Contributing to the reduction of all forms of violence through humanitarian mine action in southern Tolima department in Colombia
Description
As a result of decades of internal conflict, landmine contamination in Colombia has resulted in one of the highest casualty rates in the world, has been an obstacle to rural communities to recover from more than 50 years of internal conflict and to sustainable peace and development. From July 2017 to July 2018, The HALO Trust conducted mine action activities in the municipality of Planadas in Tolima department, releasing land for safe passage and access, and contributing to long-term recovery and development efforts in conflict-affected communities, reducing the risk of violence and casualties in line with SDG 16.
Through this project, mine action has had a transformative role and has contributed to improving people’s lives by significantly reducing violence related deaths in Tolima. The project saw continued interaction with other sectors and furthered the advance a number of SDGs. HALO principally contributed to four SDGs: (i) SDG 16 “Peace, justice and strong institutions”, by reducing violence and fear through land release and mine risk education, (ii) SDG 1 “End poverty” by enabling sustainable development in previous contaminated land, and (iii) SDG 8 “Decent work and economic growth” by increasing income of landmine affected communities, months after handover of cleared minefields, and (iv) SDG 5 “Gender Equality” by ensuring equity to women employed in the organisation and through consideration of gender throughout the design and implementation of the lifecycle of the project.<br />
The following case of Julio Muñoz and his family, who are direct beneficiaries of the demining work that HALO has carried out in Planadas shows how, in this specific situation, mine action has contributed to SDGs 1 and 16. <br />
Julio has worked in the countryside his entire life, growing cassava, rice, plantain, corn, coffee and raising livestock but unfortunately eleven years ago, he stepped on an anti-personnel landmine and sadly, lost his leg. Before HALO arrived in Planadas, neither him, his family or the community could walk freely through their vereda, “we were forced to walk along other, longer routes, you couldn’t take any shortcuts or stray from the well-trodden path because you could step on a mine”. And that, unfortunately is what happened to Julio in July 2007. “I went to collect some money for some cows that we had sold. When I was walking home, I forgot the warning about taking shortcuts. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, but after just three steps off the path, I felt a mine under my foot and then it exploded”. Sadly a few days later, a young boy was walking near where Julio had his accident and saw the money that Julio dropped. The boy ran to pick up the money and activated a second mine. The boy survived, but sadly, like Julio, he lost his leg.<br />
Two minefields on Julio’s farm were cleared by HALO during this project. This contributed to SDG1.2 by enabling safe use of previous contaminated area for cultivation after the handover of the two released areas as Julio used the land to grow more coffee, increasing his monthly income. It also contributed to SDG 16.1 by increasing Julio, his family and the community’s safety perception of the land previously contaminated “Now, we can walk through that land safely, without any fear. I am growing crops and graze livestock there.” Since the clearing of the land by HALO, there have been no further mine-related incidents.
HALO has been instrumental in the development of mine action in Colombia. It has worked alongside the National Mine Action Authority and local authorities to create National Standards and best practices, to support government’s efforts to meet 2021 Ottawa Treaty deadline.
This project formed part of a wider effort by HALO and the Colombian Armed Forces to clear southern Tolima. Planadas is one of the 52 municipalities prioritised by the national mine action authority, as part of their immediate post-conflict Rapid Response Plan framed under the Peace agreement between the government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejercito Publico (FARC-EP).
Over the twelve month period (1st July 2017 to 30th June 2018), HALO deployed two Non-Technical Survey teams and three demining teams, employing a total of 40 Colombian staff, of which 30% were women, directly contributing to SDG 5 and 8. These personnel included former combatants who have completed their reintegration process into the community, thereby supporting the process of reconciliation and reparation as part of wider implementation of the peace process.
Humanitarian mine clearance in Tolima returned abandoned land to productive use as showed in Julio’s case. The survey teams conducted activities in 96 veredas in southern Tolima, identifying nine minefields that were manually cleared (equivalent to 32,641 m2 of land). These were reported to have a primary land use of access and secondary land use of agriculture. Now that access routes have been improved, local farmers are able to reach local trading points to sell their produce, which will, in turn stimulate local economy in line with SDG 8. Also, the progress made by HALO’s teams under this project has allowed for the processing of 154 land restitution claims, which will in turn allow for the eventual return of Internally Displaced People to regions previously suspected of landmine contamination, in line with SDG 16.
During the project period, HALO delivered 36 Mine Risk Education sessions, directly benefiting 1,137 Colombians living in areas contaminated with landmines and other ERW. In HALO’s area of operations in Tolima, 45% of the accidents caused by ERW involving civilians were children. There were no reported accidents related to ERW in HALO’s area of operations in Tolima during the project period. While HALO’s intervention in the region may not be solely causal, HALO believes that a combination of clearance and MRE educate those most at risk is the most effective strategy to minimise accidents, which is reflected in this outcome. By providing better information about what to do when ERW is discovered or suspected and how to behave in the case of an accident, HALO aimed to improve the overall understanding of the risks presented by mines and promote safe behaviours. This reduces the risk of death caused by landmines in line with SDG16.
This project has facilitated peace building and supported the implementation of peace agreement on a local level. Humanitarian mine action activities have allowed communities to put previous contaminated land into productive use and to create safe access routes between villages allowing for trade and economic development. This has generated incomes for local people, contributing to SDG 1 and SDG8 by supporting local businesses and improving livelihoods of local community members. Furthermore, the destruction of explosive artefacts and the delivery of education on safe behaviour has contributed to Preventing further accidents from Explosive Remnants of, advancing SDG 16 “Peace, justice and strong institutions”. Finally, it has promoted integration and equality through equal employment opportunities to 40 people over the project, contributing to SDG 5 and SDG 8.
HALO has been working closely with the two organisations and other humanitarian demining operators and donors, to streamline processes at a national level to improve turn-around times of bureaucratic procedures required to carry out humanitarian demining activities, strengthening the local authorities and development national ownership in line with SDG 16.
On a national perspective, HALO continues to work alongside the Colombian governmental such as the Land Restitution Unit, Victims Unit and National Land Agency to ensure the sustainability of the outcomes achieved by this project. As Colombian law states that victims of the conflict cannot knowingly be put in danger, IDPs are unable to return to their land until it has been declared as free from suspicion of ERW, achieved by manual clearance and Non-Technical Survey.
Finally, to off-set any negative environmental impact caused by manual clearance, HALO, along with members of the local community plant trees, with approximately 1,000 trees planted to date in Tolima alone. By planting trees, HALO is improving the environmental sustainability of the region and providing natural resources for the future, minimising the negative environmental impact of clearance that would otherwise hinder the implementation of SDG 15.
The principle project objective was to directly contribute to Colombia’s Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty commitment to be free from the suspicion of landmines by 2021. By declaring areas free from suspicion through survey and clearance, the processing of land restitution claims can begin which will eventually lead to the return of displaced persons.<br />
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Though the impact of projects such as this can only really be measured in the long term, the humanitarian intervention undertaken in southern Tolima is the crucial first step in building a sustainable, lasting peace in a region afflicted by conflict for more than half a century. The sustainability of HALOs work will be achieved through the implementation of development projects and programmes, linked to the National Development Plan, which can begin, thanks to land release achieved by humanitarian demining.
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- Latin America and the Caribbean
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Lina Moreno, Partnerships and Development Officer