Action points based on findings

• Simplify processes for mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors to access their rights under the Victim’s Law, including ensuring that out of pocket expenses for a range of services are covered within insurance systems.
• Dedicate resources to the full implementation of a range of new policies and programs, including those promoting the rights of persons with disabilities.
• Ensure survivors and their families/communities living in rural areas have the means to access their rights, including services and reparation.
• Ensure large government economic inclusion programs that target armed conflict victims are adjusted to include mine/ERW survivors.
• Develop peer support networks for survivors and persons with disabilities.

Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of Colombia is responsible for a significant number of landmine and ERW survivors who are in need. Cluster munition victims have also been reported. Colombia has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty and is a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Colombia ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 5 May 2011.

Casualties [1]

Casualties Overview

In 2014, the Department for Comprehensive Action Against Antipersonnel Mines (Dirección para la Acción Integral contra Minas Antipersonal, DAICMA) [3] recorded 286 casualties from antipersonnel mines and ERW. [4]

In 2014, as in all previous years since 2002, the majority of casualties (187, or 65%) were military personnel. [5] Civilians (99) made up 35% of the total casualties, a 10% decrease compared to 2013 and 2012 (45% in both years); but a similar percentage to 2011 and other past years. [6]

Almost half (45, or 45%) of civilian casualties were children (33 boys; 12 girls). This represents a significant increase compared to 2013, when 35% of civilian casualties were children, and continued the steady trend of increasing child casualties as a percentage of annual civilian casualties first observed for 2010 when children were 14% of civilian casualties, increasing to 22% in 2011, and to 30% in 2012. The percentage of child casualties in 2014 was almost three times that observed in 2010. Child casualties also increased in absolute terms since 2010 when there were 28 child casualties.

There were three casualties among women, a number similar to the five women casualties in 2013, but a sharp decrease from the 32 women casualties in 2012. [7] The remainder of the casualties and the majority of recorded civilian casualties (81%) were men. In 2014, there were three civilian casualties among manual coca eradicators employed by the Program for the Eradication of Illicit Cultivation (Programas contra Cultivos Il ícitos , PCI). [8] This was a significant decrease compared with the 27 casualties among coca eradicators in 2013 and the 52 reported in 2012. In 2014, DAICMA continued to collaborate with the PCI. Fluctuations in the annual number of coca eradicator casualties were due to the changing nature of armed conflict and varying tactics employed to counter drug eradication measures. [9] The number of casualties among security forces (police or military) occurring during coca eradication remained unknown through August 2015. [10]

Cumulatively, from 2006 through April 2015, there were at least 369 reported civilian casualties among coca eradicators; at least 42 people were killed and 324 were injured, and it was unknown whether the remaining three casualties survived. [11] The DAICMA casualty database contained information on 350 civilian casualties (40 people killed and 310 injured) who were recorded as coca eradicators in the same period. [12]

The overall mine/ERW casualty total in 2014 (286) represents a significant decrease of almost a quarter (24%) in annual casualties when compared with the 374 casualties recorded in 2013. Between 2006 and 2010, the Monitor identified a trend of declining annual casualty rates that had been ongoing since a peak of almost 1,200 casualties recorded annually in 2005 and 2006. [13] In 2011 and 2012, the decline slowed with annual casualty totals remaining fairly consistent, at 496 and 549 casualties per year, followed by a drop once again in 2013.

Between 1990 and the end of 2014, DAICMA recorded 11,021 casualties (2,207 killed; 8,814 injured). [14] Civilians accounted for 37% (4,145) of the total and children accounted for 27% (1,123) of civilian casualties. Casualties have been recorded in 31 of Colombia’s 32 departments. The departments of Antioquia, Caquetá, Meta, Nariño, Meta, and Norte de Santander registered the highest number of casualties and accounted for more than half of the total (55%). As of June, 5,539 mine/ERW victims were registered with Colombia’s Registry of Victims. [15]

Cluster munition casualties

As identified in Case No. 12.416 (Santo Domingo Massacre versus the Republic of Colombia) heard before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 17 civilians were killed and 27 were injured during a cluster munition strike in Santo Domingo, Colombia on 13 December 1998. [16]

Victim Assistance

There were at least 8,814 mine/ERW survivors in Colombia as of June 2015. [17]

Victim assistance since 1999 [18]

Since monitoring began in 1999, mine/ERW survivors in Colombia have faced serious obstacles in accessing emergency medical attention, ongoing medical care, and physical rehabilitation because these services have been available only in major cities, while most mine incidents occur in rural and remote areas, as well as in conflict zones. In 1999, social and economic inclusion and psychological support for survivors was virtually nonexistent, even in most major cities, with the exception of two facilities in Bogota, which have consistently provided comprehensive rehabilitation services that include psychological support.

During the period, several actors worked to improve and increase the availability of rehabilitation services. Among these efforts, a comprehensive rehabilitation center opened in the department of Caqueta, while rehabilitation centers in Antioquia and Valle del Cauca improved to include psychological support and vocational rehabilitation. In 2006, the ICRC began a mine action program in Colombia that included collecting data on mine/ERW casualties, helping survivors to access victim assistance, and strengthening the physical rehabilitation sector to improve the quality and accessibility of these services. The OAS Mine Action Program (Acción Integral contra las Minas Antipersonales Colombia, AICMA-CO) started its victim assistance activities in 2007.

