South America
For the last 40 years left wing Non States Armed Groups (NSAGs) have been in conflict with the Government. This has resulted in the use of locally manufactured mines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), collectively described as "mines". The Colombian military laid defensive mines around 34 of their bases whilst NSAGs and paramilitary organisations have used them in all aspects of their operations. The Colombian military have now completed clearance of 31 of the minefields they laid but an estimated 10,000 suspected NSAG minefields remain. These have largely been the reason why Colombia now has similar landmine casualties to Afghanistan.
Colombia ranks second, behind Sudan, with the largest number of internally displaced people (IDPs) and these populations are now experiencing high casualty and accident rates as they return to their areas of former residence.
Mines laid by NSAGs are found on routes used by government forces and around schools and houses used as bases in rural areas. The Colombian government formally invited HALO Trust in June 2009 to implement a large scale civilian clearance program which is currently in the survey and assessment stages.
HALO is the first civilian organisation to have a formal agreement and registration with the Colombian government and is currently surveying prioritised mined areas in preparation for humanitarian clearance operations.
Read more about this topic: HALO Trust
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“I need not tell you of the inadequacy of the American shipping marine on the Pacific Coast.... For this reason it seems to me that there is no subject to which Congress can better devote its attention in the coming session than the passage of a bill which shall encourage our merchant marine in such a way as to establish American lines directly between New York and the eastern ports and South American ports, and both our Pacific Coast ports and the Orient and the Philippines.”
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