Colombia

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Last updated: 14 August 2022

Summary

State Party Colombia ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 10 September 2015. It has participated in every meeting of the convention. Colombia has voted in favor of the key annual United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention every year since it was first introduced in 2015.

Colombia has never produced cluster munitions, though it imported them in the past and destroyed a stockpile of 72 cluster munitions and 10,832 submunitions in November 2009. Colombia is not retaining any cluster munitions for training or research purposes.

Policy

The Republic of Colombia signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified it on 10 September 2015. The convention entered into force for the country on 1 March 2016.

Law 1604, adopted in December 2012, approved Colombia’s ratification of the convention and incorporated its provisions into domestic law.[1] Colombia has reported this law and other legislation and decrees under its national implementation measures for the convention.[2]

Colombia provided its initial Article 7 transparency report on 28 August 2016, and has submitted annual updated reports since then, most recently in May 2021.[3]

Colombia participated in several meetings of the Oslo Process that produced the convention and said that its decision to join stemmed from its concern about the “humanitarian impact” of cluster munitions.[4]

Colombia actively engages in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It has participated in every Meeting of States Parties of the convention, as well as the Second Review Conference held in November 2020 and September 2021, and the First Review Conference in 2015. Colombia also attended intersessional meetings in 2011–2015 and in May 2022. It has participated in regional workshops on the convention.

Colombia voted in favor of the key annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution promoting the implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in December 2021.[5] It has voted in favor of the annual UNGA resolution on the convention since it was first introduced in 2015.

Colombia has “deplored” the use of cluster munitions in countries such as Syria.[6] It has voted in favor of UNGA resolutions expressing outrage at the use of cluster munitions in Syria.[7]

Colombia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Interpretive issues

Colombia has provided its views on certain important issues related to the interpretation and implementation of the convention. In 2011 and 2010 responses to Monitor questionnaires, Colombia said it “absolutely rejects and prohibits any manner of transfer or storage of foreign cluster bombs in Colombian territory,” as well as “military operations with states not party to the convention in which they carry out exercises or actions prohibited by the Convention.”[8] Colombia interprets the convention as prohibiting investment in the production of cluster munitions.

Production and transfer

In a May 2011 letter to the Monitor, Colombia stated that it has never produced cluster munitions.[9] In the past, Colombia imported cluster munitions from Chile, Israel, and the United States (US). In 2010, Colombia stated that it has never transferred cluster munitions “to a third state.”[10]

In 2012, Chile’s Ministry of National Defense shared a document with the Monitor detailing two transfers—totaling 191 cluster munitions—to Colombia in the 1990s: 132 250kg cluster bombs in 1997, and 55 250kg cluster bombs, four air-dropped 250kg cluster bombs, and one fin stabilizer for a CB-250kg cluster bomb in 1994.[11]

Use

In April 2012, an official from the Colombian Ministry of External Relations told the Monitor that the Colombian Air Force decided to stop using cluster munitions after an evaluation found that they did not meet the operational requirements or needs of Colombia.[12]

In May 2009, Colombia’s then-Minister of Defense, Juan Manuel Santos, acknowledged that the Colombian armed forces had used cluster munitions in the past “to destroy clandestine airstrips and camps held by illegal armed groups” and said the submunitions sometimes did not explode and “became a danger to the civilian population.”[13]

The Monitor has reported on the case of apparent cluster munition use by the Colombian Air Force at Santo Domingo in the municipality of Tame, Arauca department, on 13 December 1998, which killed 17 and injured 27 others.[14] An investigation showed that a World War II-era “cluster adapter” of US origin was used to disperse several 9kg fragmentation bombs during the attack.[15] In December 2012, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) published its verdict on the case, finding that the Colombian Air Force used an AN-M1A2 bomb, which it said met the definition of a cluster munition.[16] The court found that Colombia should treat victims of the attack in accordance with its victim assistance obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. In November 2017, the Supreme Court of Colombia upheld the decision.[17]

Stockpiling and destruction

Colombia announced that it had completed the destruction of its cluster munition stockpile on 24 November 2009.[18] It destroyed 72 cluster munitions (31 ARC-32 and 41 CB-250K cluster bombs) containing a total of 10,832 submunitions.[19]

Colombia has not retained any cluster munitions or submunitions for research or training.[20]



[1] The House of Representatives approved the draft ratification legislation, Bill 244, on 15 November 2012, after it received Senate approval as Bill 174 on 30 August 2012.

[2] Colombia Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form A, 19 May 2017. See, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Database.

[3] Colombia Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, 3 May 2021.

[4] For details on Colombia’s policy and practice regarding cluster munitions through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 58–59.

[5]Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 76/47, 6 December 2021.

[6] Statement of Colombia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fifth Meeting of States Parties, San Jose, 2 September 2014. Notes by the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC).

[7]Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution 75/193, 16 December 2020. Colombia voted in favor of similar UNGA resolutions in 2014–2019.

[8] Responses to Monitor questionnaire by the Ministry of External Relations, 26 March 2010; and by Nohra M. Quintero C., Coordinator, Internal Working Group on Disarmament and International Security, 13 May 2011; and email from Camilo Serna Villegas, Operations Coordinator, Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines (CCBL), 11 August 2010.

[9] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Nohra M. Quintero C., Coordinator, Internal Working Group on Disarmament and International Security, 13 May 2011.

[10] Response to Monitor questionnaire by the Ministry of External Relations, 26 March 2010.

[11] “Exports of Cluster Bombs Authorized in the Years 1991–2001,” official document from the General Directorate of National Mobilization and Ministry of National Defense, provided together with a letter from Brig. Gen. Roberto Ziegele Kerber, Director-General of National Mobilization and the Ministry of National Defense, 18 May 2012.

[12] Letter from Sonia Matilde Eljach Polo, Ministry of External Relations, 19 April 2012.

[13] Carlos Osorio, “Colombia destruye sus últimas bombas de tipo racimo” (“Colombia destroys its last cluster bombs”), Agence France-Presse (AFP), 7 May 2009. In 2010, the Ministry of National Defense said that the Colombian Air Force last used cluster munitions on 10 October 2006 “to destroy clandestine airstrips belonging to organizations dedicated to drug trafficking in remote areas of the country where the risk to civilians was minimal.” Ministry of National Defense presentation on cluster munitions, slide 11, Bogotá, December 2010.

[14] The case was described in the draft ratification bill contained in the letter from Representative Iván Cepeda Castro, to Albeiro Vanegas Osorio, Chairperson, Second Committee of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, Defense and National Security, House of Representatives, April 2011. See also, T. Christian Miller, “A Colombian Town Caught in a Cross-Fire,” Los Angeles Times, 17 March 2002.

[15] Organization of American States Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “Masacre de Santo Domingo, Colombia, Caso 12.416,” 22 April 2011.

[16] IACHR, “Caso Masacre de Santo Domingo vs. Colombia,” 30 November 2012. See, Sentence C-259 of 2012, Section B2, “The launch of a ANM1A2 device on Santo Domingo.” The Colombian government reportedly paid a total of 5,700 million pesos to victims of the attack. See, “Condenan a 30 años a dos oficiales por bombardeo a Santo Domingo” (“Two officers sentenced to 30 years for bombing Santo Domingo”), El Tiempo, 23 November 2017.

[17] César Romero Pradilla vs. Johan Jiménez Valencia, Supreme Court of the Republic of Colombia, Radicación No. 37638, Aprobado Acta No. 396, 23 November 2017.

[18] For details on Colombia’s stockpile destruction see ICBL, Cluster Munition Monitor 2010 (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, October 2010), pp. 135–136.

[19] Letter from Sonia Matilde Eljach Polo, Ministry of External Relations, 19 April 2012; and response to Monitor questionnaire by the Ministry of External Relations, 26 March 2010. The CB-250K bombs were produced by Chile and each contain 240 submunitions. The ARC-32 bomb is apparently a 350kg weapon produced by Israel that contains 32 anti-runway submunitions.

[20] Statement of Colombia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fourth Meeting of States Parties, San Jose, 2 September 2014.


Mine Ban Policy

Last updated: 18 November 2022

Policy

The Republic of Colombia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 6 September 2000. Colombia became a State Party on 1 March 2001.

Law 759 took effect on 25 July 2002 and serves as Colombia’s national implementing legislation for the Mine Ban Treaty.[1] Colombia reports that activities prohibited by the treaty are criminalized under its Penal Code.[2] Colombia has also enacted laws on victim assistance, land restitution, and mine clearance.[3]

Colombia has submitted twenty-one Article 7 transparency reports since 2002, with its most recent report provided on 23 May 2022.[4]

Colombia has participated in every meeting of the Mine Ban Treaty, and hosted its Second Review Conference in Cartagena in November–December 2009.[5] Most recently, it attended the Nineteenth Meeting of States Parties held virtually in November 2021, and the intersessional meetings held in Geneva in June 2022.

Colombia has made significant contributions to the Mine Ban Treaty at the highest levels, and is serving as President of the Twentieth Meeting of States Parties in November 2022.[6]

Colombia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines, and Protocol V on explosive remnants of war (ERW). Colombia is also party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Production, transfer, stockpiling

Colombia’s State Military Industry (Industria Militar, INDUMIL) ended production of antipersonnel landmines in September 1998, and destroyed its production equipment on 18 November 1999.[7]

The government of Colombia is not known to have ever exported antipersonnel mines.

Colombia completed the destruction of its stockpile of 18,531 antipersonnel mines on 24 October 2004.[8]

Colombia no longer retains any mines for training purposes. In 2014, Colombia reported that it had destroyed its previously retained 586 MAP-1 mines.[9]

Use

There is no evidence that Colombian government forces have used antipersonnel mines since the Mine Ban Treaty’s adoption.