Through the work of national and international NGOs and Colombian authorities, more than 60 local disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) and approximately 20 survivor associations have been formed since 1999, gradually increasing opportunities for peer-to-peer support as well as socio-economic inclusion. [19] However, most associations and DPOs have had limited impact due to a lack of capacity and financial support.

Decreasing international funding for NGOs since 2012 limited their efforts to fill gaps in existing care and to facilitate access by paying for transportation and accommodation. [20]

Throughout the period, a series of laws have outlined the rights of survivors of mines and ERW as victims of terrorism or conflict through a process called the“Route of Attention” (“Ruta de Atencion”) for mine/ERW victims, which is the legal framework through which victims can access their rights to compensation, rehabilitation, and other components of assistance by registering as victims and having the cost of assistance paid for or reimbursed through special government funds. [21] However, complicated procedures to register as a mine victim and delayed reimbursements have meant that many survivors could not access the care they needed or had to depend on support from the ICRC and NGOs to facilitate access or pay for services. The National Victims’ Law of 2011 guarantees comprehensive assistance to all mine survivors as reparations for violations of their rights resulting from ongoing armed conflict. Coordination of its implementation is the responsibility of the Unit for the Assistance and Comprehensive Reparation of Victims (Unidad para la Atención y Reparación Integral a Víctimas, or Victim’s Unit). However, as of 2014, many survivors had not yet experienced the benefits of this law.

Government coordination of victim assistance began in Colombia in 2002 through the Antipersonnel Mines Observatory, which was replaced in June 2007 with DAICMA. Throughout the period, victim assistance coordination mechanisms have varied and at times have lacked continuity, a result of changes and restructuring within DAICMA and changes with the legal frameworks that outline the rights and assistance available to mine/ERW survivors. Colombia has a strong legal framework to assist and integrate persons with disabilities and there were notable advances over the years, but many of these policies are not entirely put into practice due to the lack of resources.

Health and physical rehabilitation services remain inaccessible for the poorest living in areas affected by the armed conflict. [22]

Victim assistance in 2014

Moderate changes were reported in the overall availability or access to services and programs for mine/ERW survivors. While there were still a lot of mine/ERW survivors waiting for services and benefits, service providers and organizations working with survivors gained a better understanding of the Route of Attention process to access survivors’ rights at the local and departmental levels, improving the overall quality and effectiveness of services received by survivors and reducing delays. Overall access to assistance services therefore improved a little as a result of promotion and socialization of the Victim’s Law and the Route of Attention by the government. However, survivors still struggle to access the benefits of the Victim’s Law as they face multiple financial, physical, and administrative barriers to obtain basic medicines and rehabilitation services.

National and international NGOs continued to fill gaps in assistance, particularly in transportation to access services, in economic and social inclusion programs, and in psychological support, which should be addressed through the system of benefits provided by the government. The majority of mine/ERW survivors lived in rural and remote areas with limited access to transportation and communication.

The government program launched in 2013 to increase access to psychological assistance for armed conflict victims continued to be implemented, but the consequent expectations of improvement in this area were not met in 2014.

In 2014, there was an increased focus on gender- and age-appropriate assistance, though this was mostly at the level of policy with a limited impact in practice, especially at the local level where a lack of awareness made it difficult to apply a gender-/age-based approach. Nevertheless, various organizations working with survivors reported applying gender- and/or age-differentiated approaches in their interventions. [23]

Law 1618, the national law to guarantee the rights of persons with disabilities, aligned with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), was approved in February 2013, and a national disability policy was approved in December 2013 to ensure the implementation of the law. In 2014, recommendations on the national policy on disability and social inclusion were developed to address the inclusion of CRPD’s and national norms on disability rights principles in the elaboration of departmental and municipal Route of Attention processes for mine/ERW/IED victims. A disability-related land management guide was also developed for governors and mayors of the country.

Assessing victim assistance needs

Colombia’s Mine Ban Treaty’s implementing law 759 of 2002, establishes that the Antipersonnel Mine Observatory collects, systematizes, centralizes, and updates all information on antipersonnel mines and facilitates decision making on prevention, marking, mapping, removal, and victim assistance. [24] Additional sources of information on mine-related accidents are the departmental and local committees on mine action and transitional justice, emergency centers, hospitals, departmental and municipal health centers, the national Department of Social Protection, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, and the Ombudsman’s Office. Various agreements with other public institutions, humanitarian international and national organizations, and national/regional NGOs have also been signed to complement the information provided and contribute to its verification, validation, and update. [25]

GICHD worked with DAICMA to add the new module to the Information Management System of Mine Action (IMSMA) database. [26]

In 2014, the ICRC maintained its Memorandum of Understanding with DAICMA to contribute to the IMSMA database, and provided a database expert for a six-month period. [27] Handicap International (HI) continued to provide updated information on mine/ERW casualties for entry into the database. [28]

The National Disability System also manage the Registry for Identification of Persons with Disabilities, which is complemented by a national database called SISPRO managed by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection that compiles information on the population of persons with disabilities. [29]

In 2014, DAICMA, with support of the Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines (Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas, CCCM), began implementing a victim assistance capacity-building project with use of information technological tools for the following objectives: a) Collect information on mine victims at the national level using the general social protection or other existing information systems’ registries and technological tools; b) Design a national strategy, which allows for collection and update of basic information of all registered mine victims; c) Systematize updated information on all mine victims at the national level. [30]

