Between January and February 2024, the Comprehensive Antipersonnel Mine Action Program of the Organization of American States (AICMA-OAS) organized a training activity for its staff in Colombia on the topic "Transforming knowledge into impact: specializing to contribute ». Members of the Group of Inter-American Humanitarian Demining Monitors in Colombia (GMI-CO), a mission of the Inter-American Defense Board in support of the Program, participated in this training, as well as the coordination staff and civilian monitors of AICMA-OAS deployed in the country.
During the activity, the concepts and procedures adopted in the monitoring of operations and accreditation of humanitarian demining organizations were reviewed, in order to ensure the standardization of procedures at the national level and strengthen the issuance of technical concepts, seeking to increase the operational efficiency of this organization. activity in Colombia. In addition to sessions related to demining, there were also sessions on first aid and fire prevention and control, preparing staff for possible emergencies in their daily work.
According to the head of the GMI-CO, Captain (Brazilian Marine) Leonel Mariano da Silva Júnior, the event was an excellent opportunity to analyze aspects that can contribute to a better solution to the difficulties faced in the development of activities. humanitarian demining. For Lieutenant Captain (Brazilian Marine) Lucas Marques Ferreira Oliveira, "the Specialization Program was an excellent opportunity to interact with the monitors deployed by Colombia and learn about the priorities and improvements planned for the work of the OAS."
Since 2006, the GMI-CO has supported the efforts of the OAS and the Colombian authorities to reduce the effects of improvised explosive devices and anti-personnel mines, which have punished the country's population for six decades. Currently, the Group is made up of officers from the Brazilian Navy, the Brazilian Army and the Mexican Army.
