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THE SITUATION OF MANUAL ERADICATORS OF ILLEGAL CROPS

VICTIM TO LANDMINES

Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines

Context

In the atmosphere of internal armed conflict which has ravagedColombia for more than half a century, the use of landmines andother explosive devices by non-governmental armed forces isfrequent, especially by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia(FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), although they are alsoknown to have been used by the United Self Defence Forces ofColombia (AUC) until 2006.

These illegal groups place mines in areas surrounding their bases andcamps, in paths leading to areas of particular importance or inmilitary strategic points, in places designed to protect their arsenalsof weapons, medicines or clothing, in the lands and territories ofindigenous communities and in areas containing illegal crops1.

This criminal practice has left thousands of people dead, injured,mutilated or with serious physical and psychological traumathroughout the whole country. Between 1990 and April of 2011 thePresidential Program for Integral Action against Anti-personalLandmines (PAICMA) had registered 9.257 victims of antipersonnellandmines in around 623 municipalities in Colombia. Of these victims,3.413, or 36.8%, are civilians, the majority of which are countrypeople or from the rural population. In the current figures to datefrom 2011, there have already been 58 civilians affected by theseartefacts, which clearly highlights the current nature and theseriousness of the situation2.

The Program of manual eradication of illegal crops

The eradicators of illegal crops are one of the groups most affected byantipersonnel landmines. Lack of employment opportunities,temporary jobs and poverty mean that men of working age accept thework of manual eradication as a means of making money.

1 INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES. Landmine and Cluster Munitions

Monitor. Colombia 2010, Bogot, International Campaign To Ban Landmines,Colmbian Campaign to Ban Landmines , 2010, pp. 16-19.2 More information on the PAICMA website: [http://tinyurl.com/3j66jnq].


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Municipalities throughout the national territory provide significant

work forces for this aforementioned work.

This activity is undertaken within the framework of the PresidentialManagement against Illegal Crops (PCI) of the Presidential Agency forSocial Action and International Co-operation (Social Action) and theMobile Group Program of Eradication (GME) of the Peace InvestmentFund (FIP)

These programs, established in 2003 and 2004 respectively, have thepurpose of supporting the Colombian States fight against illegaldrugs, via the implementation of two strategies: voluntary manualeradication and forced manual eradication; and the execution ofspecial projects. The range of their action extends through 15departments and a significant number of National Parks.

In January 2006 the operation Green Colombia was introduced, amassive program which was aimed at the manual eradication of 4.598hectares of coca plants located in the National Park of La Macarena, inthe Meta department, by 930 eradicators grouped in 64 mobilegroups. Following an attack with mortars from the FARC, around 630

of them resigned.3

Before the first fortnight had passed, there was anincident with a landmine in which another eradicator died and thisresulted in further desertion. By the 30 April of that year, 248eradicators remained. In the light of this, the President at the time,lvaro Uribe reinforced security, by deploying 1.500 policemen fortheir protection and offered housing benefits to those eradicators whopersisted until the end4. However, in August 2006 a landmine killedsix eradicators and injured a further seven; five policemen were alsoaffected.

In 2007, in order to secure human resources, Social Action and FIP,

upon carrying out a market study, promoted hiring via businesses forobtaining and supplying staff such as the company Empleamos, S.A.,which in turn holds, either through verbal or written form, several taskor work contracts with the eradicators, made up generally of youngrural people in situations of vulnerability and poverty.According to Social Action, the eradication operation consists in theforming of groups of thirty one people, who travel to the plantationsof illegal crops, which are duly guarded by the police, in order to3 DORA MONTERO CARVAJAL. La erradicacin manual, sin ambiente para continuar, in La

Silla Vaca, 1st of December 2010, in: [http://tinyurl.com/425d2s8].4 PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC. El objetivo es irrenunciable: ni una mata de cocaen La Macarena, in [http://tinyurl.com/2a36vze]


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manually eradicate all coca or poppy plants that they might find

there.5

In the practice, the staff of the company Empleamos, S.A. arrive atthe municipalities, and call the meeting, explain the technical andsecurity conditions in which the eradication activities will be carriedout and offer contracts which last between 45 and 60 days. Theypromise the eradicators a monthly salary of approximately $550.000COP, and carry out the signing up process, which is at least formal, tosocial security (EPS) and professional risks cover (ARP). The IllegalCrops Program envisages that the eradicators are not natives of theplace in which they are eradicating because this puts them in dangerand they can be subject to retaliations by non-governmental armedgroups.

The victims of manual eradication

In spite of the fact that the Presidential Program against Illegal Cropshas made available safety measures which supposedly guarantee thereduction and prevention of accidents from antipersonnel landmines,we note that eradication work continues to be a very high risk job forthe life and security of the Colombians who participate in the

program.

It is worrying to note that the manual eradication of illegal crops hasleft behind it hundreds of civilian and military victims throughout thecountry. From 2005, the year in which massive eradication began,until August 2008, at least 40 people died and another 50 wereinjured as a result of this activity6.