Use by non-state armed groups

Colombia has detailed at least 12 different types of mines produced by non-state armed groups (NSAGs), including antipersonnel, antivehicle, and Claymore-type directional fragmentation mines, some fitted with antihandling devices.[10] Its Article 7 report submitted in 2022 reiterated that antipersonnel landmines are made and used both by organized armed groups, and by criminal enterprises involved in the manufacture of narcotics and in illegal mineral extraction.[11]

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo, FARC-EP or FARC), National Liberation Army (Unión Camilista-Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN), Popular Liberation Army (El Ejército Popular de Liberación, EPL), and other NSAGs continue to produce and use antipersonnel landmines.

The Colombian government’s Office of the High Commissioner for Peace attributed responsibility for 216 antipersonnel mine events from January–December 2021 to residual or dissident FARC forces, with another 77 events attributed to the ELN. In the same period, 20 events were attributed to other armed groups, while 54 events occurred where the responsible group was unknown. In total, 367 new mine events were reported in Colombia during 2021.

There were numerous additional reports up to mid-2022 of military and civilian casualties caused by landmines in Antioquia, Bolivar, Cauca, Chocó, Meta, Nariño, Norte de Santander, and Valle del Cauca. These are all areas where armed conflict was ongoing between the National Army of Colombia and NSAGs. It is difficult to determine precisely when these mines were laid.[12]

From January–July 2022, the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace registered 232 landmine events involving new use. It attributed 58 incidents to the ELN, 139 to FARC, and 14 to other actors, while stating that responsibility could not be determined for the remaining 21 events.[13]

New antipersonnel mine contamination was reported in Balboa municipality, in Cauca department, in July–August 2022, following fighting between FARC and another armed group. The area had previously been cleared of mines by CCCM.[14]

In September 2021, seven communities in Dabeiba, in Antioquia department, reported ongoing antipersonnel landmine use amid fighting between the ELN and Autodefensas Gaitanistas (AGC), confining 1,200 people and denying access to farmland.[15] Mines were also reportedly used during conflict between the ELN and AGC in Medio San Juan, in Chocó department, in January 2022.[16] Landmine injuries were reported during armed conflict between AGC and ELN in Cúcuta, in Norte de Santander department, in January 2022.[17]

Between late 2021 and mid-2022, numerous media reports detailed new mine use and seizures of improvised mines. Colombia’s military discovered a cache of 1,984 improvised mines in Puerto Concordia, in Meta department, in May 2022.[18] A cache of FARC mines was also discovered in Meta department in September 2021, while it was also reported that FARC rebels had emplaced improvised mines in trees.[19]

The government of Colombia signed a final peace agreement with FARC on 24 November 2016, which commits both parties to end the conflict and build peace, including via landmine clearance.[20] Yet in 2019, some FARC dissidents abandoned the peace agreement and resumed armed activities against the government.[21] More recently, former FARC fighters have reportedly begun providing information on areas mined during the armed conflict to the Colombian authorities, under the framework of the 2016 peace agreement.[22]

CCCM uses radio messages, face-to-face workshops on risk prevention, and written materials in its work to provide warnings about the threat posed by landmines, and urges NSAGs to stop using them.[23] In August 2021, a CCCM clearance team working in Puerto Leguizamo municipality, in Putumayo department, was approached by a dissident FARC group who told deminers that they would not interfere with demining activities, but would not stop using antipersonnel mines.[24]



[1] For details on penal sanctions and other aspects of Law 759, see Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, 6 May 2005. See, Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Database; and ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2005: Toward a Mine-Free World (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, October 2005) p. 255.

[2] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2013), Form A.

[3] ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Colombia: Mine Action,” updated 11 December 2017.

[4] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021). Colombia submitted its initial transparency report on 15 March 2002 and has provided updated annual Article 7 reports each year since.

[5] Colombia participated in the treaty’s review conferences held in 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019, and has attended every Meeting of States Parties, in addition to all intersessional meetings.

[6] Amb. Alicia Victoria Arango Olmos initially served in this role following her election at the Nineteenth Meeting of States Parties. However, Amb. Olmos resigned the presidency “[d]ue to unforeseen personal circumstances” in May 2022. She was replaced by Amb. Alvaro Enrique Ayala Melendez.

[7] Monitor interviews with Sergio Rodríguez, Second Technical Manager, INDUMIL, 5 July 2000 and 24 July 2001. As of 2001, INDUMIL was still producing Claymore-type directional fragmentation mines. Colombia stated that these mines are used only in command-detonated mode, as permitted by the Mine Ban Treaty. However, Colombia has not reported on steps it has taken to ensure that these mines are used only in command-detonated mode.

[8] In addition to the 18,531 mines destroyed, the government reported three other destructions of a total of 3,404 antipersonnel mines. For details, see, Landmine Monitor Report 2006: Toward a Mine-Free World (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, July 2006), p. 302.

[9] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2013), Form D, pg 13.

[10] Presentation by the Colombian Armed Forces, “Desarrollo Compromiso con la Convención de Ottawa” (“Development Commitment with the Ottawa Convention”), Bogotá, 6 March 2006. Antipersonnel mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) manufactured by armed groups are constructed out of everything from glass bottles to plastic jerry cans. The explosive used is normally ANFO (made from fertilizer), but sometimes is a conventional explosive such as TNT. The mines are initiated by pressure-activated syringe fuzes (chemical initiation), battery-operated fuzes, and electric fuzes activated by both pressure and tripwires. These mines often have high levels of metal fragmentation in them.

[11] The bodies of the improvised antipersonnel mines are primarily non-metallic, using both commercial high explosives as well as improvised explosives from agricultural chemicals, and are activated by either electronic or chemical detonators. Most are activated by pressure, though some are activated by tension [trip] wires. Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), pp. 66–68.

[12] See, for example, Michell Francois Romoleroux, “Cuatro soldados, gravemente heridos por activación de explosivo en Cauca” (“Four soldiers seriously injured by explosive activation in Cauca”), El Tiempo, 9 March 2022. Details of several other incidents are outlined in data compiled by CCCM for Landmine Monitor 2022.

[13] Updated information according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace, sourced from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights database of events by MAP/MUSE.

[14] Email from Camilo Ernesto Serna V, Deputy Director, CCCM, 29 August 2022.

[15] Local clergy claim that this confinement is meant to keep the villagers as human shields to prevent attack. See, “Crisis humanitaria en Dabeiba: hay cerca de 1.000 indígenas desplazados” (“Humanitarian crisis in Dabeiba: there are nearly 1,000 displaced indigenous people”), Infobae, 29 September 2021.

[16] See, “Alerta en Chocó: Conflicto entre ELN y Clan del Golfo ha desplazado a más de 1.500 personas” (“Alert in Chocó: Conflict between ELN and Clan del Golfo has displaced more than 1,500 people”), Infobae, 18 January 2022; and “Joven indígena resultó herido por mina antipersonal en Chocó” (“Young indigenous man was injured by antipersonnel mine in Chocó”), Radio Nacional, 9 February 2022.

[17]Agricultor pisó una mina en la zona rural de Cúcuta” (“Farmer stepped on a mine in the rural area of Cúcuta”), Vanguardia, 17 January 2022.

[18] Colombian Armed Forces press release, “Fuerza de Tarea Conjunta 'Omega' ubicó depósito ilegal con casi dos mil minas antipersonales” (“Joint Task Force Omega Located Illegal Deposit With Almost Two Thousand Antipersonnel Mines”), 10 May 2022.

[19] Alicia Liliana Mendez, “Minas antipersonal en árboles: la brutal práctica para asesinar a militares” (“Antipersonnel mines in trees: the brutal practice to assassinate soldiers”), El Tiempo, 26 September 2021.

[20]Acuerdo Final para la Terminación del Conflicto y la Construcción de una Paz Estable y Duradera” (“Final Agreement for the Termination of the Conflict and the Construction of a Stable and Lasting Peace”), 3.1.7.1, p. 24, November 2016. Subsequently, an October 2017 ceasefire agreement between the government of Colombia and the ELN included a commitment not to use antipersonnel landmines, however the ceasefire expired without renewal in 2018. “Colombia Cease-Fire Agreement Takes Effect Sunday,” Voice of America (VOA), 30 September 2017. See also, Adriaan Alsima, “Colombia’s ELN rebels blame government for failure to agree to ceasefire,” Colombia Reports, 2 July 2018.

[21] Megan Janetsky, “Ex-FARC leaders’ return to arms brings back memories of bloodshed,” Al Jazeera, 30 August 2019.

[22] For example, In December 2021, a former FARC member provided information on the location of antipersonnel mines laid during fighting in Magdalena Medio. See, “Exguerrilleros informaron sobre minas antipersonal en Colombia” (“Alert in the south of Bolivar due to the presence of paramilitaries”), Prensa Latina, 20 December 2021.

[23] Email from Luz Estela Navas, Development Coordinator, CCCM, 18 August 2022.

[24] Report provided to the Monitor by Camilo Ernesto Serna, Sub-Director, CCCM, 31 August 2021. In April 2022, a CCCM non-technical survey team was approached by two unidentified armed men, who detained and searched them before letting them go. In May 2022, two CCCM demining vehicles were destroyed by an armed group, but no staff were harmed.


Impact

Last updated: 18 November 2022

Country Summary

The Republic of Colombia’s landmine problem is the result of more than five decades of conflict with non-state armed groups (NSAGs). Mines have reportedly been laid since 1990 in isolated rural areas of Colombia by NSAGs, and were usually victim-activated or command-detonated artisanal explosive devices. Most landmines were planted in remote and hard-to-reach rural areas, to protect strategic positions, drug laboratories, access roads, and illicit crops.

