Colombia

The Landmine Problem

Guerrilla insurgents have been trying to overthrow the Colombian government for over 40 years but without neccassary military strength and popular support their attempts are futile. Unfortuantly the guerrillas constantly use landmines to ward off government troops. This has led to all but two of the countries 32 provinces posessing mine contamination. In 2003 there were 668 new landmine/UXO casualties reported and they are steadily increasing every year since 1999. Approximately 29% of 2003’s casualties were innocent civilians. 95 percent of landmine problems occure in rural areas according to the Colombian observatory.                                                            
                                                                                   
Humanitarian Demining Programs

Currently there is no systematic humanitarian work being done in Colombia because the country is at war. Recently the Colombian government has begun to request humanitarian help, especially to clear important infrastructures such as schools, aqueducts and public places. As casualties rise so does the need for surveyors, deminers and mine detection dogs. Unlike other heavily mined countries Colombia has received very little financial help to date. The lack of past outside support makes future help even more appreciated and desired.

Mine Risk Education (MRE) has been ongoing in Colombia. It is being carried out by international organizations, the government and both local and national NGO’s. The problem is that they are all being conducted independently of each other. This has led to contradicting MRE messages and duplication of efforts. Despite these problems 12,500 people attended MRE sessions in 2003 which is an increase of 3,500 from the previous year.