This figure increased as the Program established itself. From 2006until September 2009, the information system of the ColombianCampaign to Ban Landmines registered 119 manual coca plant

eradicators as victims of antipersonnel landmines, of which 39 werefrom the Caldas department7.

According to PAICMA, of the 496 civilian victims of landminesregistered between 2008 and 2009, 128 were manual coca planteradicators, from 12 municipalities, 6 of which (Puerto Ass, Valle delGuamuez, Taraz, Anor, Puerto Libertador and Tib) registered

5 PRESIDENTIAL AGENCY FOR SOCIAL ACTION & INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.Justificacin, on the website: [http://tinyurl.com/44olk5o].6 EL ESPECTADOR. La faena de arrancar la mata, 25th of August of 2008, in:

[http://tinyurl.com/3rf567v].7 COLOMBIAN CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES. Erradicadores: Las vctimas ocultas,in Colombia Sin Minas, No. 17, November of 2009, p. 19.


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between 75% and 100% of the adult civilian victims8. This is, without

doubt, the most common working activity amongst the landminevictims9.

In the year 2010 the number of manual eradicators rose to 3000,grouped into 132 Mobile Groups. In the current figures to date from2011, 166 victims of antipersonnel landmines have been registered,of which 58 are civilians. It is estimated that at least a third (1/3) ofthe total of civilian victims are manual eradicators of illegal crops10.

Eradicators who are landmine victims are found in Caldas, Bolvar,Norte de Santander Antioquia, Meta Caquet, Cauca, Nario andPutumayo, amongst other departments.

Failure to fulfil commitments

This program of manual eradication, given the hundreds of landminevictims which it has left behind it throughout the national territory,constitutes a serious failure by the Colombian State to comply withthe commitments voluntarily accepted with the passing ofinternational human rights agreements.

Violation of article 5 of the Ottawa Convention, which orders thatthe population be kept distant from minefields.

Infraction against International Humanitarian Law through theinvolvement of the civilian population in the internal armedconflict.

The necessary conditions in order to guarantee that the crop fieldsto be eradicated are free from antipersonnel landmines, do notexist, as a result the life and physical integrity of the eradicators isput at risk.

The manual eradication of illegal crops is not considered withinthe economic activities of the Decree 1607 of 2002.

8 INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES. Landmine and Cluster MunitionsMonitor. Colombia 2010, cit., pp. 16, 17 y 27.9 INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES. Landmine Monitor. Colombia

2009, Bogot, International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Colombian Campaign to

Ban Landmines, 2000, pp. 46, 47 y 77.10 EL TIEMPO. En Colombia hay casi dos vctimas diarias por minas antipersona, enJusticia, 12th of June 2011, in: [http://tinyurl.com/3rxjzwr].


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The affiliation to ARP by people dedicated to this activity is not

sustained, therefore the value of the contribution cannot be fixed.

The case of affiliations to EPS are presented on the same day ofthe accident.

The lack of social security contributions by Empleamos and otherstaff businesses prevents the victims from receiving adequatemedical attention.

Given the legal gap, there are no existing special conditions for

prior training for the manual eradicators. The training work thatthe PAICMA has passed forward to the employees of thePresidential Program against Illegal Crops11 has not beentranslated into concrete safety conditions for the eradicators.

The same PAICMA recognises in the Report of Article 7 of theOttawa Convention the absence of an appropriate mechanism forthe monitoring of this specific group of the population, whichmeans that their situation is not made visible.

Called upon to act

The Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines and the GTO-14 havebeen coming forward to denounce, for more than four years, indifferent scenarios, the difficult situation experienced by the manualeradicators of illegal crops who are victims of antipersonnellandmines throughout the country, both for their uncertain workingconditions and the lack of adequate health assistance, and we havecalled attention to the inconvenience of maintaining a program whichhas given such negative results.

Once more, it has become necessary to make an urgent appeal to theNational Government, to PAICMA, the Presidential Program of IllegalCrops, to Social Action, to the Police, the Global Program ofMonitoring Illegal Crops of the United Nations, to the controllingbodies and other entities and bodies involved, in order to make theundertaken commitments a reality, via the adoption of methods suchas the following:

11 PRESIDENTIAL PROGRAM FOR INTEGRAL MINE ACTION. Presentation of

information in relation to Article 7 on the Convention on the prohibition of the use,stockpiling, production and of anti personnel landmines and on their destruction,Bogot, PAICMA, April 30th of 2010, p. 37.


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The elimination or change of approach of the Program of Manual

Eradication of Illegal Crops which Social Action leads, with thesupport of the National Government.

The control and monitoring of working conditions and the fullguarantee of the right to social security for the manualeradicators.

Registration and integral health assistance for the manualeradicators of illegal crops who are victims of antipersonnellandmines.

The strengthening of mine risk education programs in areas whereillegal crops are present and guarded by antipersonnel landmines.

This document expresses the viewpoint of the CCCM in June 2011.It does not involve the opinion of any of its donors or affiliates in the processes

which the CCCM puts forward in Colombia.

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