While contamination in Colombia is low density and scattered, landmines continue to affect local communities in the most contaminated departments of Antioquia, Arauca, Caquetá, Chocó, Meta, Nariño, and Norte de Santander.[1] Since a 2016 peace agreement was signed with one of the main NSAGs involved in the conflict, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo, FARC-EP), annual casualties due to mines have  reduced significantly, while civilian casualties began to outnumber military casualties.[2] Yet use by NSAGs has continued, and in February 2021 Colombia declared the planting of mines a war crime.[3]

Landmine clearance began in Colombia in 2005, and steady progress was made in clearing mined military bases. Yet the continued use of improvised mines by NSAGs meant that Colombia did not meet its original clearance deadline of 2011 nor its first extended deadline of 2021. In 2020, Colombia requested and was granted a second extension to its clearance deadline, until 31 December 2025.

Risk education was implemented primarily in the municipalities accessible to clearance operators, Challenges for risk education included reaching remote communities, and ensuring that approaches were tailored to the needs, culture, and language of different indigenous ethnic groups.

Landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) victims receive assistance through a national law on reparations for conflict victims. [4] In 2021, improvements in access to services for survivors were reported. Yet many victims still faced financial, physical, and administrative barriers to obtaining medical care and accessing rehabilitation services, especially in rural mine-affected areas.[5] 

Impact

Contamination

Contamination (as of December 2021)[6]

 

Antipersonnel landmine

Cluster munition remnant

Other ERW

Extent of contamination

Small*

 

Unknown

Unknown

Reported contamination

2.96km²

-

-

*Contamination remains unknown in 185 municipalities.

Note: CHA=confirmed hazardous area; SHA=suspected hazardous area; ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Landmine contamination

As of the end of 2021, Colombia reported a total of 2.96km² of land contaminated by antipersonnel mines (primarily improvised mines) across 66 municipalities and 12 departments, comprising 219 confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs) measuring 1.63km² and 188 suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) totaling 1.33km².[7] In 2021, Colombia reported 80 new SHAs, with an estimated size of 0.74km²; and 93 CHAs, comprising 0.61km².[8]

A further 185 municipalities were known to be affected by antipersonnel landmines, with the extent of their contamination unknown, including 131 that were inaccessible for security reasons.[9]

Landmines in Colombia are essentially victim-activated or command-detonated artisanal explosive devices, laid by NSAGs. Mined areas are low-density, nuisance minefields, designed to target military or paramilitary forces.

Improvised mines were usually planted 10–13cm deep, and close to roads, riverbanks, ridge lines, and infrastructure commonly used by the military, but also by the civilian population.[10] The improvised mines contain very low metal content, with explosive substances derived from agriculture products which are hard to detect during clearance. Their composition varies, depending on the region and the availability of primary components.

Geographic and climatic conditions, as well as the absence of mapping, has made identification of contaminated areas difficult.[11] While some NSAGs allegedly still lay mines, demobilized FARC-EP rebels contributed to the identification of 137 possible minefields in multiple departments, and collected data on 53 possible mined areas in Antioquia and Tolima between 2019 and July 2022.[12]

There was no national baseline of contamination in Colombia. Non-technical and technical survey data was used to develop a more accurate picture of contamination. In areas where survey had not taken place, Colombia relied on data about “events,” including mine/ERW incidents or reports of suspected contamination.[13] Yet operators reported previously that these events were often unreliable, and do not always correspond to the presence of mines/ERW.[14]

New contamination was suspected in municipalities where humanitarian demining had not yet been carried out. It was reported that from December 2019 onwards, the conditions required to carry out a dialogue process with armed actors using improvised antipersonnel mines did not exist.[15]

Around 480,000 people were estimated to be affected by mines/ERW, mainly located in rural areas across the departments of Antioquia, Arauca, Bolívar, Boyacá, Caquetá, Casanare, Cauca, Chocó, Córdoba, Guainía, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira, Meta, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Risaralda, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupés, and Vichada. Mines hindered access to land, water, livelihoods, healthcare, education, and humanitarian services.[16]

Cluster munition remnants contamination

It is unclear whether Colombia is affected by cluster munition remnants. Since 2017, Colombia has maintained that no known evidence of cluster munition contamination had been found.[17] The Inter-American Human Rights Court (IAHRC) found that the Colombian Air Force used an “AN-M1A” bomb, which it said meets the definition of a cluster munition, during an attack on Santo Domingo in 1998.[18] A study reported in 2021 that cluster munition contamination was a possibility, as in the 1990s, the Colombian Air Force had acquired two types of cluster bombs, the CB-250K from Chile and the ARC-32 from Israel, and did not seem to have provided sufficient information on their use prior to ratifying the Convention on Cluster Munitions and subsequent stockpile destruction.[19]

ERW contamination

The full extent of ERW contamination in Colombia remains unknown. Yet humanitarian demining reports and casualty data showed that ERW accounted for 29% of all items destroyed between 2007 and December 2021, and caused 5% of mine/ERW casualties recorded in Colombia since 1990.[20] 

Casualties

Between 1990 and 2021, the Monitor recorded a total of 12,147 mine/ERW casualties (2,340 killed; 9,807 injured), with the highest totals of casualties recorded in the departments of Antioquia (2,628), Meta (1,146), Nariño (1,043), Norte de Santander (951), and Caquetá (950).[21]

Civilians have represented the majority of casualties since the 2016 peace agreement with FARC-EP. This marked a reversal of the previous trend when military personnel accounted for the majority of casualties.

Men represented 86% of all-time casualties (10,474).

Casualties in 2021

Overview

Total

152

Change from 2020

Decrease from 174 casualties

Survival outcome

Injured

138

Killed

14

Casualties by devices

Improvised mines

133

Other ERW

19

Casualties by civilian status

Civilian

93

Military

59

Casualties by age and gender

Men

118

Women

9

Total Adult

127

Boys

18

Girls

7

Total Children

25

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Casualties in 2021

In 2021, OACP-AICMA recorded 152 mine/ERW casualties in Colombia. Civilians accounted for the majority of this total (61%). The proportion of child casualties increased from 13% in 2020 to 16% in 2021.

Nearly half of all civilian casualties (46%) were afro-descendants or indigenous people.

In 2021, most of the casualties (127, or 84%) were from five departments only: Antioquia (21), Cauca (28), Choco (28), Nariño (21), and Norte de Santander (29). Those departments are strategic areas for illicit crop cultivation and trafficking. The municipalities of Argelia (22 casualties) in Cauca department and Tumaco (14) in Nariño department recorded the most casualties in 2021. These two municipalities are known to host amongst the largest coca production in the country.[22]

No civilian casualties were recorded during coca crop eradication during 2021. In contrast, 40% of civilian casualties in 2020 occurred during eradication activities, and 38% during 2019. Six military casualties occurred during eradication of coca crops in 2021, marking a significant decrease from 24 in 2020.[23]

Cluster munition casualties

Seventeen civilians were killed and 27 injured during a cluster munition attack in Santo Domingo, on 13 December 1998.[24] No cluster munition remnants casualties have been reported by Colombia since 1990.

Management and Coordination

Mine action management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination overview[25]

National mine action management actors

National Intersectoral Commission on Antipersonnel Mine Action (Comisión Intersectorial Nacional para la Acción contra Minas Antipersonal, CINAMAP)

The Office of the High Commissioner for Peace (Oficina del Alto Comisionado para la Paz, OACP)

Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines (Acción Integral Contra Minas Antipersonales, AICMA)

Inter-Institutional Court for Humanitarian Demining (Instancia Interinstitucional de Desminado Humanitario, IIDH)​

United Nations agencies

United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS)

Other actors

Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (Fondation Suisse de Déminage, FSD)

Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)

Organization of American States (OAS)

Mine action strategic and operational plans

Mine Action Strategic Plan 2020–2025

Operational Plan for Humanitarian Demining 2020–2025

Mine action standards

17 Technical Norms (adopted in 2021)

Management and coordination

The National Intersectoral Commission on Antipersonnel Mine Action (Comisión Intersectorial Nacional para la Acción contra Minas Antipersonal, CINAMAP), an interministerial body created in 2002, is responsible for monitoring and reporting on Colombia’s Mine Ban Treaty obligations. CINAMAP oversees cooperation between national and international mine action stakeholders.[26]

Under CINAMAP, the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace (Oficina del Alto Comisionado para la Paz, OACP) is the national mine action authority. OACP and Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines (Acción Integral Contra Minas Antipersonales, AICMA) coordinate all mine action activities. This structure integrates mine action coordination under the government’s broader national peace-building policy, led by the High Commissioner for Peace.[27]

Through AICMA Department Committees, national strategic planning and technical requirements related to mine action are incorporated into local action and development plans.[28]

The Inter-Institutional Court for Humanitarian Demining (Instancia Interinstitucional de Desminado Humanitario, IIDH) is responsible for accrediting and tasking clearance operators. IIDH is composed of OACP-AICMA, the Ministry of National Defense, and the General Inspection of Military Forces.[29]

The Organization of American States (OAS) is responsible for quality management and oversight of all mine action operators in Colombia; except for Humanicemos DH, as it is composed and led by ex-FARC-EP combatants.[30] OAS plans to transfer its responsibilities to the Government of Colombia by 2023.[31]

Since 2018, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has provided technical assistance, capacity-building support, and quality management to Humanicemos DH. [32] A workplan for 2020–2022 was established jointly by UNMAS and OACP-AICMA in this regard, and Humanicemos DH deployed its first demining team in March 2021, in Caquetá department. UNMAS also coordinates the Mine Action Area of Responsibility under the Protection Cluster for Colombia.[33]

OACP has received technical assistance from the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (Fondation Suisse de Déminage, FSD) since 2016, and from the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining  (GICHD) since 2018.[34] In 2021, FSD’s support focused on environmental management in clearance operations, developing national standards, and information management. [35] GICHD developed a capacity-building program for gender focal points in 2019–2021, and published a study in April 2022 on the contribution of mine action toward sustainable development in Colombia.[36]

