On October 10, 2023, on the occasion of the visit to Colombia of leaders of the Secretariat for Multidimensional Security (SSM) of the Organization of American States (OAS), Secretary Ivan Marques and the Director of the Department of Public Security, Steven Griner, the Group of Inter-American Humanitarian Demining Monitors in Colombia (GMI-CO), a mission of the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB), presented its performance in support of the OAS Comprehensive Action Program against Antipersonnel Mines (AICMA-OAS) .
The mission of the SSM is to promote and coordinate cooperation within the OAS, against security threats, with the vision of being the main hemispheric reference for the development of cooperation and the strengthening of the capacities of its Member States. . Among the activities that are coordinated by the SSM is support for humanitarian demining.
The visit was led by the AICMA-OAS Coordinator, Tammy Hall. On the occasion, the Head of the GMI-CO, Captain (Brazilian Marine) Leonel Mariano da Silva Júnior, presented topics such as the structure of the IADB and its support for humanitarian demining in the Americas, in addition to its performance in Colombia and the consequences generated by said international cooperation. On the same day, the Head of the GMI-CO accompanied the delegation on a visit to the Brazilian Embassy in Colombia, where they had a meeting with Ambassador Paulo Estivallet de Mesquita and diplomatic staff.
Since 2006, the GMI-CO has supported the efforts of the OAS and the Colombian authorities to reduce the effects of explosive devices and antipersonnel mines, which have greatly penalized the country's population. Currently, the Group is made up of officers from the Brazilian Navy, the Brazilian Army and the Mexican Army.
