On November 13 and 14, 2023, Captain (Brazilian Marine) Leonel Mariano da Silva Júnior, Head of the Inter-American Humanitarian Demining Monitor Group in Colombia (GMI-CO), mission of the Inter-American Defense Board (JID) in support of the Comprehensive Action Program against Antipersonnel Mines of the Organization of American States (OAS), was at the IADB headquarters in the United States to make a presentation before the Council of Delegates and the management of the organization an update on the operations carried out in Colombia, as well as aspects relevant to said action.
On the first day of the visit, the Head of the GMI-CO had meetings with the Director General of the IADB Secretariat, Lieutenant General (Brazilian Air Force) Flávio Luiz de Oliveira Pinto, and officials related to its activities. On the second day, the situation of operations, aspects of interest and their perspectives were presented to the Council of Delegates of the IADB. The Council, chaired by Brigadier General (Mexican Army) Marco Antonio Álvarez Reyes, has delegates from 27 member states and 9 observers.
Since 1993, the IADB has sent personnel to demine in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru and Suriname. For General Flávio, “the activities carried out by GMI-CO in Washington-DC allowed a profound update on humanitarian demining in Colombia and the perspectives for this issue. In 30 years of supporting these actions, the IADB has consolidated itself as a relevant actor in the Americas, working to protect lives, socioeconomic development and integration between sister nations.
Since 2006, GMI-CO has supported the efforts of the OAS and Colombia to reduce the effects of explosive devices and antipersonnel mines, which have penalized the population of this country for 60 years. Currently, the Group is made up of officers from the Brazilian Navy, Brazilian Army and Mexican Army.