Legislation and standards

In February 2021, Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, JEP) recognized the planting of landmines as a war crime.[37]

On 15 June 2021, OACP-AICMA adopted 17 Technical Norms, which act as Colombia’s national mine action standards. Humanitarian demining operators were given three months to submit their operating procedures for approval to OACP-AICMA, revised in line with the Technical Norms.[38]

Strategies and policies

In 2019, Colombia developed a new five-year Mine Action Strategic Plan covering 2020–2025.[39] The accompanying Operational Plan for Humanitarian Demining 2020–2025 included an annual workplan and financial projections.[40] Task orders were delivered, based on the 156 contaminated municipalities selected for demining in the operational plan, and were valid until 2023.[41]  

Information management

Colombia uses the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA). FSD, GICHD, and UNMAS provide technical support.[42] OACP-AICMA enhanced its reporting and monitoring tools in 2021 through interactive digital dashboards including maps, graphics, and disaggregated data. The dashboard and mine action datasets were publicly accessible online.[43] 

UNMAS reported that a working group involving the Colombian government, the United Nations (UN), and FARC planned to develop an information-sharing system between the government and FARC, with the aim of mapping the location of explosive ordnance emplaced during the conflict.[44]

Gender and diversity

Gender and diversity variables were included in Colombia’s information management system, with data on risk education and victim assistance disaggregated by age, gender, and ethnic group.[45]

Demining positions remained largely occupied by men, women represented 4% of the accredited deminers or non-technical survey team members in 2021.[46] Risk education was more inclusive, with 60% of certified staff in 2021 being women. The Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines (Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas, CCCM) reported that 67% of its staff were women. For UNMAS in Colombia, the figure was 65%. Humanicemos DH had a woman director, while 24% of its staff were women.[47]

Risk education management and coordination

Risk education management and coordination overview[48]

Government focal points

OACP-AICMA

National Learning Service (Servicio National de Aprendizaje, SENA)

Coordination mechanisms

National Mine Risk Education Board

Other actors

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)

Risk education standards

Technical Norm 6481

Coordination

The National Mine Risk Education Board under OACP-AICMA is the main coordination body for risk education. Colombia reported that the national board held three meetings during 2021.[49]

The National Learning Service (Servicio National de Aprendizaje, SENA) is the accreditation and certification body for risk education in Colombia, under the Ministry of Work.[50] As of the end of 2021, a total of 33 organizations were accredited to conduct risk education by SENA.[51]

GICHD supported OACP to include gender variables in its risk education data collection.[52]

National standards and guidelines

A Technical Norm approved in June 2021 updated and replaced the former Standard for Mine Risk Education 3.9.[53] The update was undertaken with the participation of all risk education operators, and aligned with International Mine Action Standard (IMAS) 12.10.[54] 

Technical Norm 6481 required all risk education operators to consider the age, gender, ethnicity, disability, and sexual orientation of persons in supported communities during projects.[55]  

National risk education strategy

A risk education strategy is included within the 2020–2025 strategic plan, and will be implemented through yearly action plans monitored by the National Mine Risk Education Board.[56]

Victim assistance management and coordination          

Victim assistance management and coordination overview[57]

Government focal points

OACP-AICMA

Unit for Attention and Integral Reparation to the Victims (Unidad para la Atención y Reparación Integral a las Víctimas, UARIV)

Presidential Council for the Participation of Persons with Disabilities

Ministry of Health and Social Protection

Ministry of National Defense

Coordination mechanisms

Victim Assistance Technical Subcommittee

Other actors

United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS)

Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)

Plans/strategies

National plans for assistance for mine/ERW victims

Disability sector integration

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection leads on referral of mine/ERW victims to healthcare services

Victim assistance standards

Colombia has not adopted IMAS 13.10

 Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Coordination

Responsibility for victim assistance is a shared by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the Presidential Council for the Participation of Persons with Disabilities, OACP-AICMA, and the Unit for Attention and Integral Reparation to the Victims (Unidad para la Atención y Reparación Integral a las Víctimas, UARIV).[58]

The Victim Assistance Technical Subcommittee under OACP-AICMA approves an annual budget and workplans for victim assistance operators.[59]

UARIV is responsible for implementing Law 1448 for civilian conflict victims, including mine and ERW survivors. UARIV develops action plans and budgets for multisectoral planning.[60]

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection leads on referrals for pre-hospital care, emergency care, longer-term  healthcare, rehabilitation, and psychosocial and socio-economic inclusion. It also grants disability certificates, allowing mine/ERW survivors access to services and benefits.[61]

In 2021, there were 83 referral pathways for survivors at municipal and department level, including those developed through survivor organizations.[62] This marked a rise from 63 pathways in 2019.[63] HI included victim assistance in development plans in four municipalities and UNMAS contributed to 46 referral pathways.[64] In Antioquia and Putumayo departments, 14 referral pathways developed in 2021 recognized the cultural impact of mine/ERW incidents in indigenous communities.[65]

Laws and policies

Colombia has a strong legal framework on the rights and needs of conflict victims and persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors. Yet access to services remined unequal in 2021.[66]

The National Victims and Land Restitution Law provides assistance to conflict victims, including mine/ERW survivors. Spouses, partners, and family members also benefit.[67] Many laws or decrees that promote the rights of mine/ERW survivors have been approved since 2007.[68]

During 2021, the Victim Assistance Technical Subcommittee decided not to adopt IMAS 13.10 on Victim Assistance, as it would have been in contradiction with national regulations.[69]

The Colombian Public Forces have a dedicated Comprehensive Rehabilitation System which is led by the Ministry of National Defense.[70]

Information management

OACP-AICMA maintained the Information Service for Mine Survivors (Servicio de Informacion para Sobrevivientes de Minas Antipersonnal, SISMAP), with IMSMA, to share information and to facilitate the registration of victims. During 2021, 159 survivors were newly registered.[71] SISMAP has identified a total of 4,646 survivors in the health and social security system, of which only 72% were covered by state-subsidized health insurance.[72]

UARIV is responsible for the Central Registry of Victims.[73] It also worked to identify mine/ERW survivors who had not yet accessed reparations.[74]

Addressing the Impact

Mine action

Clearance operators

Clearance operators

National

Humanitarian Demining Engineers Brigade No. 1

Amphibious Humanitarian Deminers Engineers Brigade

CCCM

Humanicemos DH

International

Danish Refugee Council

HALO Trust

Humanity & Inclusion (HI)

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) reported that it had ceased its humanitarian mine action operations in Colombia in 2020, and was in the process of closing its office in March 2021.[75]

Since 2018, Humanicemos DH has received capacity development support from international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UNMAS, including training on non-technical survey and clearance. Humanicemos DH first deployed in Caquetá department during March 2021, and handed over its first cleared area (totaling 1,974m²) later in the year in La Montañita municipality.[76]

Land release in 2021

During 2021, Colombia released 3.74km² of land through non-technical survey, technical survey, and clearance across 53 municipalities in 14 departments: Antioquia, Bolivar, Caldas, Caquetá, Cauca, Huila, La Guajira, Meta, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Santander, Tolima, and Valle del Cauca.[77] Eighteen municipalities were declared mine-free in 2021.

Land release in 2021[78]

Area cleared (km²)

Area reduced (km²)

Area cancelled (km²)

APM destroyed

Other ERW destroyed

1.94

1.73

0.07

204

66

 Note: APM=antipersonnel mine; ERW=explosive remnant of war.

In 2021, Colombia cleared 45% more than planned for the year in its extension request (1.33km²).[79] Colombia was planning to address 78 areas and release 3.15km2 between 2022 and 2025.[80]

Clearance was reported to have taken place in densely vegetated and hard-to-reach areas, with some minefields being distant from the nearest road and requiring the use of mule trains to ferry supplies. The remoteness of contaminated areas and the characteristics of contamination (scattered with low metal components) slowed down clearance.[81] The National University of Colombia and Los Andes University had developed new technologies to support demining in Colombia’s terrain, which were being field-tested with improvised mines donated by the Colombian military.[82] 

Land release is key to the economic development of affected communities, allowing activities such as agriculture, cattle farming, and agrotourism to develop. Demining also facilitated the use of land for water, electricity, and telecommunications infrastructure, promoted reforestation, and rendered access roads safe, allowing children to attend school.[83] Yet it was reported that demining carried out during military operations may increase deforestation.[84]

In 2021, UNMAS developed a tool to record changes in land use and infrastructure development after clearance. CCCM, Humanicemos DH, and the Humanitarian Demining Engineers Brigade No. 1 tested it in the municipalities of Bolívar, Caquetá, Huila, and Putumayo. The tool reportedly demonstrated a reduction in illicit crop planting and subsequent reforestation, an improvement in the condition of local roads, and an increase in requests for land restitution by farmers.[85]

Deminer safety

In May 2022, deminers in Colombia were twice targeted by NSAGs: two CCCM trucks were set on fire in Antioquia department, while six personnel of Humanitarian Demining Engineers Brigade No. 1 were injured during an attack in Meta department. In December 2021, Humanity & Inclusion (HI) and the HALO Trust suspended their activities in Antioquia and Meta following arson attacks on their vehicles.[86]

Residual risk

Colombia reported that residual risk was to be addressed by the Humanitarian Demining Engineers Brigade No. 1. Humanitarian demining operators were also responsible for addressing residual risk for a period of six months after the finalization of their clearance tasks. Colombia reported that 14 CHAs totaling 0.08km² were being addressed as areas of residual risk, as of December 2021.[87]

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance deadline

Colombia stated that the presence of NSAGs in landmine-affected areas had hindered humanitarian demining operations, preventing it from meeting its Article 5 deadline of 1 March 2021.[88]

In 2020, Colombia was granted a second extension, for four years and 10 months, until 31 December 2025.[89] Colombia’s extension request included an operational plan, for 2020–2025, based on 156 municipalities that were accessible and where demining operations were ongoing. Yet another 166 contaminated municipalities remained inaccessible due to insecurity.[90] Colombia planned to review its operational plan by April 2023 and assess the situation in the inaccessible municipalities to establish a contamination estimate.[91] The total land area to be released by 2025 will correspond only to clearance in the accessible areas.[92]

Five-year landmine clearance overview

Year

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

Total

Area cleared (km²)

1.94

1.08

0.79

0.84

0.38

5.03

Note: APM=antipersonnel mine and ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Risk education

Operators 

In 2021, Colombia had 50 active risk education organizations: 43 national (including four survivors’ groups) and seven international.

