📋 Tender Overview
Within the framework of the Peace Table of the National System of International Cooperation, the event 'Total Peace: Sectoral Meeting Comprehensive Action Against Antipersonnel Mines and the International Community' was held; a conversation led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation of Colombia and the Peace Commissioner Council; to move towards the development of actions that will make Colombia a country free of antipersonnel mines, artifacts of war that to date have left more than 12,000 victims.
The event, which aimed to discuss the 2024 – 2026 Strategic Vision for Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines, opened the conversation towards the need to update policies in humanitarian action in the construction of Total Peace, sustainable development, territorial management and inter-institutional coordination to increase the State's response in this area.
In addition, it was the stage to ratify Colombia's commitment to the implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of Antipersonnel Mines.
The event was attended by representatives of donor countries, government entities, United Nations agencies, civil society, humanitarian demining organizations, mine risk education organizations, victims' associations, among others.
During her speech, the Deputy Minister of Multilateral Affairs, Elizabeth Taylor Jay, called on the international community and cooperating partners to continue working in a coordinated and constructive manner on Comprehensive Action Against Antipersonnel Mines. He also pointed out that joint work in this area, strategically aligned with the efforts around Total Peace, will allow results that guarantee social justice and dignity for all Colombians.
At the meeting, the conversation was an opportunity for the international community to ratify its commitment to peacebuilding in Colombia and to a world free of antipersonnel mines.
For his part, the Counselor Commissioner for Peace, Otty Patiño, emphasized the word "decontamination" in the territories, not only of mines, but also of despair and mistrust, cleansing them of the pain caused by violence.
He also reiterated that the models of peace have the purpose of giving great value to the small and the immediate, representing the effect of radiating healing and decontamination that transcends space and time. They imply that peace is not just about filling out documents and agreements; It is essential to work on the concrete, on the material, on the acts of peace. Territorialization and demining occur in the territories, with fewer words and more deeds.
In addition, he stressed the importance of the State's compliance in humanitarian demining, noting that not only the central government, but also territorial governments must be involved. He also stressed that humanitarian demining is an essential condition for territorial transformation and a fundamental flag for peace in our regions.
The participants stressed that humanitarian demining actions must be complemented with risk prevention and education tasks and comprehensive care for victims and their families. Actions that require the joint effort and support of the State, civil society, expert international organizations and cooperating partners.
In this regard, Eleonora Betancur, Director General of the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation of Colombia, said: "From APC Colombia we are fully committed, through the National System of International Cooperation, and through the Peace Table, to the efforts that allow us to advance in the goal of a country free of antipersonnel mines. During 2023, we signed a grant agreement for the administration of resources with the Howard G. Buffet Foundation, thanks to which the management of the Humanitarian Demining Brigade is being supported. In addition, today the donation made by Japan to the Humanitarian Demining Brigade is made official and is made effective thanks to the Exchange of Notes signed between both countries in 2018 and which continues to show the commitment of the international community to achieve Total Peace in Colombia. These are examples of how international cooperation can impact this common purpose."
The event, which concluded with the presentation of the 2024 – 2026 Strategy for the Comprehensive Action Policy against Antipersonnel Mines, was an opportunity to move towards an effective and agile response to this phenomenon that has claimed the lives of military personnel, civilians, minors, women and members of ethnic minorities.