From the second half of 2014 through the first quarter of 2015, DAICMA conducted a survey to collect information on the needs of mine/ERW survivors while informing them on how to register for services and benefits. [31] The survey gathered information on demographic, socio-economic, and cultural conditions in accordance with the Route of Attention process. [32] During 2014, Paz y Democracia and the Departmental Government of Antioquia continued implementing the DAICMA survey and increasing its coverage. [33] Upon completion, survey information was shared with relevant institutions including the National System of Attention and Reparation to Victims (SNARIV). [34]

The Organization of American States (OAS) Mine Action Program in Colombia (Acción Integral contra Minas Antipersonales, AICMA) continued collecting information on casualties directly through contact with the survivors, local authorities, and community leaders. The information is collected and shared according the DAICMA’s standards and includes data on location, socio-economic, and family situation. The OAS also collects information on the victims’ family members in the departments of Antioquia, Bolivar, Caldas, and Santander. [35] The OAS reported semiannually to DAICMA on its activities and financial support. [36]

Several NGOs, including the CCCM, HI, and the ICRC in collaboration with the Colombian Red Cross, and Paz y Democracia, continued to collect information about the needs of mine/ERW victims and other persons with disabilities on an ongoing basis. In all cases, NGOs reported that this information was shared with DAICMA for inclusion in the mine/ERW victim database. Information was collected on the victims’ quality of life, the state of their prosthesis, rehabilitation services, and general assistance provided and was obtained through ongoing contact with survivor associations, community leaders, and volunteers, and through consulting sessions. [37] In 2014, HI also included data on caregivers. [38] There was some overlap between information on mine/ERW incidents and victims gathered by the ICRC and the CCCM , they were cooperating to include more survivors in assistance support provided by the ICRC . [39]

Through radio and cellphone calls, the Survivor Association of San Carlos, Antioquia was able to locate 35 victims in remote areas. [40]

In 2014, a partnership between the CCCM and Método received funds from UNDP to collect economic and productive data on municipalities where victims are located. [41] During the year, the CCCM developed a survey on the vulnerability of rights that was applied to 250 survivors in various departments in order to collect detailed information on access to health and rehabilitation services. In 2014, the CCCM implemented a pilot record of victims of weapons prohibited or regulated by international humanitarian law, which complements the existing record of survivors of landmines, unexploded ordinance (UXO) and IEDs. [42] In 2015, the CCCM also initiated a survey to assess the correlation between forced displacement and antipersonnel mines. [43]

The Antioquia departmental victim assistance coordinating mechanism continued to follow-up on mine/ERW survivors and provide assistance. There was also a general coordination of casualty reporting, including by community leaders or volunteers of Paz y Democracia and the CCCM. The coordination group presented a policy paper, including a comprehensive mine/ERW survivor situation analysis, to the Ministry of Health. [44]

NGOs and service providers reported that, by 2014, the mine/ERW victim database managed by DAICMA was more complete than in some previous years, most especially for victims of recent mine/ERW incidents as a result of the improvement of data collection efforts in recent years. [45] However, in 2014, it was still believed that some victims, especially civilians and whose accident occurred many years ago, were not included in the database, and updating information on the needs and services received remains a challenge. The was thought to be because they were unaware of their rights and/or had difficulties in registering and reporting their personal information due to the fear of repercussions from non-state armed groups if they reported the incident. Survivors also feared being accused by the armed forces of handling IEDs. Other reasons included: mistrust of government institutions; being denied the victim’ status; delays between the accident and its registry by the government prevented access to benefits; or because some victims reported the incident in a different department to where it occurred. [46]

During 2014, DAICMA continued to work to share its data on mine/ERW victims with the registry managed by the Victim’s Unit. As of June 2015, 5,539 mine/ERW victims were registered in the Registry of Victims; [47] this figure was less than half of the total number of mine/ERW victims recorded by DAICMA in the same period. DAICMA was working to better align the victim assistance component of its data with the registration process of the Victim’s Unit , particularly with regard to indirect victims as well as direct victim (survivors and persons killed) to expedite the registration of victims on both systems. It had to verify the identification documents of victims through the Victim’s Unit registry in order to better coordinate the exchange of information. [48]

In 2014, DAICMA also coordinated with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection to share information on victims when an accident occurs, in order to guarantee appropriate assistance and follow-up along the Route of Attention. [49]

The CCCM, reported that there were great efforts made by DAICMA and the Victim’s Unit in 2014 to record mine/ERW victims. It noted, however, that there were discrepancies between survivor data collected in IMSMA and in the Victim’s Unit’s databases due of a lack of capacity to cross-check information. [50] Paz y Democracia identified a need to harmonize data collection procedures between local, municipal, and national levels in order to make the information available more quickly. [51] The OAS reported that in the municipalities where it is present, the government’s registries are complete. [52] The Victim’s Unit made efforts to register people, but delays were a concern as the deadline for registering victims approached. [53]

The National Public Health Monitoring System (Sistema de Vigilancia en Salud Pública, SIVIGILA) includes casualties of explosive devices within its reporting activities. [54]

Victim assistance coordination [55]

 

Coordination

In 2014, DAICMA held coordination and planning meetings with various national and international organizations to monitor and evaluate assistance to mine/ERW victims. These meetings allowed for greater coverage of victim assistance.

