Mandates:  At its thirty-sixth ordinary session, the General Assembly approved resolutions AG/RES. 2180 (XXXVI-O/06) “The Americas as an Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free Zone,” and AG/RES. 2181 (XXXVI-O/06) “Support for Action against Antipersonnel Mines in Ecuador and Peru.” In fulfillment of the mandates assigned to the General Secretariat under these resolutions, a description of the activities conducted by the Office of Humanitarian Mine Action (OHMA), Department of Public Security, through its Program for Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines (AICMA for its name in Spanish) in this area is provided below.  In addition, OHMA has carried out several activities that support the commitments and cooperation measures established in the Declaration on Security in the Americas adopted at the third plenary session of the Special Conference on Security held in Mexico City, Mexico on October 28, 2003. 

 General: In order to confront the complex, difficult, and persistent aspects related to the antipersonnel mine crisis, the Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines Program (AICMA for its initials in Spanish) was created in 1998. Within its framework, the AICMA Program incorporated the Assistance Program for Demining in Central America (PADCA for its initials in Spanish), which was initiated by the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1991 at the request of mine-affected countries in Central America. The distinctive aspect of the AICMA Program is its eminently humanitarian nature, seeking to reestablish safe and secure living conditions for mine-affected populations, reduce the risk and dangers of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and antipersonnel mines, return previously mined land to productive use, and assist survivors in their reintegration into their communities. Additionally, the Program is multilateral in nature in that, in addition to beneficiary countries, a number of donor and contributing countries, international organizations, and non-governmental entities participate in this effort.

Originally conceived as an assistance program for mine clearance in Central America, AICMA has registered a number of significant successes throughout its seventeen-year existence. The AICMA Program currently supports a wide range of mine action activities in four Member States: (a) humanitarian demining; (b) mine-risk education; (c) assistance with the physical and psychological rehabilitation of landmine victims and their socioeconomic reintegration; (d) destruction of stockpiled mines; and (f) promotion of a ban on the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of antipersonnel mines. In addition to mine action activities, the AICMA Program also supports OAS Member States’ obsolete munitions destruction efforts.

AICMA currently operates within the General Secretariat as part of the Department of Public Security of the Secretariat of Multidimensional Security, providing overall coordination of the Program, including solicitation and administration of financial contributions from the international community.  The Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) provides technical assistance through teams of international supervisors and monitors in the mine-affected countries.  The progress achieved by the Program is due in large measure to the support of Member States (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Venezuela, and United States), who have provided demining trainers, monitors and supervisors through the IADB, at an estimated value of $2.9 million over the course of 2006. Financial contributions from major international donors (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russian Federation, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States) have also made the Program possible.  Over the course of 2006, monetary contributions received amounted to approximately US$ 6.6 million. The Program also maintains close and productive relationships with international and nongovernmental organizations. Finally, Member States supported by the Program continue to provide substantial human and material resources, based on their individual abilities and needs.