Nicaragua

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The program in Nicaragua has the objective to fulfill the Ottawa Convention based on the removal of mines and the destruction of stockpiled mines. General objectives of the program include cleaning the ground of mines and UXO in the southern border of the country, around civil and military targets, and in fields and the road network. The first phase of the humanitarian mine release program has existed since 1989, without any international assistance or supervision. The second phase in 1993 included international support, while the third stage in 1994 included inter-institutional funding without support from the international committee. From 1996 until the present, Nicaragua is in the fourth stage of the humanitarian mine release program with international contributions and support.

Of the 135,643 mines installed in the 1980s, 94,311 mines and over half a million explosive devices have been destroyed. Due to the destruction of the mines, Nicaragua has benefited over one million people who were directly or indirectly affected by the mines. Over 40,000 mines are still in the Nicaraguan territory, even though progress has been at 70%.

The plan for destroying stockpiled mines was concluded on August 28, 2002. Nicaragua was able to destroy 130,435 arsenal mines. Nicaragua looks for support, both monetarily and operationally. There is a psychological and medical component within landmine release operations, as well as a preventive and educational component.

There are many programs within Nicaragua to attend to the mine problem. Within Nicaragua there is a national commission of humanitarian mine release which was created in 1998. The Nicaraguan army that carries out mine release programs is associated with the commission. There are campaigns to raise the awareness of people and there is a social reinsertion program for victims of mines. International organizations provide training.

Nicaragua wants to fulfill the national program of mine release and declare Nicaragua as a mine-free country in 2005. There will be a reallocation of the mining engineering companies. A study will be prepared that takes into account civil population claims; it is believed that there are over 5,000 mines that are not registered with the Army, and thus those mines will be cleared after 2005.

By 2006 Nicaragua would like to have two or three mine clearing companies that will develop an effort to maintain international support to continue to clear mines and UXO that are still in the territory. Mine clearance is carried out with money collected from taxes and donor countries. In order to achieve Nicaragua's goals of mine clearance, donor countries will need to continue donating.

Problems that make mine clearance more difficult include: difficulties in finding the minefields due to the points of reference that were lost over time, rough geographical conditions of the land, the stages of vegetative growth, mines buried by sediment. There have been several accidents during mine clearance activities, 34 staff members have suffered from the accidents, with three deaths.