The Victim’s Unit held numerous meetings of its executive committee and 10 different sub-committees, most of which had the purpose of fulfilling commitments to compensate and assist victims of armed conflict, including mine/ERW victims.

In addition, since 2007, Colombia has a National Disability System (Sistema Nacional de Discapacidad, SND) composed of representatives of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and of the National Disability Council, which assesses, monitors, and evaluates the SND and the national disability policy. The SND also includes department and municipal councils in which victim assistance actors participate, working to advance the rights of persons with disabilities. [56] Their activities are mainly the dissemination of disability issues , training of government staff, and the implementation of the Registry for identification of Persons with Disabilities ( Registro para la Localización y Caracterización de las Personas con Discapacidad, - RLCPD). [57]

In 2014, in an effort to coordinate actions by the National Disability System and SNARIV, five territorial meetings were led addressing three main themes: 1) the disability policy approach compared withother victim assistance policies; 2) Progress in the regulation of Law 1618; 3) Sharing experiences about the Inclusive Colombia strategy. The meetings allowed for a better understanding of the legal framework regulating both persons with disabilities and victims of the armed conflict, and for the creation of common participation spaces at the national level. [58]

The National Plan for Comprehensive Assistance to Victims of Landmines, ERW, and IEDs developed through national and regional consultations by DAICMA in 2013 was presented to the National Intersectorial Commission for Mine Action (CINAMAP) in February 2014. DAICMA led a technical victim assistance workshop, with the participation of the CCCM, as well as of survivors and their representative organizations. To facilitate its implementation during the year, agreements were made with governmental institutions such as the Victim’s Unit, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Agriculture. Monitoring of the plan is carried out directly by DAICMA. [59]

In 2014, six meetings were organized in order to monitor the cases of coca eradicator casualties regarding access to their rights and the overcoming of barriers to access assistance through the established process Route of Attention. [60]

In an effort to decentralize victim assistance, DAICMA worked with local authorities to develop departmental Route of Attention processes for mine/ERW survivors in Putumayo, Nariño, Cauca, and Tolima. In the first months of 2014, these were updated in the departments of Bolívar, Valle del Cauca, Arauca, Cesar, Santander, Huila, Chocó, Cauca, Vaupés, and Casanare, as well as in the city of Bogotá. [61] During the year, the Route of Attention for the department of Antioquia was finalized and included in the department’s prevention and contingency plans. [62] A Route of Attention was also developed in the department of Caqueta. [63] Coordination boards in the departments of Putumayo and Nariño, put in place by DAICMA, improved inter-institutional cooperation in monitoring and addressing survivors’ needs. [64]

Following decisions by the Constitutional Court, the national Route of Comprehensive Assistance for mine/ERW/IED victims was updated in 2014 to strengthen comprehensive rehabilitation services. Throughout the year, a total of 977 members of public forces and 86 civilians were informed of how to access their rights through this process. [65] Also, the adoption of a new DAICMA strategy in 2014 allowed for procedural improvements for obtaining services and reparations, such as reducing delays in registration, priority access to reparation and assistance plans, and priority for survivors with personal injuries. [66]

In 2014, survivors associations reported having a better understanding of the Victim’s Law in general and its processes. [67] Coordination of service provision at the departmental level was seen to be more efficient. Improvements in coordination between national and departmental levels as well as with national and international NGOs resulted in gaps in assistance to survivors being identified and addressed. [68]

DAICMA also developed separate Route of Attention processes for mine/ERW survivors and family members from vulnerable groups such as indigenous persons, Afro-Colombian populations, and persons with disabilities, as well as children and adolescents—the latter being in application since the second half of 2014. The Route of Attention for indigenous people was reported to have been completed in 2014 in the department of Guaviare and Meta. [69] However, some organizations working with survivors had found that the process had not yet been finalized as of mid-2015. [70] Colombia also published a Guide for the Comprehensive Assistance for Boys, Girls, and Adolescent Mine Victims. [71] The CCCM noted however, that it was not aware of any Route of Attention process developed from a gender-based approach. [72]

There were also several bilateral and multi-stakeholder coordination meetings among NGOs, service providers, and survivor networks in 2014. [73] These meetings improved the situation for mine/ERW survivors by optimizing the use of scarce resources, increasing knowledge of their needs, and expediting assistance for urgent cases. [74] In 2014, the CCCM coordinated joint meetings between authorities, local organizations, and the departments to foster participation in the development of municipal and departmental Route of Attention processes. [75]

In 2014, DAICMA continued to participate as a member of the technical subcommittees of reparation and rehabilitation of the Victim’s Unit for Reparations Executive Committee. The subcommittee on rehabilitation monitored the“Program for Psycho-social and Comprehensive Health of Victims” (“Programa de Atención Psicosocial y Salud Integral a Víctimas,” PAPSIVI) and the Victim’s Unit psychosocial recovery program. An evaluation of the social reintegration program“Entrelazando” was also undertaken. [76]

DAICMA reported that inter-institutional coordination meetings on victim assistance increased the visibility of the specific needs of mine/ERW victims, and improved their condition, such as better access to reparations. [77] NGOs reported participating in department-level disability, victims’ rights, reparations, and transitional justice committees in order to support the inclusion of mine/ERW survivors and victims’ rights in local processes. [78]

