monitor (MAC) and statement provided to MAC in writing by Colonel Julian Cardona
Montoya, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, 30 May
2002. [91] PAAV, “January Report
2002,” p.4-5. [92] Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, p.320. [93] UNMAS
Portfolio of Mine-related Projects: Colombia, updated 2 May
2002. [94] PAAV, “January Report
2002,” p.10. [95] Email from
Laurence Desvignes, ICRC Mine Program Coordinator, 26 July
2002. [96] UNMAS, Portfolio of
Mine-related Projects: Colombia, updated 2 May
2002. [97] PAAV, “January Report
2002,” p.1; based on information from the Observatorio de Minas
Antipersonal. Base de Datos de la Violencia de la Sala de Estrategias del
Palacio de Nariño, Presidencia de la República December
2001. [98] See Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 320. [99] PAAV, “January
Report 2002,” p.1. [100] Landmine
Monitor Report 2001, p.320. [101] PAAV,
“January Report 2002,” p.1; based on information from the
Observatorio de Minas Antipersonal, Base de Datos de la Violencia de la Sala
de Estrategias del Palacio de Nariño, Presidencia de la República,
December 2001. [102] PAAV,
“January Report 2002,”
p.1. [103] Antipersonnel Mine
Observatory, “Anti-Personnel Mines in Colombia,” December 2001,
Table “Tipos de artefactos asociados con accidentes o
incidentes...”, p. 12. [104] PAAV,
“January Report 2002,” p.
4. [105] Ibid., p.5; based on
information from a consultancy by the “Consultoría para los
Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento CODHES,”
undated. [106] “Número de
víctimas de minas antipersonales se incrementa en un 40%,” El
Espectador (Bogotá), 15 July 2002; and “Las minas antipersonales
han dejado un total de 129 víctimas en lo que va del año,”
Europa Press (Bogotá), 9 July
2002. [107] Notes taken by Landmine
Monitor (MAC) and statement provided to MAC in writing by Colonel Julian Cardona
Montoya, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, 30 May
2002. [108] Jeanette Perry de Saravia,
Director, CIREC, “Accessibility of services in the field”,
presentation to the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic
Reintegration, 28 May 2002. [109] See
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.
321. [110] Jeanette Perry de Saravia,
Director, CIREC, “Accessibility of services in the field”,
presentation to the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic
Reintegration, 28 May 2002. [111] PAAV,
“January Report 2002,”
p.2. [112]
Ibid. [113] Jeanette Perry de Saravia,
Director, CIREC, “Accessibility of services in the field”,
presentation to the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic
Reintegration, 28 May 2002. [114] See
Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp.
322-323. [115] Jeanette Perry de
Saravia, Director, CIREC, “Accessibility of services in the field”,
presentation to the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic
Reintegration, 28 May 2002; see also ICBL Portfolio of Landmine Victim
Assistance Programs, available at
http://www.landminevap.org. [116]
“Colombia,” Activity Report 2001, Handicap International
Belgium. [117] Dominique Delvigne,
Program Director in Colombia, Handicap International Belgium, response to
Landmine Monitor Survivor Assistance Questionnaire, 25 June
2002. [118] “Colombia,”
Activity Report 2001, Handicap International
Belgium. [119] Project document sent to
Landmine Monitor (HIB) by Sarah Dani, Assistant, Central American and Colombia
Unit, Movimondo, 19 July 2002. [120] For
more details see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp.
321-322. [121] Plan Colombia, Fondo de
Inversión para la Paz, “Ficha Técnica de Proyecto,”
updated 5 June 2002, checked 14 July
2002. [122] Article 7 Report, Form J,
Section 4, 15 March 2002. [123]
Ibid. [124] UNICEF e-Bulletin,
“Things that go bang!,” Issue 4, 13 May
2002. [125] Article 7 Report, Form J,
Section 2, 15 March 2002. [126] Ibid.
Section 3 of Form J of the initial Article 7 Report was not
included. [127] PAAV, “January
Report 2002,” p.8. [128] Article 7
Report, Form J, Section 2, 15 March
2002. [129] Plan Colombia, Fondo de
Inversión para la Paz, “Ficha Técnica de Proyecto,”
updated 5 June 2002. [130] Article 7
Report, Form J (1), 15 March 2002.
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