Improvised Anti Personnel Mines in Colombia

On March 7, 2015 the Colombian government and the FARC-EP reached an agreement to start a demining pilot project in the town El Orejón, Antioquia. Colombia is a nation severely affected by landmines. In 2006 the number of victims was as high as 1,227 of which 237 were reported dead. The accumulated number of victims since 1990 reached the number of 10,812 at the end of 2014. More than 10,000 potentially Suspect Hazardous Areas (SHAs) exist in Colombia. According to government statistics, there are more than 3.6 million registered Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Colombia, and landmine contamination is a contributory factor preventing these people from returning to their land. AP mines have been laid by all Non States Armed Groups (NSAGs) in Colombia as well as the State's Security Forces. Never the less there is also good news. The yearly number of victims is declining fast!

The Threats to the Colombian Peace Process

The Havana peace process that officially started on November 19th 2012, has lasted more than two years already and just 3 of the 6 agenda points have been agreed upon. The good thing is that the process is still making progress and the closer it gets to the finish line, the less chance there is that it will be aborted. The peace process seems to be the germ of a broad public debate of how to redesign the Colombian state and society.

But unlike what you'd expect, there are serious threats and counter-forces that are undermining the peace process. Lots of groups seem not to favor peace in Colombia. Former president and now senator Álvaro Uribe Vélez seems to be the spearhead of those groups. Let's look at those threats here.