National Plan

The National Plan for the Comprehensive Reparation and Assistance for Victims of Violence, under the Victim’s Law (adopted in 2012) [79] is supported by an implementation strategy, guidelines, a budget, and a monitoring mechanism. [80] Ongoing monitoring of the plan is the responsibility of the Victim’s Unit through thematic sub-committees under the Executive Committee. [81] In 2014, monitoring of the plan was also carried out by territorial Victim’s Units through the presentation of reports, bulletins, and publications on the management of the SNARIV. [82] Survivor associations also participated in the monitoring of the plan. [83]

In 2014, the ongoing efforts to implement the plan allowed for a better knowledge of victim assistance public policies and of the services available through the Route of Attention. Direct government assistance to survivors increased, and the needs of the victims were also made more visible. [84]

 DAICMA updated the national Route of Attention to include the assistance and reparations guaranteed through the Victim’s Law in 2013 with regard to survivors of mine/ERW incidents as well as family members of survivors and family members of people killed. This included how to register and access healthcare and education and other benefits, vocational training, and compensation. [85]

In 2014, the National Disability Council continued working on the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the national disability policy, with the participation of persons with disabilities. DAICMA is the institution responsible for the inclusion of provisions on assistance and comprehensive rehabilitation of mine/ERW/IED victims within the policy. [86] The National Disability Council’s national policy on disability and social inclusion (“Conpes 166”), to implement the disability law in line with the CRPD, was approved in December 2013. [87] DAICMA provided recommendations and actions to the policy. [88]

Colombia provided detailed updates on the progress and challenges for victim assistance at the Convention on Cluster Munitions intersessional meetings in Geneva in April 2014 and at the Mine Ban Treaty Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014, as well as through its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report submitted for calendar year 2014. [89]

While recognizing that important efforts are made through the implementation of the Victim’s Law, some NGOs reported that they felt coordination meetings were not effective or that there was a need for survivors to be more included in decision-making processes. [90] In a forum on survivors’ rights held in July 2015, a Ministry of Health and Social Protection representative said that there was a need to improve coordination between national, regional, and local institutions in the implementation of disability legislation and the Victim’s Laws. [91] The regional mechanisms were in some cases seen to be more effective than national ones. [92]

Survivor inclusion and participation

Following the adoption and implementation of the Victim’s Law (2011), mine/ERW survivors were invited to participate in the planning and provision of victim assistance through department-based transitional justice committees. In 2014, survivors and their representative organizations participated in these government-held meetings. [93] Some of them also participated in the monitoring of the National Mine/ERW Victim’s Plan. [94] However, their representation was not as broad as hoped, especially in national instances, and some organizations working with survivors identified the need to better prepare them to fulfill advocacy roles. [95]

During the year, the National Survivors Network participated in the National Committee for the Participation of Victims, where it presented requests regarding housing, pensions, socio-economic inclusion, and health. [96] Survivors were also represented at the Victim’s Unit until April 2015, but were not included in the National Intersectorial Commission for Mine Action (Comisión Intersectorial Nacional para la Acción Integral contra Minas Antipersonal, Cinamap), which is responsible for the elaboration of mine-related public policies. [97]

In 2014, DAICMA continued a pilot project (started in 2012) to strengthen the capacity of mine victim organizations, providing technical support to four survivor associations. [98] The Association of Mine Victims of San Carlos (ASOVIMASC, Antioquia), which was part of the project, received training and technical support and was able to share experience and transfer knowledge to other associations created in 2014–2015. ASOVIMASC could also receive interns from the National Apprenticeship Service (SENA). [99]

Survivor associations participated in subcommittees on Transitional Justice at the local and departmental level, strengthening communication between survivors and public institutions. [100] For example, in the subcommittee on the strengthening of victims’ organizations for transitional justice in Antioquia [101] and in victim’s participation committees in the municipalities of Cocorna, San Fransisco, and Medellin. [102] The CCCM raised awareness between mine victims, the provincial government of the department of Huila, and national entities through the Landmines Working Groups. [103] In July 2015, the National Network of Organizations of Mine/ERW Survivors and Victims with Disabilities ( Asociación Distrital de Sobrevivientes de Minas Antipersonal y Municiones sin Explotar, ADISMAM ) also participated in a forum on antipersonnel mines and survivors’ rights co-organized by the weekly magazine Semana , the Colombian Red Cross, the Spanish Red Cross, and the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID) in Bogota. [104]

Representatives of National Network of Organizations of Mine/ERW Survivors and Victims with Disabilities, represented the perspectives of mine/ERW survivors in the Colombian peace process national committee in 2014 and in the peace negotiations in Havana. [105] Their input to the negotiating delegations included requests for the r ecognition of victims, recognition of responsibility, satisfaction of victims’ rights, participation of the victims, the right to remedy, reconciliation, and humanitarian demining. [106]

The legal framework for the rights of victims of the armed conflict has been developed in parallel with the legal instruments for disability rights, resulting in a gap between the two frameworks, and therefore, mine/ERW victims are not fully participating in coordination mechanisms addressing disability issues. [107]