The top five providers of risk education in 2021 were: the Center for Comprehensive Rehabilitation in Colombia (Centro Integral de Rehabilitación en Colombia, CIREC), CCCM, Corporation for Peace and Democracy (Corporación Paz y Democracia, CPD), the Danish Refugee Council, and the Organization of American States (OAS).[93] All humanitarian demining operators in Colombia in 2021 provided risk education integrated with clearance and survey activities.

Risk education operators

Type of organization

Name of organization

Type of activity

National*

Antonio Restrepo Barco Foundation (Fundación Antonio Restrepo Barco, FRB)

Digital risk education and risk education workshops with local authorities

Center for Comprehensive Rehabilitation in Colombia (Centro Integral de Rehabilitación en Colombia, CIREC)

Emergency risk education for communities in Nariño and Putumayo, including IDPs

Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines (Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas, CCCM)

Emergency and community-based risk education

Corporation for Peace and democracy (Corporación Paz y Democracia, CPD)

Risk education in schools

Colombian Red Cross  

Risk education sessions and radio broadcasts

International*

Danish Refugee Council

Risk education in communities and schools, integrated with clearance in Amazonas, Caquetá, and Nariño

Humanity & Inclusion (HI)

Emergency risk education; risk education integrated with clearance; and training of trainers programs, including in rural and indigenous communities

Organization of American States (OAS) 

Risk education integrated with clearance, including rapid response and messaging in schools

HALO Trust

Emergency, school-based, and community risk education integrated with clearance; and training of trainers programs

Note: IDP=internally displaced person.

Beneficiary numbers

Beneficiaries in 2021[94]

Men

Women

Girls

Boys

33,492

35,540

21,833

22,530

Note: Beneficiary totals reported by OACP-AICMA, which include those of 50 national and international operators.

In 2021, OACP-AICMA reported that a total of 113,395 risk education beneficiaries were reached across 27 departments. The departments recording the most beneficiaries were Antioquia (9,564), Arauca (8,576), Caquetá (9,070), Chocó (22,980), Nariño (18,495), and Putumayo (11,390). Every department with mine/ERW casualties in 2021 was reached with risk education.

Men represented only one-third of all beneficiaries, despite being most affected by mine/ERW accidents. In 2021, afro-descendants and indigenous people, both at-risk groups, represented 44% of beneficiaries.

Key recent developments

In 2020–2021, a risk education project, “Safe Steps,” was developed through a partnership between Antonio Restrepo Barco Foundation (Fundación Antonio Restrepo Barco, FRB) and the Discovery Channel. The project targeted seven departments and 44 municipalities in Colombia, and provided risk education via community sessions, a digital app, an interactive virtual reality game, and a mini-series broadcast on the Discovery Kids television channel.[95]

In 2021, HI developed a guide for providing risk education to minority ethnic groups in Colombia, including materials in six native languages, with the participation of operators and representatives of indigenous peoples in Antioquia, Cauca, Chocó, Nariño, Norte de Santander, and Putumayo.[96]

During 2021, HI and the HALO Trust provided risk education sessions to rural communities. HI implemented training of trainers programs and supported indigenous community leaders to get risk education certification.[97] The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) broadcast radio spots, distributed materials in local languages, and supported the Colombian Red Cross to deliver risk education.[98] OACP-AICMA funded nine indigenous and seven afro-descendant organizations to provide risk education in their communities and disseminate messages in remote areas.[99]

NSAGs sometimes opposed risk education activities, as landmines were perceived as strategically protecting them from enemies and securing coca production.[100] HI reported that insecurity in some municipalities of Caquetá, Cauca, and Meta departments prevented risk education activities.[101]

Implementation

Target groups

Needs, vulnerability, and capacity assessments were used in Colombia to prioritize risk education provision.[102] Both rural and urban communities, and also internally displaced persons (IDPs), were considered at-risk groups.[103] Migrants, crossing the border from Venezuela and entering insecure areas where NSAGs were present, were also at risk.[104]                                                   

In 2021, target groups for risk education included men, afro-descendants, and indigenous persons, especially in poor rural areas, where livelihood activities such as agriculture, ranching, mining, and crop eradication exposed them to mine/ERW risk. Men were hard to reach during the daytime due to outdoor activities. Women participating in subsistence farming and foraging were also exposed to risk, especially indigenous women.[105] Children and teenagers were vulnerable, due to transiting through contaminated areas to attend school and due to picking up explosive items to play with. In rural areas, a higher proportion of children did not attend school, missing out on risk education.[106]

HI also targeted persons with disabilities, combining physical exercise with the promotion of safe behaviors in rural areas.[107]

Delivery methods

Emergency and school-based risk education, and provision of risk education alongside clearance and survey operations, are the primary settings for risk education outlined in Colombia’s national standards.[108] Risk education was integrated into the primary and secondary school curriculum.[109]

Risk education was conducted in rural and urban areas, and focused on improvised mines and other ERW. Operators delivered risk education in municipalities where clearance was taking place, and also in the municipalities where clearance was prevented by insecurity.[110] Operational challenges included low population density in some areas, and regions that were difficult to access.[111]

Victim assistance

Victim assistance providers[112]

Type of organization

Name of organization

Type of activity

Governmental

National Learning Service (Servicio National de Aprendizaje, SENA)

Vocational training; and training for prosthetics and orthotics technicians

National

Colombian Campaign Against Mines (Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas, CCCM)

Legal advice; referrals to services; awareness-raising; advocacy; economic inclusion; survivor associations; and capacity-building for local authorities

Center for Comprehensive Rehabilitation in Colombia (Centro Integral de Rehabilitación en Colombia, CIREC)

Physical rehabilitation including mobile services in remote areas; and income-generation projects

Foundation for Comprehensive Rehabilitation (Fundación Rehabilitation Integral, FRI)

Physical rehabilitation; psychological support; and socio-economic inclusion

National Network for Mine, ERW, and Booby-Trap Victims of Colombia (Red Nacional de asociaciones de víctimas de MAP/MUSE/TE de Colombia, VICMINCOL)

Capacity-building of survivor organizations; awareness-raising on referral pathways; and advocacy

International

Humanity & Inclusion (HI)

Psychosocial support; advocacy; inclusive education; social inclusion and training; and referrals to physical rehabilitation

United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS)

Legal advice for victims; creation of referral pathways; and training in healthcare and psychosocial support

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Physical rehabilitation; and social reintegration through sport

 

In 2021, a total of 15 survivor organizations were reportedly strengthened through the National Network for Mine, ERW, and Booby-Trap Victims of Colombia (Red Nacional de asociaciones de víctimas de MAP/MUSE/TE de Colombia, VICMINCOL). OACP-AICMA funded seven survivor organizations in 2021: in Arauca, Caquetá, Cauca, Huila, Meta, Nariño, and Norte de Santander.[113] Survivor organizations received support to raise awareness on the rights of persons with disabilities and on referral pathways.[114] In early 2021, Colombia hosted a meeting in Bogota aimed at ensuring inclusion of victims from different backgrounds and regions in victim assistance planning.[115]

Bureaucracy often resulted in delayed access to services; while gaps in the provision of healthcare, rehabilitation, and psychosocial support services remained limited, especially in rural areas.[116]

Needs assessment

Data collection on mine/ERW survivors and their injuries was ongoing in 2021.

Among the survivors registered in the national IMSMA database for the period 1990–2021, of all persons injured, 16% incurred amputations; 16% had shrapnel injuries or fractures; 17% had other wounds, burns, or lacerations; and 62% had visual and/or hearing impairments.[117]

Medical care and rehabilitation

A lack of health and rehabilitation centers in the most remote contaminated areas of Colombia was an enduring problem.[118] ICRC reported that attacks against health services impeded the provision of emergency medical care. Seriously injured people were evacuated by the ICRC. The Colombian Red Cross and ICRC trained health workers in wound management and war surgery, and provided first-aid training in affected communities.[119] Access to health services for persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, was limited and medical follow-up was inadequate. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting limitations on access to healthcare, had a psychological impact on survivors in 2021.[120]

ICRC noted that physical rehabilitation services in Colombia only resumed fully in the second half of 2021, after being disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[121] ICRC covered the cost of transport, food, and medicine at state-run facilities and at ICRC-supported physical rehabilitation centers for people in need, including 118 mine/ERW survivors in 2021.[122] The Ministry of Health and Social Protection published a manual on wheelchair services, with ICRC support.[123]

In 2021, HI-run municipal physical training centers provided physical rehabilitation where services were lacking. The COVID-19 pandemic had prevented these activities during 2020.[124]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

ICRC provided mental health and psychosocial support through in-person or virtual counselling. It also supported sports activities for persons with disabilities, including in places of detention.[125]

UNMAS organized a workshop on psychosocial care for child mine/ERW survivors in 2021.[126]

Colombia established a specific referral pathway for child victims of conflict, including mine/ERW survivors, in 2020, facilitating education support without needing to be registered with the Central Registry of Victims.[127]

Economic inclusion of mine/ERW survivors increased due to projects in areas where demining was taking place, with an emphasis on ecotourism and skills for entrepreneurship.[128]


[1] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), “Panorama de las necesidades humanitarias: Colombia” (“Humanitarian Needs Overview: Colombia”), 23 February 2022, pp. 116–117; and ACAPS, “Colombia: Antipersonnel Mines and Explosive Remnants of War,” 2 June 2022, pp. 3–4 and 7.

