For more than a
decade, the OAS has coordinated a comprehensive international program to
remove tens of thousands of antipersonnel landmines that posed a threat
to civilians in countries that had been affected by conflict. In
December 2002, Costa Rica became the first mine-affected country
supported by the program to declare itself safe of antipersonnel
landmines. Honduras became the second OAS member state to complete its
mine clearance program in October 2004.
The OAS
Mine
Action Program, which began in Central America, now operates in several
countries in the hemisphere. In April 2005, Suriname joined the ranks of
landmine-safe countries, after the OAS provided technical assistance to
clear a small number of antipersonnel landmines still remaining in the
interior of the country.
In 2002 the OAS
began supporting demining efforts in Ecuador and Peru, where tens of
thousands of landmines are located along their common border as a result
of the countries' longstanding territorial dispute. The two countries,
which resolved their border dispute in 1998, both have destroyed their
landmine stockpiles and have begun the task of clearing the mines that
remain in the ground. The OAS has provided support in several
activities, including minefield surveying and mapping, and coordinating
operations between demining units in both countries. In Peru, the OAS
Mine Action Program assisted police deminers in destroying more than
20,000 antipersonnel mines located around 415 electric towers. In
Ecuador, the OAS and the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) in 2003
established an international monitoring team for assisting demining
operations along the Ecuador-Peru border.
As a result of an agreement signed with Colombia in 2003, the OAS
opened a coordination office in Bogotá to support mine action programs.
The OAS initially is providing assistance in the fields of mine
awareness, victim rehabilitation and development of a mine action
database. The program also provides training to Colombian army personnel
to help strengthen the national capacity for humanitarian demining.
Several countries
have taken steps to destroy landmine stockpiles. During the last two
years, with the assistance of the OAS Mine Action Program and the
Inter-American Defense Board, more than one million stockpiled mines
have been destroyed in Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Honduras,
Nicaragua and Peru.
Depending on the
needs of each country, the OAS Mine Action Program offers mine risk
education; support for landmine clearance and stockpile destruction;
victim assistance and socioeconomic reintegration of formerly mined
zones; establishment of a mine action database; and support for a ban on
the production, use, sale, transfer and stockpiling of antipersonnel
landmines. The OAS has been able to increase countries' own demining
capacity by channeling international funds, equipment and training
personnel to affected areas.
In 2005, financial contributions have totaled some $3.1 million,
significantly below the amount budgeted for the year. Although the OAS
has been able to cover the program’s basic needs, it has urged the
international community to continue to support these efforts.
The nations of
the Western Hemisphere have demonstrated a strong commitment to solving
the global landmine problem and have played an important leadership role
in the international community. All but two countries in the Americas
have signed and 32 have ratified the Convention on the Prohibition of
the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines
and on their Destruction, known as the
Ottawa Convention.
The Central American Experience
In Central
America, the OAS has continuously supported demining operations since
1995, focusing its efforts on four countries: Costa Rica, Guatemala,
Honduras and Nicaragua. In January 2004, the Nicaraguan Army reported
that of more than 135,000 mines once in the ground, less than 25 percent
remained to be destroyed. Mine clearance is being carried out in that
country by the Nicaraguan Army, both as part of the OAS-coordinated,
internationally funded effort and in a direct bilateral effort funded by
another donor. It is estimated that demining operations will be
completed in Nicaragua by the end of 2006. In Guatemala, where
unexploded ordnance such as grenades, mortars and bombs also pose a
threat, the effort is expected to conclude by the end of 2005. Over the
course of more than a decade, the OAS Mine Action Program assisted
Honduras in destroying 2,297 mines and unexploded ordnance along 400
kilometers of border with Nicaragua.
Based in the
Nicaraguan capital of Managua, the Central American program operates as
a partnership involving the OAS, the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB)
and mine-clearing personnel from the affected countries. It receives
funding and personnel support from many OAS member and observer
countries. The OAS manages the program, identifying, obtaining and
delivering the resources that are needed, including funds, equipment and
personnel. The IADB oversees mine clearance operations, working with
field supervisors from various countries, including Argentina, Bolivia,
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and
Venezuela. The actual mine clearing is done by teams of trained
soldiers, security forces or other personnel from the affected country.
As in the case of
Ecuador and Peru, the OAS Mine Action Program in Central America
includes support for mine risk education, victim assistance, data
collection and other activities, in addition to humanitarian demining.
In Nicaragua, the OAS has helped some 730 survivors receive medical
treatment, prostheses, counseling and other assistance. In 2002, the
Nicaraguan Survivors Assistance Retraining Program was created to
provide job training and placement services for people injured by
landmines. Thus far, 137 people have benefited from the retraining
program.
*The
following countries have donated funds, equipment or personnel to
OAS-coordinated mine action efforts: Argentina, Australia, Austria,
Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, El Salvador, France,
Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands,
Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, Russia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United
States, Uruguay and Venezuela. Various nongovernmental organizations
have also made contributions.
Last updated:
October 2005