However, in 2014, mine/ERW survivors and their representative organizations were represented in the National Disability Council. [108] In the majority of cases, mine/ERW victims are not automatically included in committees on disability at the departmental level, but in Norte de Santander and Santander departments, mine/ERW survivors participated in these mechanisms. [109]

Many survivor associations and NGOs included mine/ERW survivors in the provision of victim assistance, such as data collection processes or training and awareness-raising, information and referral to services, and benefits. [110] The CCCM included survivors in assistance and access to rehabilitation projects with UNICEF support. [111]

Survivor associations also participated in defining and assessing needs. The Victim Association of the department of Norte de Santander held various meetings to evaluate and attend the victims’ needs, especially regarding legal counseling and income-generating projects. The association also led a workshop with children of victims to identify the issues they are facing. [112] The Victim Association of the department of Caqueta continued to hold meetings in which survivors and their families’ needs are discussed. The information collected was shared with national NGOs such as Paz y Democracia and the CCCM. [113]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Since the entry into force of the Victim’s Law, health and rehabilitation services must be accessed through the national health system. The process caused considerable delays and discrepancies in the provision of assistance, since the institutions providing health services were sometimes unaware of the service coverage. [114] However, in March 2014, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection began to require that victims of armed conflict not covered by any insurance scheme be automatically included in the subsidized system. [115] Ultimately, the inclusion of survivors in the subsidized health system was reported to have become easier. [116] New protocols formulated and implemented by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the Victim’s Unit also reduced the delays for mine/ERW with disabilities identified in the Registry of Victims in accessing the Route of Attention. [117]

Despite increasing efforts regarding awareness and acknowledgment of the victims’ needs, current resources and structures could not address all the needs identified. Survivors face complex bureaucratic procedures to access benefits, which frequently cause them to abandon their claim. Gaps in the provision of health, rehabilitation, and psychosocial services remained prevalent. [118] For example, survivors still had to cover the cost of the mandatory physical evaluation, which is required to access the disability pension. [119] In addition, a lack of continuity was reported in the provision of rehabilitation services. [120] Survivors reported that the main barriers they face in accessing services, medicines, and specialized services are the costs of disability evaluations, the lack of psychological support and economic opportunities, the long distance they must travel to reach services, and issues in accessing compensation. [121] Frequent cancellation of medical appointments, limited availability of specialists, and health centers’ business hours overlapping with working schedules were also reported as problems by many survivors. [122] Access to, and the quality of, services of public institutions were dependent on support that humanitarian organizations provided, without which services were often delayed and inadequate. [123]

More consideration was given to gender- and age-sensitive assistance, and disability programs including mine/ERW survivors were promoted. [124] Efforts were also made to promote the Route of Attention processes at the local level, so survivors associations are better equipped to access them. [125]

In 2014, international cooperation funding was cut or significantly reduced, forcing some organizations to reduce their services, including rehabilitation services and prosthesis. [126]

Victim assistance activities [127]

Emergency and ongoing medical care

Emergency medical response improved and delays in accessing specialized services were reduced in 2014. [128] Geographic coverage of general medical attention was also greater, although some areas remain isolated, as adequately equipped infrastructures are located in major urban centers such as Bogota or Medellin. [129]

In July 2015, the CCCM stated that in many cases it was difficult to safely evacuate civilian survivors from the site of the incident. Access to health centers was frequently limited because of long distances and the poor conditions of the road network. The organization also reported that when an accident occurs, people who accompany the survivor to the emergency center are left unattended, as they are not considered in the Route of Attention designed by the government. [130] The CCCM also reported that survivors in need of medical consultation with specialists could wait between three and six months to get an appointment. [131]

In 2014, in the municipality of Cocorna (department of Antioquia), the Municipal Hospital signed an agreement with the local survivor association to help the survivors get medical appointments. The association will in exchange collect data for the hospital’s satisfaction survey. [132]

In Norte de Santander department, the CCCM provided accompaniment in obtaining humanitarian emergency aid for victims. [133]

The ICRC provided first-aid courses in conflict/violence-affected communities and to health personnel and weapon bearers. It also provided medical materials nearly 40 health facilities, including those used to treat weapon-wounded patients and made infrastructural upgrades at four healthposts . [134]

Physical rehabilitation, including prosthetics

Some organizations providing physical rehabilitation or working to facilitate access to such services for mine survivors reported an increase in the number of beneficiaries or geographic coverage ( see table above ).

Several organizations noted that bureaucratic delays or long wait lists meant that many survivors could be waiting up to a year for initial consultation and up to eight months more to get the prosthesis fitted. Survivors in need are eligible for a new prosthesis every five years, but many require them to be changed more frequently. [135] There was also a lack of continuity in the provision of rehabilitation services. [136] The CCCM reported reduced access to prosthesis due to a decrease in international cooperation funding. [137] Some organizations working with survivors noted general improvement in the provision of physical rehabilitation services. [138] HI reported improvements in the quality of prosthesis, mainly due to international cooperation support, while it continued to need to fill gaps in the provision of health and rehabilitation services. [139]

There were significant gaps in assistance for persons with hearing and sight impairments due to high costs and limited availability of devices and services. [140]

In 2014, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the ICRC continued to work with physical rehabilitation providers to improve the quality of care in order to meet national standards established in 2010; the deadline for service providers to meet these standards and continue their operations was originally set for December 2013, but revisions to the law extended this deadline into 2014. [141]

