[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S11686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         LANDMINES IN COLOMBIA

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, as someone who has been concerned about the 
problem of landmines for nearly two decades, I was heartened when every 
nation in this hemisphere, except, regrettably, the United States and 
Cuba, joined the Ottawa Treaty banning antipersonnel landmines. Many of 
them had experienced the human misery and economic hardship that 
landmines cause. Today most people in Central and South America can 
walk in safety thanks to the treaty and thanks to the efforts of the 
Organization of American States, with assistance from the U.S. 
Government, to remove the mines in those countries.
  Today Colombia is the only country in Latin America where landmines 
are still being used. They are a persistent problem in almost every 
department, including some of Colombia's richest coffee-growing areas. 
According to the 2006 Landmine Monitor report, landmines in Colombia 
claim an average of three new victims a day. Colombia has the third 
highest incidence of mine victims in the world, behind only Cambodia 
and Afghanistan.
  In Colombia the mines are used by rebel and paramilitary groups, and 
they are rudimentary in design. They kill or maim whoever comes into 
contact with them, whether it is a soldier or a young child. Many of 
the victims live in remote areas, hours or days from any medical 
services, so there is a high risk of bleeding to death.
  Several initiatives are under way to help Colombia's mine victims 
with artificial limbs and rehabilitation and vocational services. Among 
them are the Polus Center for Social and Economic Development, the 
Colombian Coffee Federation, the OAS, Centro Integral de Rehabilitacion 
de Colombia, the Observatorio de Minas Antipersonnel, and the Colombian 
organization TECNOVO.
  In addition, the Colombian organization United for Colombia has been 
working on a shoestring budget, and recently with assistance from the 
U.S. Government, to bring Colombian soldiers who have been grievously 
injured from landmines to the United States for reconstructive surgery.
  I applaud the efforts of organizations that are working to assist 
victims of landmines in Colombia.
  It is tragic that any of this is necessary. Landmines are inhumane, 
inherently indiscriminate weapons which should be relegated to the 
dustbin of history. The FARC rebels and AUC paramilitaries who use 
mines should be condemned. The use of these weapons is a gross 
violation of human rights and a crime against humanity.
  On December 3, 2007, the world will mark the 10th anniversary of the 
signing of the Ottawa Treaty. Great progress has been made during the 
past decade in ridding the world of landmines. Let us hope that those 
who continue to insist on their right to use these indiscriminate 
weapons--in Colombia and in other parts of the world including the 
United States--will finally recognize that too often their victims are 
innocent people and that this cannot be justified.

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