[2] Office of the High Commissioner for Peace (Oficina del Alto Comisionado para la Paz, OACP) and Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines (Acción Integral Contra Minas Antipersonales, AICMA), “Estadísticas de víctimas,” (“Victims statistics”), updated 31 October 2022; and Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), “Contribuciones de la acción integral contra minas al desarrollo sostenible en Colombia” (“Contributions of the comprehensive action against mines to sustainable development in Colombia”), 5 April 2022, pp. 110–111.

[3] OACP, “La instalación de minas antipersonal es un crimen de guerra y debe ser llamado como tal: Alto Comisionado para la Paz, sobre decisión de la JEP” (“The laying of antipersonnel mines is a war crime and shall be called as it is: High Commissioner for Peace, about the decision of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace”), February 2021.

[4] Unit for the Attention and Integral Reparation to the Victims (Unidad para la Atención y Reparación Integral a las Víctimas, UARIV), “The Unit’s Review,” undated.

[5] Humanity & Inclusion (HI), “Country Card: Colombia,” updated September 2021, p. 4, and ACAPS, “Colombia: Antipersonnel Mines and Explosive Remnants of War,” 2 June 2022, p. 6.

[6] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, pp. 41–53; response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Sahad Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022; Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form A, p. 18; Colombia Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form F; and email from Camilo Serna, Sub-Director, CCCM, 30 July 2020.

[7] As of December 2021, 63 municipalities with known contamination were assigned to operators, while three municipalities were under an “information qualification process,” an exercise described by Colombia as an intermediary step between a desk review and non-technical survey, potentially leading to land release. Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, pp. 36 and 41–53.

[8] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Sahad Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022.

[9] The 185 municipalities included nine municipalities that were prioritized but not yet assigned to operators, totaling 0.58km² (0.27km² CHA and 0.31km² SHA); 45 assigned to operators but with unknown contamination; and 131 that were not accessible, not assigned to operators, and with unknown contamination. Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, pp. 31–32, 37, 41–43, 48–49, and Annex II, pp. 98–103; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Sahad Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022.

[10] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, (for calendar year 2020), Form D, pp. 46–48.

[11] UNOCHA, “Panorama de las necesidades humanitarias: Colombia” (“Humanitarian Response Plan: Colombia”), April 2021, p. 90; Rachel Nuwer, “The Daunting, Dangerous Task of unearthing Colombia’s landmines,” Nova, 16 July 2018; Owen Boed, “Colombia’s Doubtful Progress Against Landmines,” Insight Crime, 20 October 2020; and Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form A, p. 14.

[12] Security Council, “Report of the Secretary General to the Security Council on United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia,” S/2022/513, 27 June 2022, p. 6; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Sahad Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022. 

[13] Since 2002, it was mandated by Article 13 of Law 759/02 that the Ministry of National Defense must submit monthly reports of all known events related to antipersonnel mines, and local authorities were also required to report on any mine accidents or incidents. In addition, government departments including the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development were also required to provide information. Individuals can also use an online form to report mine/ERW “events,” that are later verified by operators. Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, pp. 36 and 41–53; and OACP, “Formulario de Ubicación y Localización de Eventos” (“Form on Location of Events”), undated.

[14] Interviews with Pauline Boyer and Aderito Ismael, HI, in Vista Hermosa, 8 August 2018; with Esteban Rueda, Deputy Programme Manager, and Sergio Mahecha, Location Officer, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), in Vista Hermosa, 9 August 2018; with Hein Bekker, Location Manager, and Emily Chrystie, Trial Manager, HALO Trust, in San Juan de Arama, 10 August 2018; and with John Charles Cagua Zambrano, Head of Base, and Francisco Profeta Cardoso, Operations Manager, CCCM, in Centro Poblado de Santo Domingo, 11 August 2018.

[15] Responses to Monitor questionnaire by Martha Isabel Hurtado Granada, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 29 September 2020; and by Yessika Sahad Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022.

[16] UNOCHA, “Panorama de las necesidades humanitarias” (“Humanitarian Needs Overview: Colombia”), 23 February 2022, pp. 116–117; and ACAPS, “Colombia: Antipersonnel Mines and Explosive Remnants of War,” 2 June 2022, pp. 3–4 and 7.

[17] Colombia Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Reports (for calendar years 2017 to 2021), Form F.

[18] OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “Massacre de Santo Domingo, Colombia, Caso 12.416” (“Massacre of Santo Domingo, Colombia, Case 12.416”), 22 April 2011; and IAHRC, “Caso Masacre de Santo Domingo vs. Colombia” (“Case of the Santo Domingo Massacre vs. Colombia”), Official Summary of the IAHRC, Judgment of 30 November 2012. The Colombian government reportedly paid a total of 5,700 million pesos to victims of the attack. See also, “Condenan a 30 años a dos oficiales por bombardeo a Santo Domingo” (“Two officers sentenced to 30 years for bombing Santo Domingo”), El Tiempo, 23 November 2017.

[19] Carlos Andrés Soler Palomino, “Estudio Técnico de las Municiones en Racimo Empleadas por la Fuerza Aérea Colombiana: un Lineamiento Estratégico para el Cumplimiento del Artículo No. 4 de la Convención de Oslo” (“Technical Study of the cluster munitions used by the Colombian Air Force: strategic guidelines for the compliance with Article 4 of the Oslo Convention”), Postgraduate School of the Colombian Air Force, 2021.

[20] OACP, “Estadísticas: Desminado Humanitario Artefactos explosivos destruidos en operaciones de Desminado Humanitario” (“Humanitarian Demining, Items destroyed through humanitarian demining”), undated; and OACP-AICMA, “Estadísticas de víctimas” (“Victims statistics”), updated 31 October 2022.

[21] Unless otherwise noted, casualty data for 1990–2021 is from OACP-AICMA, “Estadísticas de víctimas” (“Victims statistics”), updated 31 October 2022.

[22] Myriam Ortega, “Colombian Military Forces Destroy Mega Cocaine Lab in Tumaco,” Dialogo, 9 April 2021; and Caly Y. Popayan, “Argelia, municipio de Cauca, azotado por homicidios, masacres y droga” (“Argelia, municipality of Cauca, scourged by homicides, massacres and drug”), El Tiempo, 5 February 2021.

[23] Email from Alejandra Uscategui, Assistant Manager of Victim Assistance, CCCM, 25 July 2020.

[24] Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, “Santo Domingo Massacre v. Colombia (IACtHR),” Weapons Law Encyclopedia, 1 December 2013.

[25] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020); and Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021); response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022; and GICHD, “Contribuciones de la acción integral contra minas al desarrollo sostenible en Colombia” (“Contribution of the comprehensive action against mines to sustainable development in Colombia”), 5 April 2022, pp. 37–41 and 70–71.

[26] OACP-AICMA, “Informes y Actas, ​Comisión Intersectorial Nacional para la Acción Integral Contra​ Minas Antipersonal” (“Reports and Acts: National Intersectoral Commission on Antipersonnel Mine Action”), undated.

[27] OACP, “Quiénes somos” (“About us”), undated; and GICHD, “Contribuciones de la acción integral contra minas al desarrollo sostenible en Colombia” (“Contributions of the comprehensive action against mines to sustainable development in Colombia”), 5 April 2022, pp. 37–39.

[28] GICHD, “Contribuciones de la acción integral contra minas al desarrollo sostenible en Colombia” (“Contributions of the comprehensive action against mines to sustainable development in Colombia”), 5 April 2022, p. 40.

[29] Ibid., p. 39; and OACP-AICMA, “Instancia Interinstitucional de Desminado Humanitario” (“Inter-Institutional Court for Humanitarian Demining”), undated.

[30] OACP, “Gobierno Nacional y Naciones Unidas firman el convenio para puesta en marcha de ‘Humanicemos,’ organización de desminado humanitario de excombatientes FARC” (“National Government and United Nations sign the agreement to start up ‘Humanicemos,’ an organization for the humanitarian demining of FARC ex-combatants”), 10 March 2020; and UNMAS, “Annual Report 2020,” 1 April 2021, p. 21.

[31] United States (US) Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA), “To Walk the Earth in Safety: January–December 2021,” April 2022, p. 55.

[32] On 10 March 2020, a memorandum was signed between the Ministry of National Defense, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and OACP, enabling UNMAS to support and monitor Humanicemos DH. OACP, “Gobierno Nacional y Naciones Unidas firman el convenio para puesta en marcha de ‘Humanicemos,’ organización de desminado humanitario de excombatientes FARC” (“National Government and United Nations sign the agreement to start up ‘Humanicemos,’ an organization for the humanitarian demining of FARC ex-combatants”), 10 March 2020; UNMAS, “Annual Report 2020,” 1 April 2021, p. 21; and Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form G, p. 76.

[33] UNOCHA, “Panorama de las necesidades humanitarias: Colombia” (“Humanitarian Needs Overview: Colombia”), April 2021, p. 38.

[34] FSD, “Operations: Colombia,” undated; GICHD, “Annual Report 2020,” May 2021, p. 37; and Marc Bonnet, Helen Gray, and Giulia Matassa, “Developing a Sustainable National Training Capacity: Non-Technical Survey Training in Colombia,” The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Vol. 24, Issue 1, July 2020, pp. 53–54.

[35] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form H, p. 96; and GICHD, “Contribuciones de la acción integral contra minas al desarrollo sostenible en Colombia” (“Contributions of the comprehensive action against mines to sustainable development in Colombia”), 5 April 2022.

[36] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form A, pp. 21 and 23.