The ICRC also continued to work with the two existing training institutions for specialized rehabilitation training at SENA in Bogota and at the TIMDO Institute in Cali, and included“management of amputees” in the physiotherapy curricula. [142]

The principal partners of the ICRC remained the Hospital Universitario del Valle and Ortopédica Américana in Cali. The ICRC decided to halt its collaboration with the Centro Cardio-neuromuscular of Cucuta in September 2014, due to a recurrent lack of provincial authority involvement. The ICRC also provided material support for the Centro Integral de Rehabilitación de Colombia (CIREC) in Bogotá and the Fundación REI para la Rehabilitación Integral in Cartagena. [143]

In 2014, the OAS continued to work with CIREC to provide physical rehabilitation support for mine/ERW survivors, and concluded physical rehabilitation support agreements with CIREC and the Colombian Red Cross for the departments of Antioquia and Bolivar. [144]

Economic inclusion

In 2013, several economic benefits for mine/ERW victims were added to the Victim’s Law. [145] At the end of 2014, 269 mine/ERW survivors were in the process of obtaining reparations under the law’s provisions. [146] Bureaucratic procedures to access pensions were reduced for survivors whose disability was registered as more than 50%. The majority of survivors had difficulties in accessing such benefits, despite the fact that the Constitutional Court had acknowledged the right to a pension through various rulings. [147]

The Victim’s Unit led a workshop subcommittee of reparation to improve understanding and coordination. The Victim’s Unit also conducted a series of interviews at the national level to map ongoing projects, existing agreements, and available resources for the economic inclusion of the victims of the armed conflict. [148]

Organizations of survivors or those working with survivors reported a lack of assistance from the government in gaining employment or starting income-generating projects. Local, departmental, and national programs are seen as limited, unsustainable, and inadequate in regards to the needs and characteristics of the beneficiaries, and do not include previous or ongoing training for participants. [149]

Organizations of survivors or those working with survivors also reported insufficient access to basic, technical, and professional education to cover the needs of all victims, especially when they have a visual impairment, which leads to more difficulties to enter the labor market and/or pursue their education at the university level. Teachers are seen as unprepared to provide inclusive education and improvements in educational institutions as limited. [150] In 2014, six departmental governments included financial resources for income-generating projects for survivors in their budgets for implementing mine action at the departmental level, following advocacy efforts by local members of the national survivor network. [151] However, there is no national policy regarding educational inclusion of mine\ERW survivors. [152]

In 2014, UNDP signed an agreement with the Ministry of Labor to develop an employment policy as the basis for an income-generation initiatives specifically designed for victims of violence. [153] UNDP also implemented an economic-inclusion project in the department of Putumayo in 2014. [154]

The ICRC’s economic-inclusion project for internally displaced persons was extended in 2014 to include weapon contamination victims. The project includes vocational training by SENA and employment opportunities through agreements with public and private institutions in 10 cities. [155]

The ICRC also initiated at the end of the year a socio-economic reintegration project under the management of the Economic Security Department for those receiving physical rehabilitation services with the assistance of the ICRC. [156]

In 2014, the OAS developed vocational training for survivor associations. Certificates of completion were provided to survivor members of the association AVAMIGA, of Granada municipality in the Antioquia department. [157] The OAS continued supporting survivors to pursue studies, vocational, technical, and secondary undergraduate studies by covering the costs of transportation, housing, food, and school materials. [158]

The OAS also supported six socio-economic inclusion projects through technical and financial support to mine victims associations in the departments of Antioquia, Bolivar, and Santander. [159]

The CCCM started supported income-generating projects for mine/ERW/IED survivors through an agreement with HI. [160] The CCCM also provided legal counseling for accessing victims’ rights. As of 2014, five legal procedures had also been initiated in representative cases and for access to socio-economic reintegration in the department of Norte de Santander. [161]

Social inclusion

Due to the Victim’s Law being implemented, positive changes in social inclusion were being noticed. However, measures for social inclusion required strengthening. [162] Programs or projects aimed at the social inclusion of victims as well as services that could enable it (for example, access to employment or income-generating initiatives) are limited to major urban centers, while the majority of mine/ERW survivors are located in rural and remote areas. [163]

A pilot Social Reconstruction Strategy ( Estrategia de Reconstrucción del Tejido Social- Entrelazando) was launched by the Victim’s Unit. Members of the Victim’s Unit identify group leaders in affected communities, who are then supported to lead community rehabilitation efforts. [164] Twenty individuals were selected in order to identify bottlenecks and difficulties in accessing the comprehensive psychological, physical, and social rehabilitation services. [165]

In 2014, the OAS supported the participation of two survivors in the“Nike Run,” which was among the activities organized by DAICMA as part of its strategy“More Sport, less Mines.” The strategy aims at raising awareness on the threat posed by antipersonnel mines and takes place under the UN-led campaign“Lend your Leg.” The OAS also renewed its support to survivors participating as coaches or counsellors in sports programs for people with cognitive disability offered by FIDES and in CIREC’s“Inclusive Scuba Diving” program for people with disabilities and mine survivors. Survivors with visual impairments also participated in various sport activities. [166]

Social inclusion projects for persons with disabilities through the use of information and communications technology included the Relay Center, Connecting Senses, Movies for All, and Convertic. [167]

