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| OAS/Mine Action and Hemispheric Security |
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| Inter-Regional Cooperation |
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For more than a decade, the Organization of American States (OAS), through numerous resolutions on the subject, has acknowledged the importance of strengthening confidence-building measures between the Member States to the promotion of peace and security. This vision was widened and consolidated in the “Declaration of Bridgetown ,” which was approved by the OAS General Assembly in Barbados last year.
Consistent with these mandates, the development of the OAS Mine Action Program (AICMA), which was created in 1991, has been a part of a multidimensional vision of security in the Hemisphere. The Program’s activities have expanded beyond solely landmine removal in response to the diverse needs of mine-affected member countries for an integrated and comprehensive approach to the landmine problem.
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Lessons learned:
In response to the OAS mandates, three of the areas relating to hemispheric security that the OAS Mine Action Program has emphasized are humanitarian demining, stockpile destruction and personal security of the inhabitants of mine-affected zones.
a) Humanitarian demining
The contribution of mine clearance in affected zones in Central America to hemispheric security has been significant. The Program has pursued the objectives for humanitarian demining in the resolutions on the subject that have been approved by the General Assembly for the last 12 years.
As a result of financial support from 19 donor countries, the program in Central America has cleared more than 1,400,000 square feet of land and destroyed more than 22,000 antipersonnel landmines[. Thus far, more than US$ 40,000,000 have been channeled to the OAS Program for the Central America effort, and this support has been crucial to achieving the goal of finalizing mine clearance operations in these countries by the end of 2005. As a result of this support, Costa Rica was able to declare itself last year as the first country free of antipersonnel landmines in the Americas .
The OAS Mine Action Program has been supported by the Inter-American Defense Board, the principal military entity of the Inter-American system, which has provided essential collaboration in mine clearance operations. In the past twelve years, the Board has provided training for more than 260 international supervisors from 11 member countries, who have provided technical advice and direct international supervision of national deminers in the mine-affected countries of the Hemisphere.
b) Stockpiled destruction.
The second contribution of the OAS Program to the strengthening of mutual confidence and security-building measures has been in the area of destruction of stockpiled mines. The OAS, with technical support from the Inter-American Defense Board and the Government of Canada, has assisted stockpile destruction by several Member States based upon significant funding contributions from the international donor community, particularly Canada and Australia .
Between October 2000 and September 2002, Honduras , Nicaragua , Ecuador and Peru each completed the destruction of their stockpiles, totaling more than 500,000 mines. The Ottawa Convention requires that its States Parties complete stockpile destruction within four years of accession to the treaty.
c) Individual security
For people living in areas contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance, individual security is of paramount importance. The OAS Mine Action Program has collaborated in strengthening individual security in mine-affected countries in three ways: a) mine-risk education; b) rehabilitation of victims and job training and c) remediation of previously mined land.
In supporting mine-risk education campaigns in the affected zones, the OAS coordinates its efforts with national entities including government ministries, armed forces, schools, community leaders and local media. Through all these channels, specific mine-risk messages are transmitted to the population to provide basic knowledge of the steps that should be followed in case of finding a mine or unexploded ordnance.
The OAS Mine Victim Rehabilitation Program is a key element in the strategy for enhancing the security for individuals. More than 450 victims of antipersonnel landmines have been assisted with medical treatment and prosthesis. Moreover, since last year, the program has incorporated a new component by facilitating job training for landmine victims who have already received physical and psychological rehabilitation.
The third key element in individual security is the return of cleared land to useful purposes. With the assistance of the OAS Program, almost million and a half of square feet of land has been returned to local authorities for agricultural and livestock use.
Finally, the OAS Mine Action Program retains its mandate to remain ready to assist other OAS Member States that request assistance with mine action. The Program will continue to employ a multidimensional approach to the security problem posed by landmines in order to make the urgent goal of a landmine-free Hemisphere a reality as soon as possible.
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