[37] OACP, “La instalación de minas antipersonal es un crimen de guerra y debe ser llamado como tal: Alto Comisionado para la Paz, sobre decisión de la JEP” (“The laying of antipersonnel mines is a war crime and shall be called as it is: High Commissioner for Peace, about the decision of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace”), February 2021.

[38] OACP-AICMA, “Normas Técnicas Colombianas” (“Colombian Technical Norms”), undated; and OACP-AICMA, “Resolución 05 del 15 de Junio del 2021” (“Resolution 05 of 15 June 2021”), 15 June 2021, pp. 2 and 4.

[39] OACP-AICMA, “Colombia Mine Action Strategic Plan 2020–2025,” February 2020, pp. 2–3.

[40] OACP-AICMA, “Colombia Operational Plan for Humanitarian Demining 2020–2025,” March 2020, pp. 18–29; and Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), p. 20.

[41] GICHD, “Contribuciones de la acción integral contra minas al desarrollo sostenible en Colombia” (“Contributions of the comprehensive action against mines to sustainable development in Colombia”), April 2022, pp. 38–39. 

[42] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form A, p. 10.

[43] OACP-AICMA, “AICMA Geoportal,” undated; and OACP-AICMA, “Estadísticas” (“Statistics”), updated 31 October 2022.

[44] UNMAS, “Annual Report 2020,” 1 April 2021, p. 21; and UNMAS, “Where We Work: Colombia,” updated March 2022.

[45] OACP-AICMA, “Estadísticas de Educación en el Riesgo de Minas Antipersonal - ERM” (“Statistics of Education in the Risk of Antipersonnel Mines - ERM”), updated 31 October 2022; and OACP-AICMA, “Estadísticas de Asistancia integral a las Víctimas de MAP y MUSE” (“Victim Assistance statistics”), updated 31 October 2022.

[46] In 2021, 384 women were employed out of a total of 10,558 demining staff. Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form A, p. 26, and Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form A, p. 20.

[47] GICHD, “Gender Focal Point Capacity Development Programme 2019–2021,” undated; UNMAS, “Mine Action Sector and Our Work in Colombia,” undated, p. 2; UNMAS, “Annual Report 2021,” August 2022, p. 48; and Humanicemos DH, “Quiénes somos” (“About us”), undated.

[48] GICHD, “Contribuciones de la acción integral contra minas al desarrollo sostenible en Colombia” (“Contribution of the comprehensive action against mines to sustainable development in Colombia”), 5 April 2022, pp. 37–41 and 70–71; and OACP-AICMA, “Educación en el Riesgo de Minas Antipersonal - ERM” (“Mine Risk Education - MRE”), undated.

[49] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form D, p. 41; and Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, p. 62.

[50] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, p. 61; and OACP-AICMA, “Estándar Nacional de Educación en el Riesgo de Minas Antipersonal, Municiones sin Explosionar y Artefactos Explosivos Improvisados” (“Risk Education National Standard”), 9 January 2019, p. 15.

[51] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, p. 61.

[52] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form G, p. 76.

[53] OACP-AICMA, “Normas Técnicas Colombianas” (“Colombian Technical Norms”), undated; and OACP-AICMA, “Resolución 05 del 15 de Junio del 2021” (“Resolution 05 of 15 June 2021”), 15 June 2021.

[54] Ibid.; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Johana Huertas Reyes, Armed Violence Reduction Specialist, HI, 17 March 2021.

[55] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, p. 56; and OACP-AICMA and Colombian Institute of Technical Standards and Certification (Instituto Colombiano de Normas Técnicas y Certificación, ICONTEC), “NTC 6481: Educación en el riesgo de minas antipersonal, municiones sin explosionar y trampas explosivas (ERM)” (“Colombian Technical Norm 6481: Mine/ERW and booby traps risk education”), 19 May 2021, pp. 7–8.

[56] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Martha Isabel Hurtado Granada, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 29 September 2020; and OACP-AICMA, “Colombia Mine Action Strategic Plan 2020–2025,” February 2020, p. 25.

[57] GICHD, “Contribuciones de la acción integral contra minas al desarrollo sostenible en Colombia” (“Contribution of the comprehensive action against mines to sustainable development in Colombia”), 5 April 2022, pp. 37–41 and 70–71; and Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, pp. 57–60 and 67–68; National Victims Participation Roundtable website; UARIV, “The Unit’s Review,” undated; and National System for Integral Attention and Reparation to Victims (Systema de Atención y Reparación Integral a las Víctimas, SNARIV), “Qué es SNARIV,” (“What is SNARIV”), undated.

[58] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Sahad Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022.

[59] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form E, pp. 67–68; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Martha Isabel Hurtado Granada, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 29 September 2020.

[60] UARIV, “Plan de accion” (“Action Plan”), 31 January 2020.

[61] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Sahad Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022; and AICMA, “Ruta Integral de Atención en Salud y de Rehabilitación Funcional para Víctimas de MAP/MUSE” (“Comprehensive mine/ERW Victim referral Pathway for Health and Functional Rehabilitation”), 2016.

[62] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form D, p. 60.

[63] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form G, p. 83; response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Sahad Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022; and OACP-AICMA, “Minutes of the Victim Assistance Technical Subcommittee,” 9 December 2019.

[64] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Johana Huertas, Armed Violence Reduction Specialist, HI, 21 May 2021; and UNMAS, “Annual Report 2021,” 1 April 2022, p. 47.

[65] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form G, p. 80.

[66] HI, “Country Card: Colombia,” updated September 2021, p. 4; and ACAPS, “Colombia: Antipersonnel Mines and Explosive Remnants of War,” 2 June 2022, p. 6.

[67] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form D, p. 51; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Lucy Johana Salgado Sanchez, Directorate for Comprehensive Mine Action (Dirección para la Acción Integral contra Minas Antipersonal, DAICMA), 16 June 2016.

[68] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Annex II, “Normatividad nacional en materia de asistencia integral a las víctimas” (“National Regulations for comprehensive victim assistance”), pp. 90–91.

[69] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form G, p. 89.

[70] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form D, pp. 18 and 53.

[71] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), p. 81.

[72] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form D, p. 59; Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form G, p. 81; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Sahad Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022.

[73] UARIV, “Red Nacional de Información, Reportes” (“National Information Network reports”), 31 July 2021.

[74] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Martha Isabel Hurtado Granada, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 29 September 2020.

[75] Email from Alberto Serra, Advisor, Department of Mine Action and Disarmament, NPA, 23 March 2021.

[76] UNMAS, “From combatants to deminers: reintegration of former FARC-EP members through mine action in Colombia,” undated; Humanicemos DH, “Humanicemos DH identifica su primera mina antipersonnel en Caquetá,” (“Humanicemos DH identifies its first antipersonnel mine in Caqueta”), 11 March 2021; and UNMAS, “Mine Action Sector and Our Work in Colombia 2021,” undated, p. 2.

[77] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Sahad Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022. Colombia’s Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021) reports 1.94km² cleared on p. 51, but reports 1.27km² cleared on pp. 43–46. OACP-AICMA reports 1.91km² cleared. OACP-AICMA, “Estadísticas: Indicadores de Desminado Humanitario” (“Statistics: Humanitarian Demining Indicators”), updated 31 October 2022.

[78] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, pp. 43–46 and 51; Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form D, p. 24; Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form D, p. 33; and OACP-AICMA, “Estadisticas: Desminado Humanitario” (“Statistics: Humanitarian Demining”), updated 31 October 2022.

[79] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Third Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2020, p. 81; and Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), p. 51.

[80] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), p. 48; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Sahad Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022.

[82] Universidad Nacional de Colombia, “Antipersonnel landmines in the Colombian internal conflict: implications for technology development,” Universidad Nacional de Colombia, DYNA, Vol. 87, Issue 212, 2020, pp. 144–154; and Rachel Nuwer, “The Daunting, Dangerous Task of Unearthing Colombia’s Landmines,” Nova, 16 July 2018.

[83] GICHD, “Contribuciones de la acción integral contra minas al desarrollo sostenible en Colombia,” (“Contribution of the comprehensive action against mines to sustainable development in Colombia”), April 2022, pp. 78–87 and 90–98. 

[84] Mounu Prem, Miguel E. Purroy, and Juan F. Vargas, “Landmines: the local effects of demining,” University of Rosario, September 2021.

[85] UNMAS, “Annual Report 2021,” August 2022, pp. 47–48.

[86] UNMAS, “Boletín de Noticias: Colombia, Mayo 2022” (“Newsletter: Colombia, May 2022”), undated, p. 1.

[87] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, pp. 52–53.

[88] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Third Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2020, p. 80; and Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Third Article 5 deadline Extension Request, Additional Information, 7 August 2020, p. 9.

[90] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Third Article 5 deadline Extension Request, 31 March 2020, p. 9; and Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Third Article 5 deadline Extension Request, Additional Information, 7 August 2020, p. 17. 

[91] Ibid.; and Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC), “Draft decision on the request submitted by Colombia for an extension of the deadline for completing the destruction of antipersonnel mines in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention,” 20 November 2020, pp. 1–2.

[92] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Third Article 5 deadline Extension Request, Additional Information, 7 August 2020, p. 17; and email from Camilo Serna, Deputy Director, Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines (Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas, CCCM), 21 August 2020. 

[93] Monitor analysis of OACP-AICMA data. See, OACP-AICMA, “Estadisticas ERM” (“Risk Education Statistics”), updated 31 October 2022; responses to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Sahad Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022; by Daniela Enciso González, Junior Programme Officer, HALO Trust, 23 March 2022; by Leidy Vargas, Risk Education Coordinator, Danish Refugee Council, 7 April 2022; and by Paulo José Lasso Gómez, Risk Education Associate, HI, 7 April 2022.   

[94] Monitor analysis of OACP-AICMA risk education data. See, OACP-AICMA, “Estadisticas ERM” (“Risk Education Statistics”), updated 31 October 2022. Colombia reported 103,963 risk education beneficiaries in its article 7 report. See, Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, pp. 52–53.