Psychological support, including peer support

Two mental health programs were launched by the government in 2013 under the Victim’s Law. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection launched the“Program for Psycho-social and Comprehensive Health of Victims” (“Programa de Atención Psicosocial y Salud Integral a Víctimas,” PAPSIVI), implemented through national and local actors (such as health centers) to assess the psychosocial needs of individuals, families, and communities, affected by armed conflict, including mine/ERW victims. [168] The program was designed in consultation with armed conflict victims, including mine/ERW victims. [169] As part of the program, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection also began providing a virtual course in psychosocial support for armed conflict victims for health professionals throughout Colombia. [170] In 2014, 82,156 victims of the armed conflict, among which 88 were mine/ERW survivors, received psychosocial assistance and over 2000 professionals were trained through this program. [171]

The second program, launched by the Victim’s Unit, provided group therapy to registered armed conflict victims in communities throughout Colombia and provided referrals to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection for victims in need of individualized care. [172] The program seeks to promote emotional recovery from the victims’ own experience. In 2014, 47 mine/ERW survivors participated in this program. [173]

While some NGOs working with survivors reported good and specialized provision of psychological services for mine/ERW survivors, [174] the CCCM reported that at the municipal level, psychosocial assistance programs were not implemented optimally due to insufficient resources and will. [175] Local psychological support programs for victims of the armed conflict did not cover rural areas, where the majority of mine/ERW survivors are located, and did not attend all their needs. In early 2014, victims were able to provide input through the national coordination mechanism for the Victim’s Law on how to adjust the program and improve its impact. [176]

Public psychological support services are not available in the majority of the municipalities where survivors live or are only provided in the period immediately following the accident, while the survivors are hospitalized. [177] The Colombian Red Cross reported a general lack of psychosocial support, especially for survivors’ family members. [178]

HI provided training in psychological counseling and group support to associations of survivors in several municipalities in 2014. [179] The CCCM also provided psychosocial support to survivors in the department of Sucre. [180]

Laws and policies

Law 1618, which guarantees the rights of persons with disabilities in line with the CRPD, was approved in February 2013. [181] To promote the participation of armed conflict victims in the implementation of the Victim’s Law, Resolution 0388 adopted the Protocol for the Effective Participation of Armed Conflict Victims on 10 May 2013. Both pieces of legislation held great potential to protect the rights of mine/ERW victims as armed conflict victims and as persons with disabilities. [182] Legislation prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to public buildings, air travel and other transportation, access to healthcare, or the provision of other state services, but some NGOs reported that these laws were seldom enforced. [183]

In 2015, statutory law 1751 on health was adopted, Article 11 of which defines persons with disabilities as subject to special protection. [184] In March 2015, legislation was adopted to guarantee access to and the quality of appropriate rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities by the institutions providing health services. [185]

In 2014, recommendations on the national policy on disability and social inclusion (“Conpes 166”) were developed. The policy, approved in December 2013, aims at the implementation of Colombia’s disability law in line with the CRPD. The recommendations mainly addressed the inclusion of CRPD’s and national norms on disability principles in the elaboration of departmental and municipal Route of Attention for mine/ERW/IED victims, specifying the characteristics of a comprehensive rehabilitation. [186] In 2014, institutions participating in the National Disability System developed and finalized a land management guide on disability for governors and mayors of the country as a way to implement the disability policy at regional and local levels. [187]

In December 2014, the Victim’s Unit adopted Resolution 0848, establishing reparation modalities for personal injuries and enabling access to reparations for mine/ERW victims. [188] In 2014, through the Victim’s Unit social reconstruction strategy Entrelazando, improvements were noted in the application of collective reparation measures as set out in the Victim’s Law to compensate the victims of armed conflict. [189]

In 2014 and into 2015, various decisions by the State Council, the highest tribunal to rule on conflicts between citizens and the State, ordered direct reparations to mine/ERW victims based on the State’s obligation to comply with its responsibilities, including under the Mine Ban Treaty. [190] Various decisions by the Constitutional Court also promulgated access to disability pensions to victims of armed conflict. Now survivors whose disability is qualified as 50% or more can access this pension even if they never contributed to the pension system. [191]

In 2014, a case of coca eradicators affected by antipersonnel mines in the department of Caldas was brought to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in order to obtain reparations for the survivors. [192]

Little to no improvements in physical accessibility were identified in Colombia in 2014. In 2013, the State Council ordered all public offices to make facilities accessible to persons with disabilities and asked public officials and municipalities to include requirements for accessibility when granting licenses for construction and occupancy. Law 1618 established a deadline of 27 February 2015 for public offices to comply with the new accessibility requirements, and stipulates that the National Disability Council is responsible for monitoring compliance. As of July 2014, no information was available on how many public offices and facilities had complied with the order. During the year the municipal government of Bogota issued Decree 324, which adopted measures to guarantee effective access for persons with disabilities to the integrated public transportation.

In most cases, no discrimination based on ethnicity, nature of disability, civil or military status, etc. was reported in the provision of assistance to survivors and efforts were made to provide gender- and age-sensitive assistance. [193] However, survivors reported often being erroneously referred to as internally displaced persons, which caused additional victimization. [194] Discrimination in administrative procedures was reported, as many survivors have difficulties complying with all the requisites to access their benefits due to being persons with disabilities. [195]

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