In the months of March and April 2024, the Group of Inter-American Humanitarian Demining Monitors in Colombia (GMI-CO), a mission of the Inter-American Defense Board in support of the Comprehensive Action Program against Antipersonnel Mines of the Organization of American States (AICMA-OAS), acted in operational evaluations for accreditation of civilian monitors of this Program and personnel of the organizations The Halo Trust (Halo), Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and Humanity & Inclusion (HI).
Halo is an international organization whose main mission is to act against landmines and other explosive remnants of war around the world. It had its origin in the Angolan Civil War, 1988. Since then, the organization has expanded its operations to more than 25 countries. The DRC, whose main mission is to provide assistance and protection to refugees and displaced people around the world, was founded in 1956 in Denmark, and in 2011 it began working on humanitarian demining. Founded in 1982, HI operates in more than 60 countries, also providing assistance in areas such as rehabilitation, social inclusion and education.
The operational evaluations, with officials from Brazil and Mexico, took place in the departments of Meta, Bolívar, Cundinamarca and Tolima in order to allow 45 Colombians to operate in humanitarian demining. Captain (Brazilian Marine) Lucas Marques Ferreira Oliveira, who supported the evaluation of Halo, points out: “It is interesting to know the differences in operational procedures between organizations and verify the quality of the demining work done in Colombia.”
Since 2006, the GMI-CO has supported the efforts of the OAS and Colombian authorities to reduce the effects of antipersonnel mines and improvised explosive devices, which have penalized the population of this country for six decades. Currently, the Group is made up of officers from the Brazilian Navy, Brazilian Army and Mexican Army.