[95] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022; and Pasos Seguros, “Explosive Traps,” undated.

[96] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, p. 59; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Paulo José Lasso Gómez, Risk Education Associate, HI, 7 April 2022.

[97] Responses to Monitor questionnaire by Johana Huertas, Armed Violence Reduction Specialist, HI, 21 May 2021;  by Paulo José Lasso Gómez, Risk Education Associate, HI, 7 April 2022; and by Daniela Enciso González, Junior Programme Officer, HALO Trust, 23 March 2022.

[98] ICRC, “Annual Report 2021,” 27 July 2022, pp. 266 and 268.

[99] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form D, p. 58.

[100] ACAPS, “Colombia: Antipersonnel Mines and Explosive Remnants of War,” 2 June 2022, pp. 3–4 and 7.

[101] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Paulo José Lasso Gómez, Risk Education Associate, HI, 7 April 2022.

[102] Responses to Monitor questionnaire by Leidy Vargas, Mine Risk Education Coordinator, Danish Refugee Council Colombia, 7 April 2022; by Daniela Enciso González, Junior Programme Officer, HALO Trust Colombia, 23 March 2022; and by Paulo José Lasso Gómez, Risk Education Associate, HI, 7 April 2022.

[103] UNOCHA, “Panorama de las necesidades humanitarias: Colombia” (“Humanitarian Needs Overview: Colombia”), April 2021, p. 29.

[105] Monitor analysis of OACP-AICMA data. See, OACP-AICMA, “Victims statistics” (“Estadísticas de víctimas”), updated 31 October 2022; and responses to Monitor questionnaire by Daniela Enciso González, Junior Programme Officer, HALO Trust, 23 March 2022; by Leidy Vargas, Risk Education Coordinator, Danish Refugee Council, 7 April 2022; and by Paulo José Lasso Gómez, Risk Education Associate, 7 April 2022.

[106] Salomé Valencia, Angela Desantis, Matt Wilson, Sebastián Tovar Jaramillo, Angela Patricia Cortés Sánchez, and Ana Jaquelin Jaimes Alfonso, “Explosive Ordnance Victims and Risk Education: Lessons Learned from Colombia 2012–2019,” The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Vol. 24, Issue 2, 22 December 2020, p. 52.

[107] Responses to Monitor questionnaire by Johana Huertas, Armed Violence Reduction Specialist, HI, 21 May 2021; and by Paulo José Lasso Gómez, Risk Education Associate, HI, 7 April 2022.

[108] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), form D, pp. 54–55.

[109] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Johana Huertas, Humanitarian Mine Action Technical Advisor, HI, 19 May 2020.

[110] Responses to Monitor questionnaire by Leidy Vargas, Mine Risk Education Coordinator, Danish Refugee Council Colombia, 7 April 2022; and by Daniela Enciso González, Junior Programme Officer, HALO Trust Colombia, 23 March 2022.

[111] Ibid.

[112] In addition to SENA, several government entities provide services to persons with disabilities, including OACP-AICMA, UARIV, and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection. Many other organizations are part of Colombia’s victim assistance referral pathways and deliver services including medical care, physical rehabilitation, psychosocial support, and socio-economic inclusion. See, Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form G, pp. 80–89; ICRC, “Annual Report 2021,” 27 July 2022, pp. 266–268; ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: 2021 Annual Report,” 20 September 2022, p. 26; UNMAS, “Annual Report 2021,” August 2022, pp. 47–49; HI, “Country Card: Colombia,” updated September 2021, pp. 8 and 12; CCCM Facebook post, 9 June 2022; CIREC, “For Customers and Family,” undated; FRI, “Qué Hacemos” (“What we do”), undated; VICMINCOL, “Sobre Nosotros” (“About us”), undated; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Morales Peña, Coordinator, OACP-AICMA, 19 April 2022.

[113] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Yessika Sahad Morales Peña, Coordinator, AICMA, 19 April 2022.

[114] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form G, p. 66; Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2021), Form G, pp. 86–87; and VICMINCOL, “Sobre Nosotros” (“About us”), undated.

[115] “The National Stakeholder Dialogue: Strengthening the Participation and Inclusion of Victims of Anti-Personnel Mines and Unexploded Ordnance,” held with the support of European Union (EU) Council Decision 2017/1428 and the Mine Ban Treaty Implementation Support Unit (ISU). See, Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC), “Colombia National Victim Assistance Dialogue,” 22–24 February 2021.

[116] HI, “Country Card: Colombia,” updated September 2021, p. 4; and ACAPS, “Colombia: Antipersonnel Mines and Explosive Remnants of War,” 2 June 2022, p. 6.

[117] Monitor analysis of OACP-AICMA data. See, OACP-AICMA, “Victims statistics” (“Estadísticas de víctimas”), updated 31 October 2022.

[118] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Johana Huertas, Armed Violence Reduction Specialist, HI, 21 May 2021.

[119] ICRC, “Annual Report 2020,” 1 July 2021, p. 296; and ICRC, “Annual Report 2021,” 27 July 2022, pp. 267–268 and 270.

[120] UNOCHA, “Panorama de las necesidades humanitarias: Colombia” (“Humanitarian Response Plan: Colombia”), 26 April 2021, pp. 66–67; and UNOCHA, “Panorama de las necesidades humanitarias: Colombia” (“Humanitarian Needs Overview: Colombia”), 23 February 2022, pp. 128–130 and 116–117.

[121] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: 2021 Annual Report,” 20 September 2022, p. 26; and ICRC, “Annual Report 2021,” 27 July 2022, pp. 266–268.

[122] ICRC, “Annual Report 2020,” 1 July 2021, p. 296; and ICRC, “Annual Report 2021,” 27 July 2022, pp. 267–268 and 270.

[123] ICRC, “Physical Rehabilitation Programme: 2021 Annual Report,” 20 September 2022, p. 26.

[124] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Johana Huertas, Armed Violence Reduction Specialist, HI, 21 May 2021; HI, “Country Card: Colombia,” updated September 2021, pp. 8 and 12; and CCCM Facebook post, 9 June 2022.

[125] ICRC, “Annual Report 2020,” 1 July 2021, p. 296; and ICRC, “Annual Report 2021,” 27 July 2022, pp. 266 and 268.

[126] UNMAS, “Annual Report 2021,” August 2022, p. 47.

[127] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), p. 67.

[128] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Johana Huertas Reyes, Armed Violence Reduction Specialist, HI Colombia, 15 May 2020.


Support for Mine Action

Last updated: 24 November 2021

In 2020, the Republic of Colombia received US$31.4 million in international assistance for mine action from 10 donors; this was 15% less than in 2019.

The largest contribution was provided by the United States (US), which contributed more than half (64%) of all international assistance.[1]

Of the total contribution, 84% ($26.3 million) went toward clearance and risk education activities, the remainder ($5.1 million or 16%) went to advocacy, capacity-building, victim assistance, and other mine action activities that were not disaggregated by the donors.

International contributions: 2020[2]

Donor

Sector

Amount
(national currency)

Amount (US$)

US

Clearance and risk education

US$21,000,000

21,000,000

Canada

Clearance and risk education

C$3,224,699

2,402,547

Germany

Capacity-building, clearance, risk education, and victim assistance

€1,955,207

2,230,891

Norway

Advocacy, clearance, risk education, victim assistance

NOK17,700,000

1,877,327

Switzerland

Clearance, risk education, and victim assistance

CHF1,172,429

1,248,726

European Union

Capacity-building

€1,000,000

1,141,000

Italy

Capacity-building and victim assistance

€425,000

484,925

Sweden

Various

SEK4,450,000

482,819

New Zealand

Clearance

NZ$450,000

292,410

Ireland

Clearance

€125,000

142,625

South Korea

Capacity-building, clearance, risk education, victim assistance

N/R

54,450

Total

 

N/A

31,357,720

Note: N/A=not applicable; N/R=not reported.

In the five-year period from 2016–2020, international contributions to Colombia totaled more than $178 million.

Colombia contributed approximately $1 million to its mine action program each year in 2019 and 2020.[3] No information on any national contribution was available for 2016–2018. Between 2012 and 2015, the government of Colombia contributed some $6.6 million to support its national mine action program.

Summary of international contributions in 2016–2020[4]

Year

International contributions

(US$)

2020

31,357,720

2019

37,249,896

2018

33,059,744

2017

68,372,769

2016

26,190,348

Total

196,230,477

 



[1] Canada Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form J; response to Monitor questionnaire by Sandrina Köbinger, Desk Officer, Conventional Arms Division, Germany Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), 27 May 2021; Germany Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form I; and Germany Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form J; Ireland Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2021; Italy Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form I, 3 May 2021; Italy Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form J, 3 May 2021; New Zealand Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form I; ITF Enhancing Human Security, “Annual Report 2020,” 2021, p. 14; UNMAS, "Annual Report 2020," April 2021, pp. 50–51; Sweden Convention on Cluster Munition Article 7 Report, Form I, April 2021; Switzerland Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form I, 30 April 2021; US Department of State Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA), “To Walk the Earth in Safety 2021,” 5 April 2021; and emails from Carole Ory, Senior Expert, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Arms Export Control, European External Action Service (EEAS), 29 June 2021; from Camilla Dannevig, Senior Adviser, Section for Humanitarian Affairs, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 September 2021; and from Erik Pettersson, Senior Programme Manager, Peace and Human Security Unit, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), 28 September 2021.

[2] Average exchange rates for 2020: C$1.3422=US$1; €1=US$1.141; NOK9.4283=US$1; NZ$1=US$0.6498; SEK9.2167=US$1; CHF0.9389=US$1. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 4 January 2021.

[3] Colombia Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), 30 April 2021, p. 71.

[4] See previous Monitor reports.